Some have called it "The Worship Wars," In the past the church has always been involved in its share of conflicts. Some might even call them wars. There have been battles over slavery, over the role of women, and even over the Bible. Today many congregations and even denominations find themselves caught up in a war over styles of worship. Many criticize the church for being out of touch with modern society. Its strange language, customs, and traditions make it seem foreign and alien. In order to relate to an ever-changing world and to take seriously Jesus' command to evangelize the world, many argue that the church must jettison its outmoded and old-fashioned language, music, and patterns of ritual. It must adapt the language, music, and customs of the '90s in order to relate to the '90s world. Others see such changes as "throwing out the baby with the bath water." It compromises the mission and message of the church so much that it is barely Christian anymore.
Today's occasion, the Sunday of Christ the King, seems to be another example of the church being out of touch. If there is any image that is thoroughly out of touch with our modern, democratic world, with its emphasis on individual rights and freedoms, it is the image of a king. Why would anyone ever want to refer to Jesus as a king? Kings and royalty seem utterly medieval, oppressive, even authoritarian. It doesn't seem like a very effective way to communicate to the world of the 1990s. It would seem that we ought to be able to come up with a much more "user-friendly" image for Jesus than a king.
But perhaps the image of a king may not be as problematic as we think. In fact, there may be a way to recapture the image of king and use it in such a way that is a blessing rather than a burden in our current world.
Have you ever been in a heated argument with someone and couldn't let the matter drop? You just had to continue making your point. Why? Because you had to have the last word.
If you have ever been in a classroom discussion, you have discovered the importance of that class reaching some sort of resolution and conclusion to the discussion. Students will often look to the teacher to settle the matter. The teacher has the last word. The last one to speak always seems to have the most lasting impact.
To have the last word is to be the final authority. To have the last word is to have the most power. To have the last word means that you are in control, that you are the boss. Ask any coach, teacher, manager, CEO, or parent and they will tell you that having the last word is what they are all about.
However we might think that a king is an old-fashioned and irrelevant image for an authority figure for the late twentieth century (and that is probably accurate!), nevertheless, before we throw this day out of our liturgical calendar, we ought to get behind the historical cobwebs of a king and look instead at what the tradition of the church is really trying to communicate with this day of Christ the King.
Perhaps "King" isn't a helpful way to talk about Jesus in this day and age, but if we think of a king as someone who has the last word, who is the final authority and power in life, then celebrating Christ as King might begin to make more sense.
That is ultimately what this day is all about. When the church declares at the conclusion of the church year that Christ is King, we are declaring that Christ has the last word. In a world where many are claiming to have the last word and be the final authority on everything from soup to nuts, the church declares that Jesus has the last word. He is the final authority and power in the universe. Christ is King!
In today's Gospel we see two kings locked in combat, each competing with the other to have the last word. Jesus claims to be a king. Pontius Pilate is a king. In fact, he is a king in the mightiest empire on earth. But Jesus is unwilling to let Pilate have the last word. Jesus claims to be a king. Pilate claims to be king. Who is right? Who has the last word?
Jesus and Pilate represent two very different ways of looking at power and authority in this world. Jesus represents one kind of kingdom. Pilate represents another kind of kingdom. Both kings claim divine authorization. Both kings occupy space in this world. Their claims to have the last word overlap and are often in conflict. In the Gospel of John and especially in Jesus' trial before Pilate, we see these two kings and their kingdoms colliding. In the last analysis, only one can be king. Only one can have the last word.
Two kingdoms, two ways of life, two kinds of power, two kinds of authority, continually pushing and tugging against one another, each trying to have the last word. One lives by the power of the sword. The other lives by the power of love.
One is driven to accumulate wealth. And there can never be enough. Scarcity is always looming over the horizon. The other announces, "Blessed are the poor." Everyone is wealthy. There is no need to accumulate more. There is unlimited abundance. Scarcity is only an unfounded rumor. There is always enough.
One can never have enough money. The other loves to give it away.
One believes that the weak must serve the strong. The biggest guns and the most bucks do matter. The other believes that the strong get to serve the weak. That the last shall be first and the first shall be last.
One demands that everyone must get what he deserves. Justice is all that matters. The other dares to give people what they don't deserve. Mercy and forgiveness and refusing to "get back" and "get even" are all that matter.
One believes that everyone has got to prove himself. There are no shortcuts. There are always strings attached, obligations to be fulfilled, conditions to be met. The other dares to believe that everyone is the apple of God's eye, that everyone is a child of God and can dare to call him "Papa," that we don't have to prove anything to anyone just because God says so.
Two different kings, two different kingdoms, two different ways of life, two different perspectives on what really matters, two different voices each claiming to have the last word. Who was right? Who was wrong? Only one could finally lay claim to be king. The other would eventually be exposed as a pretender.
When this scene in the praetorium came to an end, the answer seemed clear. Pilate was king. He sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion. He would have the last word. And because Pilate had the last word, everything that Jesus represented, his claims for himself and for God, would be exposed as an illusion. It was just not true -- this talk of love, mercy, and forgiveness. If God was to have a last word, it was to be spoken by kings like Pilate. And that last word certainly was not mercy!
And as Jesus hung there on the cross, Pilate added further insult to injury by posting over Jesus' head a sign of mockery: Jesus of Nazareth, King of Jews. Ha! What a king! What a pretender, this Jesus of Nazareth. Pilate and all that he represented in this world had the last word.
So it seemed. But we know that the story didn't end there. Three days later Jesus was raised from the dead. Surprise! Pilate did not have the last word. God raised Jesus from the dead, thereby announcing to the world that Jesus was right. That sign posted over his head on the cross in mockery was actually right. Jesus is indeed King. Jesus does have the last word. Jesus is God's last word to the world. And it is a word of mercy and forgiveness.
Because Christ is King, because Jesus does indeed have the last word, everything that Jesus claimed concerning God and human life and truth and good and evil was true! God can be trusted. Sinners are forgiven. Blessed are the meek and the poor and the persecuted for Jesus' sake. Eternal life is now already ours because Jesus is King.
Because Jesus has the last word, life changes. Life can no longer be lived the same. It can no longer be business as usual. And the evidence is all over the place for those who have the eyes of faith.
And so, in the remainder of chapter 18 and Jesus' trial before Pilate, the trial takes on an unusual shape. Even though officially Jesus is on trial before Pilate, in John's way of telling, the roles actually get reversed. Pilate is put on the defensive. Pilate has to justify himself. Pilate gets so unnerved and bewildered that finally he asks in desperation, "What is truth?" Everything that he had assumed to be true no longer seems so true in the presence of Jesus. Finally, with a sense of desperation, Pilate gives up and hands Jesus over for crucifixion. Jesus is the one who is really in control. He is determined to have the last word. And he has the last word when -- as King! -- he compels Pilate to hand him over to crucifixion where he can finally be enthroned on the cross!
Because Jesus has the last word, this congregation and other Christian congregations like it can express a kind of community life that just isn't seen any other place. Because Jesus has the last word, the last word among us is mercy and forgiveness. We are slow to judge and quick to forgive. We are generous instead of stingy. We welcome all into our midst with no strings attached.
Because Jesus has the last word, we are a leaven in the loaf, a light in the darkness, the salt of the earth. In other words, we can make a difference in this world. All too often we think that we can only do God's work by working in the institutional church -- by singing in the choir, teaching Sunday school, giving our weekly offerings. But the most important work that we do is out there in the world Monday through Saturday. In our jobs, in our communities, in our families and neighborhoods, we can dare to go against the grain. Jesus has the last word -- not the boss or the neighbor or the latest popularity contest. Because he has the last word, we can tell the truth when everyone else can only lie. Because he has the last word, we can strive to do our best when everyone else is just trying to get by. Because he has the last word, we can go out of our way to help a co-worker, even when it might cost us.
Recently I heard someone tell a story about the experiences of the Freedom Riders in the American South during the '50s and '60s and their struggle for civil rights. The story was a vivid illustration of how life changes when Jesus has the last word, when Jesus is King.
When the Freedom Riders traveled through the South staging their sit-ins and marches and protests, they were often arrested and jailed. The guardians of racial segregation and the status quo were not going to let them have the last word. While in jail the Freedom Riders were often treated poorly and brutally in order to break their spirits. They were deprived of food or given lousy food. Noise was blasted and lights were flashed all day and night to keep them from resting. Sometimes even some of their mattresses were removed in order that all would not have a place to sleep.
For a while it seemed to work. Their spirits were drained and discouraged, but never broken. It happened more than once and in more than one jail. Eventually the jail would begin to rock and swing to sounds of gospel singing. What began as a few weak voices would grow into a thundering and defiant chorus. The Freedom Riders would sing of their faith and their freedom. Sometimes they would even press their remaining mattresses out of their cells between the bars as they shouted, "You can take our mattresses, but you can't take our souls!"
The Freedom Riders were behind bars in jail, but they were really free. They were supposed to be guilty, but they were really innocent. They were supposedly suffering, but they were actually having a great time. They were supposedly defeated but they were actually victorious.
Why? They may not have said it, but they could have: because Jesus has the last word and not these bigoted and frightened jailers; because Christ is King!
This day of Christ the King may appear to be utilizing an old-fashioned and outmoded image, the image of a king. But the truth of the matter is this. Christ the King invites us to ask a most timely and timeless question. It is hardly old-fashioned. Who has the last word in our lives? Who is truly king -- Pilate and his ilk or Christ?
The hymns and prayers and psalms and scriptures and rituals and colors and music of this day boldly proclaim to you and to me and to the whole world: Christ is King! Christ has the last word! Amen!