Homily for Reign of Christ Sunday November 25, 2012
Vicar Inge Williams
A different kind of king…
33Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?”35Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” 36Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” 37Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
– John 18:33-37
I know that many of you were able to come to our interfaith thanksgiving service on Wednesday night, and let me tell you, if you were there, you didn’t regret it. I have been looking forward to this opportunity ever since I first heard about it from Pr. Julie, and it did not disappoint me. Faith communities from all over Seattle came to join us, from a mosque up in Mount Lake Terrace, to churches and a Buddhist monastery along Phinney-Greenwood, and a synagogue on Capitol Hill. The choir was made up of about 150 people, and the pews at Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church were full. This year’s theme was “Community of Light,” and each person received a candle like on Christmas Eve. We heard beautiful chanting to set the tone of the service, and while the sanctuary remained dark, candle flame was passed down the pews. As Pr. Paul Hoffman then welcomed us to the service, he asked us to lift our candles. Suddenly the dark hall was well-lit, I could see the diversity of people in the pews with clarity, and I got chills down my spine. It was such a moment of solidarity, to lift our candles in prayer to the God who enlightens our darkness. Rabbi Weiner spoke in the middle of the service, and he said, “once the flame burning within you for God is kindled, it will not go out.” And there we were, Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, burning for the God of love, of peace, and justice, not just the candles but we ourselves a community of light, a community of people bearing God’s grace in a broken world. It was a blessing to stand there, in a space of respect, and reverence, and prayer.
Several people noted in their prayers and remarks the troubles in Israel and Palestine, the past week of war in the Holy Land. In the land where Jesus walked, religion was being used on both sides to justify the death of innocent civilians. I just watched a video last night of a Lutheran Bishop of Palestine and Jordan, Bishop Younan. He said, peace and justice are not possible without the co-operation of Jews, Christians, and Muslims; any missing element would not solve the problem of peace in the Middle East. What a remarkable event then, for us in Seattle to stand together, to lift our hearts and lights in prayer together, to feel the presence of God calling us to love, to peace, and justice. Amazing. It was a glimpse of the reign of God on earth.
Today on this last Sunday of the church year, we celebrate the reign of Christ, who was a different kind of king. In our Gospel reading, Pilate doesn’t understand how Christ can be a king, and we have to learn again and again, too, what Christ’s kingdom looks like. Christ was a king who became vulnerable in order to save the world from its death-dealing ways, instead of using violence to combat violence. Christ was a king who spoke the truth of God to the powerful, regardless of the consequences. Christ was a king who reached out to those would fail him, to those who were regarded as beyond redemption, to those whom others avoided. Christ was a gracious king whose kingdom is upside down from the ways of the power-hungry and arrogant. The reign of Christ is a reign of welcome, of forgiveness and new life. In worship each week, we live in the reign of God. Here, the table is set in abundance and all are welcome, without cost. Here, the font is ready for all to be washed and made new in God’s love, regardless of where we’ve been. All are welcome. The reign of Christ happens as we practice this life in worship and take it out with us into the world ruled by the idols of exclusion, scapegoating, and apathy. Here we share the light of Christ and take it out with us into a dark world.
At the interfaith thanksgiving service, I was honored to read a passage from the New Testament, the famous first chapter of John, often read at Christmas. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God,” you know it. Verse 4 continues, “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” The light of Christ shines in the darkness of our broken world, friends, and the darkness will not overcome it. Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote this prayer, “Goodness is stronger than evil, love is stronger than hate, light is stronger than darkness, life is stronger than death. Victory is ours, through God who loves us.” Today we celebrate that in the end, goodness will triumph over evil, life will win over death, and Christ will reign forever. The goodness, the love, the light, and the life of God are stronger than the forces of death. Christ, through his life, his death, and his resurrection, rules over the forces of evil, death, hate and darkness in this world. Victory is ours, through God in Christ who loves us.
May we be reminded today that Christ is the king of creation, not the forces of death, evil, hate, and darkness. Christ is already reigning in justice, peace, love, and grace, and for that we say, thanks be to God. Amen.
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