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I want you to stop and consider
something as you read this blog, this week: If you were to be arrested and
suspected of being a follower of Jesus, would there be enough evidence in your
life to convict you? And I am not talking about the sales and the meetings and
the other things you do around and in the building we call Church. What is
there in your life that people could point to you and accuse you of being a
Christian?
The Gospel this week (Mark
13.1-10) is for the Feast of the Reign of Christ the King. It is the focus of
all that has been said and done since the Day of Pentecost and this is the end
of another year in the Church’s Calendar. Next week will begin again preparing
from the Feast of the Incarnation (Christmas) and the coming of the Living Word
of God into our space and place.
In taking all of this in, there
is a question that gets asked by Pilate in the Lesson that each and all of us
get confronted with, “What is truth?”. Now please understand that I am a huge
fan of the Star Wars movies. I saw my first one with my dad in May 1977. Ever
since, I have always loved going to see the new one when it came out. And like
every movie franchise, it has its catch phrases… like when Han Solo says, “I
have a bad feeling about this.” There is another phrase from Jedi Knight Ben
(Obi-wan) Kenobi and you might recognize it: “Everything things is true, from a
certain point of view.” If you need a refresher or if you have never seen the
movies, try this out:
I point this out because it is
the issue that is being addressed. Pilate is struggling with what the truth
about Jesus really is and what the leaders of the Jews are accusing him of.
What is the truth of all of it? Is Jesus rebel scum trying to upset the
political balance in his favour or is he a spiritual leader who has irritated
the leadership of the Jews? What is the truth of the situation and how is
Pilate to know or figure it out? As a spiritual figure, Jesus is not a threat
but if he is a king, then he is a threat to Rome and its maintenance of Empire.
Thing is, Jesus is not a king
like any other nor is his kingdom recognizable because of it borders. Jesus
speaks to the lowly and the down trodden. He eats with outcast and sinners. He
serves rather than demanding service from others. His kingdom is not built on
military might or through violence. Those people who belong as citizens of his
kingdom, are born from above and are powerful because they have been given
power to live that life by God the Father. I spent some time watch footage of
Queen Elizabeth’s coronation as the 39th Monarch of the United Kingdom. The moment that caught my imagination was the
“Recognition” when the people pay homage to the about to be coronated queen.
Four times the people are asked if they will obey her and each time they
resoundingly say yes. Watch it here:
We know well of course what
happens next. Jesus is denied by Rome and rejected and revived by his own. He
was then taken beaten and scourged. Then he was marched outside the city walls
where with two other men, was crucified and died. His throne was a cross and
his crown a circle of thorns. The Good news in all that is that his death and
burial are not the end of the story but the beginning. God the Father raised
the Son from death and things went on from there.
So what happens when you have the
truth standing in front of you? What happens when you are asked to give an
account for the hope that lays within you? Would people be able to convict you
as being a Christian person?
Jason+
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