Sunday
11/22/15 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s
Sermon Title: “My kingdom doesn’t originate from this
world”
Old Testament
Lesson: 2 Samuel 23:1-7
New Testament
Scripture: Revelation 1:4b-8
Gospel Lesson:
John 18:33-37
Brothers and sisters, welcome once again on this our “Christ
the King” Sunday, which is the last Sunday of the season after Pentecost, also
known as “Ordinary Time.” The season after Pentecost, is sometimes called “Ordinary
Time,” as we do not celebrate any significant Christian holidays after Pentecost,
until we reach the season of Advent. As sort of a bridge, “Christ the King”
Sunday is a way to prepare us and to transition us into the coming season of
Advent. The season of Advent is a season that we wait in wonder for the birth
of Jesus Christ. The season of Advent is one where we await hope itself coming
down from heaven.
On this “Christ the King” Sunday, Jesus speaks in our Gospel
of John reading for this morning, about his kingdom, about the kingdom of God. In
the Book of Revelation 19:16, it says of Jesus, “On
his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “King of kings and Lord of
lords” (Rev. 19:16, NRSV). Well to be a king that would mean that you would
need to have a kingdom to rule over. If Jesus Christ is a king then, then he needs
to have a kingdom. Yet in the scripture that I just read from the Book of Revelation,
not only is Jesus a king, but he is “King of kings and Lord of lords”
(Rev. 19:16b, NRSV). This would mean then, that Christ is above all earthly
leaders or rules. That people might occupy positions of leadership or
authority, but that only God reigns forever.
In fact, in the Book of Revelation 4:10,
it speaks of rulers, or elders, or kings, seeing Christ’s return to earth (Rev.
4:10, NRSV). The scripture says, “the twenty-four elders fall before the one
who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever;
they cast their crowns before the throne” (Rev. 4:10, NRSV).
This “Christ the King” Sunday then, is
a Sunday that we celebrate who we believe Jesus Christ to be. Further, the notion
of Jesus Christ having a kingdom and being a king, is in the gospel of Luke 22:29.
In the gospel of Luke 22:29, Jesus tells his disciples, “and I
confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom” (Luke 22:29,
NRSV).
This morning on this “Christ the King” Sunday, Jesus stands
before the Roman Governor or Prefect, Pontius Pilate, and Pilate
is questioning Jesus Christ about his kingdom (John 18:33-37, NRSV). Now some
biblical scholars would argue that Pilate didn’t really care if Jesus Christ
was the Messiah, but that instead he was more worried about Jesus’ challenge to
his own leadership in Judea (African Bible Commentary). I mean, it was the
religious leaders that brought Jesus to Pilate, and asked him to try Jesus (Africa
Bible Commentary). I don’t know if Pilate really understood who Jesus was, or
cared about him being the Messiah. Pilate I believe was more concerned about maintaining
his own power.
In looking at the five verses of scripture that we have been
given from the Gospel of John from this morning, Pontius Pilate takes Jesus in
his palace to question him. I mean after all, Pilate must do something, as the
religious leaders of Judea are up in arms about Jesus. Jesus Christ is speaking
of his kingdom, but is he a king?
The
gospel lesson for this morning begins by saying “Pilate went back into the
palace. He summoned Jesus and asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?” (John
18:33, NRSV). In reply, Jesus then says to Pontius Pilate, “Do you say this on
your own or have others spoken to you about me?” (John 18:34, NRSV). To me
Jesus is essentially asking Pilate, “So you have heard of me huh Pilate?”
Perhaps Pilate heard all about Jesus, about who people claimed him to be, and about
the miracles that he performed (Africa Bible Commentary).
It would seem again that Pilate couldn’t have cared less
about Jesus being the “king of the Jews,” or Jesus’ kingdom, as Pilate then
says to Jesus, “I am not a Jew, am I? (John 18:33b, 35a). Pilate then says, “Your
nation and it chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” (John
18:35b, NRSV). I think then, that Pilate does not care at all if Jesus is the
Messiah, or about Jesus’ kingdom. Pilate just wants to know what all the commotion
is about.
Now where I am going will all of this, on this “Christ the
King Sunday” is this, kings have kingdom. Jesus is a king, so where is his
kingdom? In response to Pilate wanting to know what Jesus has done, Jesus says
next in the gospel, “My kingdom doesn’t originate from this world. If it did,
my guards would fight so that I wouldn’t have been arrested by the Jewish
leaders. My kingdom isn’t from here” (John 18:36, CEB). Pilate then says to
Jesus to end this gospel reading, “So you are a king? Pilate said” (John
18:37).
So it is “Christ the King” Sunday. The Book of Revelation
declares that Jesus Christ is the “King of kings
and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16b, NRSV). In the gospel of Luke, Jesus
then confers this kingdom on his disciples. This morning in our gospel of John
reading, Jesus Christ says, “My kingdom doesn’t originate from this world”
(John 18:36A, CEB).
If Jesus Christ is truly “King
of kings and Lord of lords” though, then where is his kingdom (Rev.
19:16b, NRSV)? I mean Jesus said that “My kingdom doesn’t originate from
this world” (John 18:36A, CEB). So where is the kingdom? Where is the kingdom
of God? When we die our earthly deaths one day, we who call upon the name of
Lord believe that we will be in heaven. We believe in this eternal kingdom. A
kingdom that Jesus Christ ushered in almost two-thousand years ago. Yet as I
was preparing for this sermon, I thought, where is the eternal kingdom located?
Sometimes when we have a loved one or a friend pass away,
we tell others, “They are in a better place.” Now I believe this with all my
heart, in this heaven, but where is it? One of the most powerful telescopes
orbiting our planet is the Hubble Telescope. This telescope and others, have
allowed scientists to see much deeper into space than we ever could before. Yet
amidst there constant searching they have not discovered the heavenly realm.
They have not discovered the kingdom that Jesus spoke about.
Where is heaven then? So many people have had experiences
where they died for a few minutes, and they have seen a beautiful light. They have
seen past relatives, and they have felt warmth, and love. They felt their souls
depart from their bodies, and when they came to back to life, they said that they
had seen heaven. In fact, there is a book and a movie called “Heaven is For
Real,” where a little boy claimed to have had an experience where he died and
came back. This little boy claimed that his soul left his body, and that he went
to the kingdom that Jesus Christ promised. Yet where is this eternal kingdom
located?
In my ministry as your pastor, and as a Chaplain Intern at
the hospital in Syracuse, I have been with many people when someone dies. While
we are often so emotionally upset by the death, we often believe that this
person is with God. We cannot prove where the heavenly realm is, but some people
that have died and have come back, have seen it. Jesus Christ has also promised
it to us.
In the gospel of John 14:1-4, Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are
many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to
prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you
may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going” (John
14:1-4, NRSV). So do I know where heaven is? No, I don’t. Yet I believe with
all my heart in heaven, even though I cannot tell someone exactly how to get
there.
I remember
when my Grandpa Winkelman was dying, I got spend a good chunk of time with him,
talking with him and just being with him. I remember that during our time
together I prayed with him, and read him scriptures. One of the ones that I
read him, was the gospel reading that I just cited from John 14:1-4. While my Grandpa
believed with all of his heart in Jesus Christ, and the eternal kingdom of God,
he something funny after I read this scripture. For Jesus said, “I go and prepare a place for you” (John 14:3A, NRSV). My
Grandpa then said, “Well Paul, do you have a map”. Now my grandpa was a man who
loved the Lord, but I think what he was saying to me was, “I believe in heaven
Paul, but I don’t understand it fully. I also don’t know where it is”.
This my brothers and sisters is where
faith comes in. Where we trust in God, and in his kingdom. That we believe in
Jesus Christ, and that believe that we will all see glory one day, when our time
on earth is done.
I also think that Jesus Christ has called
us to build the kingdom of God here on earth, as we await the next kingdom.
Whether we go to be with the Lord, or whether Christ returns, Christ calls us
to build a more equitable and a more loving world, here and now. Christ calls us
to build heaven on earth, as we await the eternal heaven.
I must admit then, that I don’t have
all the answers on heaven, where it is, or what it will looks like, but I
believe in it. Further some of our historical ideas of heaven don’t make a lot
of sense to me. For example, so we die, then we arrived at the “Pearly Gates” right?
Who do we find sitting in front of the “Pearly Gates”? Well Saint Peter of
course! He has the “Lambs Book of Life,” and he tells you whether you can come
into heaven or not. Now the Book of Revelation 21:21 says of heaven, “The
twelve gates were twelve
pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass” (Rev.
21:21, NRSV). So we have “Pearly Gates” in scripture, but we just made up the
whole thing about Saint Peter at the gate checking people. I don’t know about
you, but checking people into heaven twenty-four seven, does not sound like
heave to me! Now Jesus does say to Peter in Matthew 16:9A, “I will give you the
keys of the kingdom of heaven,” but I don’t think that Jesus was offering
Saint Peter a secretarial job when he said this (Matthew 16:9A, NRSV).
I heard one Christian comedian say, “When
we get to heaven, are we really going to lay on a cloud all day and play the
harp”. The comedian then said, “Now how many people that you know would actually
want to lay on a cloud all day, every day, and play a harp”?
The reality for me is, is when Jesus
Christ told Pontius Pilate this morning on this “Christ the King” Sunday, that “My
kingdom doesn’t originate from this world,” I believe him (John 18:36A, CEB).
Yet I don’t have all the answers. I believe that heaven is very real, but as my
Grandpa Winkelman asked me to do, I can’t give you a map. Yet I believe that the
kingdom of God is abundant, and that all of the people who call upon the name
of the Lord will one day see heaven.
I
want to close this morning, with a short story called “Heaven and Hell.” This
story is by source unknown. Now once again, I don’t where heaven is, I can’t
tell you what exactly it will looks like, but here is story that I like to think
of when I think heaven. Here is how it goes: “A man spoke with the Lord about Heaven and Hell. “I will
show you Hell,” said the Lord. And they went into a room which had a large pot
of stew in the middle. The smell was delicious and around the pot sat people
who were famished and desperate. All were holding spoons with very long handles
which reached to the pot, but because the handles of the spoons were longer
than their arms, it was impossible to get the stew into their mouths. Their
suffering was terrible.”
“Now I will show you Heaven,” said
the Lord, and they went into an identical room. There was a similar pot of stew
and the people had the same identical spoons, but they were well nourished,
talking and happy.
At first the man did not understand.”
“It is simple,” said the Lord. “You see, they have learned to feed each other.”
Maybe that is what is heaven will look like. A place where
we learn to “feed each other.” As we celebrate this “Christ the King”
Sunday this morning, Jesus tells Pontius Pilate, “My kingdom doesn’t originate
from this world” (John 18:36A, CEB). While we might not know where this eternal
kingdom is, may we believe in it with all of our hearts. May we build God’s kingdom
here on earth, as we await the eternal kingdom of God to come. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment