25 Nov 2018 –Christ the King
“Pilate
said to Jesus:
Are you the King of the Jews?"
Are you the King of the Jews?"
--John
18:33B-37
Often
when we are in an uncomfortable situation, perhaps a debate about politics,
perhaps sitting at the Thanksgiving table --your drunken uncle is singing the
praises of the Republican party and your self-righteous niece is ranting about
corrupt capitalists—often—in situations like this—I find myself only half
listening to the people talking. If am
listening at all, it is not with curiosity or trying to understand, not to hear
what they have to say, but to hear how and where they are wrong; if I am
listening at all it is to hear a misstep, a fallacy, some weakness in their
argument. I am listening, watching for a
mistake; a flaw in their logic or error in their data... And as soon as I hear
one, I snatch it up like a fumbled football and take off running with it:
Now, wait a minute!...
You said!!... but that’s not!!!... anyway, NPR did a report and!!!!
It
is a constant theme in the media today how Americans don’t listen to each other
anymore. We are a divided nation, and
thanks to technology we are only getting more divided every day. We don’t want
to hear different opinions; instead we want echo chambers that echo back to us
our own opinions. Instead of sincerely
listening to different voices and seeking the truth wherever it may be found,
we too often simply yell over each other in an effort to shut the other person
down and declare ourselves the winner!
And
yet, reading Sunday’s Gospel from John, I thought—Hmmm... this sounds oddly familiar.
Divisiveness and an unwillingness to really listen –to really hear—is one
of the major themes of all four Gospels.
We are constantly being presented with scenes where the truth of Jesus
is heard or accepted by some figure and often soon after that unheard (and
rejected) by another. Usually the ones
who hear are the weak and the vulnerable; the poor and the sick; Jesus is their
last hope and they are desperate –they pay attention. They get it. Whereas the
ones who don’t listen, who don’t hear the truth of Jesus’ message, who don’t recognize
the witness of the miracles happening right before their very eyes; they are usually
the powerful and the respected: i.e. the religious leaders and the governing
powers. They don’t hear because they don’t
listen; they don’t really pay attention.
They aren’t coming to Jesus in search of the truth, or even in search of
a miracle (except for that centurion and Jairus); they are coming to try and
trick Him. To trip Him up. To find a way
to dismiss Him, His miracles and the donkey He rode in on! They are comfortable with their place in
society. They like their robes and their greetings in the market and their
special places at the table; they have the upper hand, and they don’t want to
lose it. They don’t want anyone to rock
the boat. Don’t want anyone to challenge
them or the system that gave them power. Because, as far as they can see, everything
is fine just the way it is.
And
doesn’t that describe a lot of us today?
I know that too often it describes me.
I am comfortable with my ideas, my notions, my system, and I don’t want anyone
to rock the boat. I see the world a
certain way and I feel like everyone else should, too. And if they don’t, there must be something
wrong with them.
On
some level Pontius Pilate –in this passage from John’s gospel—could be the icon
for our age of unlistening; an icon of the incurious: the willfully blind and
deaf. Reread the conversation he is having with Jesus. He is doing the exact same thing the experts
say we do. If you want to feel convicted
reread this passage and listen to the way Pilate talks to Jesus. Think about it? Is he really listening? He asks questions, but does he really hear
the answers? Does he really care about
the truth? No. He simply wants to get it
over with. He wants to extricate himself from a difficulty and troublesome situation. So instead of listening, instead of trying to
truly hear the other person (Jesus) he simply asserts his own power, dismisses
the other person as a problem, and justifies the rightness of his own position.
In other words, he doesn’t care about hearing the truth –he simply wants to win. He treats the interview with Jesus not as an
opportunity to learn something important (i.e. the Truth). But, instead he treats it as a debate; mental
Greco-Roman wrestling in a way; nothing but a civic annoyance that he must
partake of before returning to the pleasures of his
lifestyle (of the rich and famous)!
But,
what if Pilate had actually listened to Jesus? What if instead of trying to
extricate himself ASAP, he had asked Jesus to explain? Tell me about this kingdom that isn’t of this world? What do you mean
by that? Could you elaborate? Then,
instead of ridiculing the very idea of “truth,” asked Him to explain how the
truth had brought this itinerant Jewish teacher and healer to this moment? This
place? The Praetorium? With a crowd demanding His death? What if Pilate had taken a moment and considered:
What kind of truth could spark such a
flame? Perhaps there was more to
this man and more to the anger he stirred up than just jealousy and hurt
feelings? If Pilate had just taken the
time to listen, if he had let himself be quiet for a moment and maybe let the answer
sink in – even contemplated it before responding-- would Good Friday be
remembered differently? Who knows—but, what is clear from this record of a
conversation from around 33CE is that divisive societies and tone-deaf leaders
are nothing new; nothing particular to our age.
Or to our politics.
I
also see in Pilate an example of how not to read the Bible. He approaches Jesus with his heart and his
mind closed. In his eyes, Jesus is a
problem to be dealt with as quickly and easily as possible. With as little
attention and effort as possible. Read
the Word of God with that attitude and you will find it unrewarding and
frustrating and more than likely you will be glad to close the covers and never
open it again. Consider Pilate...
But,
if you open your eyes, open your heart and open your mind you will find that
the Word is alive and each time you open the Bible you will find something new;
a new facet, a new depth of truth, an image or an element that you never saw
before. The truths of the Gospels grow
deeper and more profound every time I read them. For instance, usually when I read this
passage, I focus on Jesus and His resolve to be true to His mission –regardless
of the results. But this time, for some
reason, Pilate and his questions caught my eye.
Opened my eyes.
The
next time I find myself acting a little too much like Pilate: defensive, feigning
interest, looking for a way to dismiss them, I need to remember this
lesson. I need to remind myself to pay
attention. Listen. This doesn’t mean I have to agree with
everything everyone says. But it does
mean, I need to listen. I need to be vulnerable. I need to hear what they are actually saying.
Open my heart –like the weak and the vulnerable—and watch not for a chance to
shut someone out, but for the opportunity of letting them in. I need to make sure I’m not putting up walls
but tearing them down.
There
is a lot we can learn sitting around the holiday table: about family, about
friends, about differences and about sharing.
And remember, a conversation isn’t about winning, it’s about
learning. But, for that to happen –you have
to open your heart. You have to be vulnerable.
You have to listen, and you have to hear. And as you do –you just might find that you
begin to recognize the person sitting next to you as something more than an annoying
roadblock between you and more plum pudding! Look closely, listen deeply and you
might even begin to see in them a glimmer of a kingdom... not of this world.
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