Christ the King Sunday 2015

Christ the King Sunday 2015 (John 18:33-37)

“My kingdom is not of this world.”

Jesus is the rightful ruler of this planet.

God the Father created this planet and our species by the power of the Holy Spirit to be a gift to the co-eternal Beloved Son. The pre incarnate Son walked with our first parents in Eden. He was their friend, their guardian and their guide.

When Adam and Eve chose to separate from God, the pre incarnate Son left this planet. The Holy Spirit initiated a process for him to return. He returned as a new born child in Bethlehem. This time, he united his divinity with our humanity in one particular person in one particular place and time.

Jesus, son of Mary, is the legal heir to the throne of Israel. Jesus, as the incarnate co-eternal Son of God,  is the rightful ruler of this planet. The Father permits earthly governments to exist for now. God designates two basic functions for these temporary governments. Those functions can be described as maintaining peace and security. And the principles God has revealed for earthly governments to follow are recorded in the Bible. They are compassion and justice.

That is not what people believed when Jesus came into the world. It is not what most people most of the time believe now. All too often, belief distorts and subverts truth.

The truth is Jesus Christ.

Everyone in his day believed the Messiah would raise an army, seize control of Jerusalem, destroy Rome and enslave the nations. Those who rejected Jesus believed this. Those who followed Jesus believed this. Those who were largely indifferent to Jesus believed this. Pontus Pilate knew this is what the people of Judea believed. He was ready to deal with such challenges to the Roman Empire. He was not ready for the truth.

When Jesus said: my kingdom is not of this world, Pilate understood very well what he meant. Jesus was not saying: my kingdom is not of this planet. He was saying: my kingdom does not follow the world order. Pilate knew the world order meant military conquest. It meant a culture of pride, self-will, cynicism, deceit and fear. No matter how strong Rome was they knew they were just one civil war or one military defeat away from destruction.

Pilate understood Jesus very well. Jesus very clearly stated that he would not use force nor would he authorize force to establish his kingdom. Jesus was dealing in spiritual matters not military matters. Perhaps, Pilate even recognized that Jesus’ approach could actually change things for the better over time. Clearly, Pilate knew that Jesus was no direct military threat to the world order Pilate defended.

The planet and our species belong to the Living Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus will not use the methods of human political culture to impose his will and demand our submission to his authority.

In a world governed by fear and conflict the Jesus way of exercising Lordship makes no sense. It only makes sense when you surrender to divine love by faith. It only becomes real as you learn to trust Jesus as the new way of living. It only makes sense in the process of surrendering pride and self-will to divine will in the co-eternal Beloved, Jesus Christ.

When we make a real choice to accept the gift of salvation God the Father offers us in God the Son we begin a long process of transformation in God the Holy Spirit in order to follow Jesus as Lord and King. We learn slowly and sometimes painfully that Jesus invites us to experience the world from a very difference perspective. It is the perspective of our Heavenly Fathers Plan of Salvation. It is the perspective of universal unconditional love that resets our priorities and produces an action.

The Jesus Way is the only effective way to change and transform the world and our individual lives. Listen carefully to what the world order is demanding of us. Pay attention to how the leaders of the world order use fear to accomplish their goals. Ask yourself the same question Pontus Pilate asked: what is truth? But, ask the question honestly from the place of faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

Everyone who seeks the truth will find the truth. The truth is Jesus Christ. Accept no substitute. Pay attention. Listen carefully, Be wary of those who practice deceit, appeal to fear and use conflict to advance their goals.

Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. This planet and our species belong to him. He is the eternal pattern of truth. Follow him into the way of truth. The way of truth is universal unconditional love.