Christ the KIng Sunday. Guest post by Joseph Doyle-Davison

*this post was written for the Atlanta Bar Church website for Christ the King Sunday, 2018

John 18:33-37

Standing before Pilate, someone who could sentence him either to death or set him free at a moment’s notice, if Jesus was to claim to be the “king of the Jews,” he would be guilty of treason in the eyes of the empire because the emperor in Rome was “rightful” king over the Jews. Jesus responded to Pilot’s interrogation, saying “If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over…. You say that I am a king.”

Who is this Jesus who refuses political power?

As “little Christs,” we declare that Jesus is “King of kings and Lord of lords,” but what does that mean if Jesus never desired to lead a Jewish revolt against the Roman occupiers nor to be a king in the conventional sense? What does it mean for our allegiance with Jesus, as the only one we bend our knees toward if Jesus asks us to pray for those who seek to harm us, “turn the other cheek,” and forgive those who have done us wrong way more times than most would ever be okay doing? (As an aside, forgiving and letting a toxic/abusive person back into one’s life are two entirely separate things. I hold to the view [attributed to St. Francis of Assisi]  that we forgive to release the burdens of wrongdoing placed upon us so that we may live more freely to accept and celebrate all that is good, holy, and beneficial.)

This “King of kings and Lord of lords” humbled himself to the point of death. He came to serve and not be served. Jesus’ kingship is bound to neither nationalism nor geographical boundaries. Christ’s power is wielded through profound love and collaboration, not acts of domination nor subjugation.

The Kingdom of God is always worth living and dying for, but never worth killing for and yet many still murder in God’s name….

As “little Christs,” we are called to the ministry of the baptised, the missio Dei, to share our resources and to ensure that the poor among us, the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, the marginalized, the refugee, and the stranger are welcomed and cared for with the same affection Jesus has for us. In doing such we further the kin(g)dom of God:

our words, our time

intentionally well wasted

well spent in kind

intimate and sacred

exploring, discovering

reaching and risking

trusting though at times

we will each other fail

responding ideally

with forgiveness

and reconciliation

and justice when necessary

persisting forward

with hearts so frail

Turning to one another

with Sacred regard

we proclaim:

you are worth

the risk

the labor

the pursuit

the effort

my courage

and my fears

my honesty

and my prayers

to embrace and let go

for in such all will know

we share a generous presence

and genuine affection

rather than mere imitation.

Empires rise and fall. Violent revolutions come to an end. So far, God willing, the way of Christ continues on as a most beautiful way of living and being in the world.

When I read John 18:33-37, one passage that sticks out to me is “everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Meditating on this, a prayer begins to take shape:

One for the quieting our minds and tuning out of the cacophony of voices from those who seek to divide and frighten.

Another that we better recognize the voice of Jesus beckoning to us to heed the common call for reconciliation, and to be advocates for justice and restoration as we speak truth to power:

In the face of bigotry
let’s stand up for the oppressed
and give them a voice
so they too may express

desires for dreams come true
embracing all that’s empowering
so that together we all may sing

as we live bravely