Christ the King (B), Nov. 26, 2009

Dan. 7:13-14;  Ps. 93;  Rev. 1:5-8;  Jn. 18:33b-37

1. Are you a Kingâ€� Pilate asked Jesus. This question was put to Jesus 2000 years ago, and hence we would be forgiven if we think that the Feast of Christ the King is at least a thousand years old. The reality is that this feast is new in our Church. It was created by Pius the Eleventh in 1925 on the 16^th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. Pius 11^thfound that there was a rising nationalism and fascism in Europe and in order to counteract this tendency, he instituted the Feast of Christ the King.

2. It is surprising therefore that this feast seems so irrelevant so soon. Kings and Queens seem to be the stuff for soap opera fans. Those who watch Coronation Street and the Young and the Restless, seem to be caught up with Royalty.  The idea of a King as being one on top of the Hill of ordinary mortals like you and me is part of our culture. So we are addicted to Dancing with the Stars, and American Idol or the Ultimate Fighter. The one on the top is the King. Jesus is also on top of the hill, but the Hill is Calvary and he is nailed to the cross. His title on the Cross, is JESUS OF NAZARETH, KING OF THE JEWS. INRI. It is quite contrary to our idea of a King and it was contrary to what Pilate thought a king should be.

3. Our readings start with the Book of Daniel. The passage is the ending of a series of disturbing dreams. There are four wild beasts. These represent the four neighbouring kings who are about to invade and destroy Israel. But God sends a mysterious figure called the Son of Man . In the time of Daniel, the Son of Man was supposed to be the People of Israel. They would be saved. They were the object of salvation. But through the centuries, the Son of Man would cease to be the object of salvation, but would become the Subject who saves. The Son of Man would be identified in one person. He was the Messiah. He would be a single individual. He would be made into a political symbol. He would be a King.

4. In our Gospel, we have the Son of Man. He is the King standing in front of Pilate. But he is such a pathetic figure. He is bound in chains, he is in ragged clothes, he is weak. The prophets would describe him as “a worm, hardly a man.” €� Yet in this weakness, the Son of Man, Jesus is totally in control.

Pilate could have easily have dismissed this King of the Jews, as he dismissed the Scribes and Pharisees after the crucifixion. They came to complain: Do not write, “King of the Jews�” but Jesus said he was the King. Pilate dismissed them: What I have written, I have written. Go away, do not disturb me. However, Pilate as Governor was supposed to keep peace. And so weak as Jesus was, Pilate had to take him seriously.

• First: Jesus did not deny he was a King.
• Secondly: Jesus said his Kingdom was not of this world.
• Thirdly, when Pilate said he had the authority to condemn or set Jesus free. Jesus quite firmly said: No you do not. The authority comes from God.

• So instead of dismissing Jesus as a fraud, a trickster, or simply a person suffering from delusions of grandeur, Pilate does not take a chance.

5.  Jesus did not deny or affirm that he was a King. He simply states his Kingdom is not of this world. Jesus is not saying his

Kingdom is of another world

Kingdom is a spiritual Kingdom.

All he states, and this is important for your life and mine, is that the Kingdom of God does not have the trappings, the values, the settings of what we think Royalty should have.

• There are no titles like your Highness, Your Excellency
• There are no outriders on motorcycles and body guards
• There are no advance teams looking out for security.
• There are no ermine robes, fur capes, and crowns filled with Jewels.

• 6. His kingship – and we better get used to it – is one of humble service. See here comes your king, riding humbly on a donkey. His royal entourage and court are the poor, lame, the blind, the leper, the outcast and tax collectors. Those who sing his praises are little children who throw branches and their cloaks in front of the donkey.

His Kingship consists of welcoming everyone: The elderly and the sick, the sinner and tax collector. They come as they are. They do not have to have identity cards or wear special garments. The only condition – (if you can call it that,) is to have a heart open to receive his love, a heart that is willing to accept others without trumpet blasts or fanfare.

His Kingship is without pomp and circumstance. We find ourselves very comfortable in being in front of this King. Come let us worship. Come let us adore

The musical, "Man of La Mancha," is the story of the ridiculed Don Quixote, who lives with the illusion of being a knight of old, battling windmills that he imagines are dragons. Near the end of the musical, Don Quixote is dying and at his side is Aldonza, a worthless slut he had idealized by calling her Dulcine “Sweet One” much to the howling laughter of the townsfolk. But Don Quixote had loved her in a way unlike anything she had ever experienced.

When Quixote breathes his last, Aldonza begins to sing, "The Impossible Dream." As the last echo of the song dies away, someone shouts to her, "Aldonza!" but she pulls herself up proudly and responds, "My name is Dulcinea." The crazy knight's love had transformed her.