November 25 2012 Christ the King Sunday

John 18:33-37

 33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
 37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

 “Not Of This World”

His Kingdom is not of this world.  It is a Kingdom where things are reversed in a strange yet powerful way.  The first are last and the last first.   The great are the lowly and the masters are the servants.  The little is much and the poor are rich.  The widows mite is much and the rich peoples much is little.

A Kingdom where money is not as important as love and relationships;  where nothing can happen which is beyond becoming a blessing, redeemed by God’s love.  It is a Kingdom which cannot be destroyed and will never end.

“Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I (Napoleon Bonaparte) have built great empires.  but upon what did they depend?  They depended on force.  But centuries ago Jesus started an empire that was built on love, and even today, millions will die for him.

“All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as the one who was born to be a king...of another kingdom.”

“Not Of This World”

The Kingdom of God came as and is yet today a surprise.
The disciples missed it...
the people missed it...
the religious leaders missed it...
the church misses it...
and we miss it more then we get it!

It isn’t always the way we see it.  It’s power is weakness; its wealth is poverty; its prestige is meekness.

To be meek is not to be weak (spiritless); it is to be of a gentle spirit.
A meek person is strong enough to not have to be bias, prejudiced, close minded, defensive.  A meek person is strong enough to be open, understanding, compassionate, long suffering, humble, and of such is the Kingdom of Jesus.

In the Kingdom of God we are challenged to hunger and thirst after righteousness - the wealth of the Kingdom.  It is found in right relatedness, right living, right relationship to God and each other.  It dares to forgive rather than condemn; be merciful rather than judgmental; patient rather than demanding. It leaves room for mistakes rather than demanding perfection.

We also are challenged to be poor in spirit...humble minded.  To know that I am spiritually poor is to be open to see what I could never see if l were rich.  It is to hear what I could never hear; to believe what I would never otherwise believe.  It is to be open, alive, looking, questioning, searching, knocking, asking, seeking.  And then discovering the promise given!
Indeed the Kingdom of God comes as a surprise.
The challenge of faith is to not miss it!

“A Kingdom Of Grace”

Jesus answer to Pilate betrays what appears to be happening and reveals a majesty which baffles Pilate and us.  It is a majesty of grace by a King whose Kingdom will never be destroyed.
God is best known as a God of grace and God’s kingdom is a kingdom of grace!
In a Kingdom of grace the King is first of all a servant, truly a servant of all!
In a Kingdom of grace the bottom line is not what is cost effective, but what is fitting and appropriate for all - and fair.
In a Kingdom of grace patience is more important than efficiency; faithfulness than merit; truth than dishonesty, deception or expediency.

“Jesus addressed economic questions more frequently than he did violence, sexual morality, or heaven and hell.  The most fundamental principle of biblical economics... is the notion that economic activity is not an end in itself but exists to serve higher purposes.
...The biblical emphasis is not so much on the mechanics of producing and distributing material goods as on how such activities reflect a right relationship to God and one’s neighbors.  ...The primary standard the Bible gives us for judging any economic system is the priority of the poor.  The righteousness of a people is to be seen in how they treat the weakest members of society.”  Sojourner staff person

“We can do things to diminish our humanity and resist God’s sovereignty over us, but we cannot do things that can dethrone God nor stop Him from loving us.  That is invincible.”