A New Classroom: Sermon sharing

Hey friends,
 I haven't blogged in a while, but wanted to share the sermon from this past week for Christ the King. It was also UM Student Sunday, which I didn't really dwell on but an interesing combo. I look forward to this Advent season, where we are waiting with great expectation for the King of Kings who comes to the world as a baby.

Peace,
RevLB

Teachers make us work for the answer.  Teachers make us work for the answers. Now you all may be thinking, what in the world, but think about it. Some of the best teachers, whether they are teachers you had, have or the great teachers from movies- they all leave room, leave space for us to figure out the answers. Think about it. Mr. Miyagi teaches Daniel how to defend himself by first washing a car: wax on, wax off.  Yoda frustrates the young Luke Skywalker by his backwards talking-lessons. And Rafiki teaches Simba through experience, to reveal a deeper knowing. Besides what fun would it be if we always just got the answers?  No contemplation necessary, no need for hard work, the answer is just given to us.

 

As I think of my different teachers and schooling, maybe the hard work isn’t looking so bad, because there is a sense of accomplishment. We receive a sense of ownership for our studies, for the lessons learned. And if you’re still in school, you’re ready for the next step, the next grade. And for those of you not in school, the lessons never end; there are always new things to experience and learn, sorry. J   

But I want to dwell on the fact that teachers, for the sake of their students, sometimes make the arrival at the answer a long and winding road. A good teacher, I believe gently nudges the student in the right direction, forces the questions to be asked and at the end there’s a new truth revealed.

Or at least until the student posing the question is a professional in their field. Then the questions come from a place of aggression or frustration at the fact that a person has come and challenged all that they know. And yet in our gospel lesson today, Jesus remains calm with Pilate’s aggravated tone in wanting to know who this Jesus of Nazareth was.

In John’s gospel account, read this morning, Jesus has just been betrayed by one of his disciples and is being run through the judicial system. When Jesus finally arrives at the praetorium or Pilate’s headquarters, he is facing the best in the field. Pilate is a city official and Jesus is brought to him because he has the power to decide Jesus’ fate. So what seems to be any other day for trials, Jesus is brought into the headquarters and Pilate asks what Jesus is being accused of. When Pilate is not given a straightforward answer from the crowd, he attempts to wash his hands of the situation. “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law”. Realizing that they could not put anyone to death, according to their law, Pilate headed inside to get a better idea of what Jesus had done.

Here we see the expert in judicial law and policies, Pilate and the expert in God’s law, Jesus enter into an interesting debate. Little did Pilate know that Jesus was the teacher in the situation. Pilate asks, “Are you the king of the Jews?” And Jesus quickly responds with another question, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” Or “Do you want to know for yourself, do you seek who I am on your own accord or are you going off of what the angry crowd says?” Pilate, seemingly annoyed answers “I’m not a Jew am I? Your people brought you hear, just tell me what you did.”

Jesus’ response will turn the situation on its head, centering the entire interrogation on God, on the purpose of Jesus himself. Jesus answers, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me form being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here”.

We get a Yoda-like  answer from Jesus. But what’s happening here is a gentle prod for Pilate to receive information about who Jesus is. This response from Christ allows Pilate to move into a deeper knowledge of what Jesus has done. And what Jesus did was bear witness to a different kingdom, one that didn’t line up with the world of the angry crowd, the chief priests of even Pilate. Jesus was in a sense putting the ball in Pilate’s hands, but playing on his own court.   

And Pilate is beginning to get it, “So you are a king?” And I imagine Jesus smiling with approval of Pilate’s recognition. Jesus says, “You say that I am king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice”.

Now we know how this story ends. Pilate sends Jesus into the hands of an angry crowd who will crucify the King of kings. But for a moment, in the privacy of Pilate’s headquarters, Jesus is recognized as King, Jesus has been able to do what he was sent to do, and that is share of the kingdom of God, one that is not of this world. Jesus has been able to testify to the truth and that is God has come to earth in him.

And it is this interaction between Pilate and Jesus that shows Jesus can reign over this earth as well as the heavenly Kingdom. Because there is a intimacy, there is a feeling that the same Jesus that came to the world as an infant can reign in glory with all the hosts of heaven. And somewhere in the middle is the every day experiences that teach us something new.

The chapel at Duke Divinity, Goodson Chapel, has a very basic design. Unlike the University’s chapel next door with it’s stained glass and gothic architecture, Goodson’s walls are all the same color stone. The rafters are a dark wood and every window in the chapel is clear glass. When you sit in worship or during morning prayer, you’re able to see all of creation around you. There aren’t many decorations but on either side of the chapel there is a piece of art. On your right there is a sculpture of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan, one of Christ’s first acts in his ministry. Then on your left, there is an ornate painting of Christ enthroned in glory- bits of gold, reds, blues create an icon of Jesus with Alpha and Omega on the painting. And there in between these two very different, pieces of art, are rows and rows of seats where a variety of people gather to worship, lament, rejoice and learn something new about God.

It’s in this middle place between the humanity of Jesus, and the Christ enthroned in glory that we find ourselves. In this place we find new revelations about who Christ is and who we are because of Christ. We learn about this new kingdom, a new place where the truth lives, because of the truth that was born in Jesus Christ. Christ comes from, and brings a knowledge of both this world, and a world that is beyond our imagination, where Christ is both alpha and omega, beginning and end. And we, by God’s grace are invited into this kingdom.

May we ever learn the truth, participate in the truth, and experience the truth of God’s kingdom, a different kingdom that Jesus proclaims to the world.

Amen.