NEW RULE

November 22, 2015

Reign of Christ - Pentecost Last

2^nd Samuel 23:1-7

John 18:33-27

Revelation 1:4b-8

(prayer)

A couple of years ago, I was in the Los Angeles area for a church conference.  On a free evening, Patti and I were able to get tickets to go to the CBS television studio and be in the audience for Real Time with Bill Maher.

The format is to combine social and political topics with thought-provoking humour.

Bill Maher is well-known for his sarcasm, an atheistic worldview and his in-your-face commentary on the world.

Back in 2002, his show ("Politically Incorrect") was cancelled following Mather's comments that the 9/11 terrorists weren't cowards in that they were willing to die for their cause.  He contrasted that to launching cruise missiles from a warship 2000 miles away from its target.

He also has been a scathing critic of organized religion - as you can discover if you watch his hard-to-pronounce 2008 documentary movie: "Religulous".

As clergy person, you may wonder what I get out of Bill Maher.

Well, I am able to laugh at some the absurdities of my faith and religion in general.  But I also really like sarcasm as a form of humour and few do it as well as Bill Maher.

I was thrilled to be able to see him live.

One of the recurring segments on Real Time is what Maher calls, "New Rules".  He will often make short comments on current issues by saying that because of something, there should be a new rule someone should follow.

Here's a bit of what it's like.

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I had a bit of trouble finding an appropriate clip suitable for church because the show airs on HBO, so the language and subject matter is often crude.  I'll put the unedited clip on my sermon website - if you want the full effect.

Language and Content Warning

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All kidding aside, there is some real truth behind Real Time's New Rules.  That is...

When we learn to appreciate the impact of what is going on within our midst, we are wise to consider how our lives might be changed because of these experiences - to make conscious choices about the path we will travel.

The standards by which we design our life are always built up by whatever new learnings and insights we pick up along the way.

It is not always a smooth process.  Sometimes, we might be stubbornly reluctant to incorporate the new approaches into our life, because we are afraid of change or... we just can't imagine that the change (if we make it) will make any real difference and that may be too disappoint a prospect.

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It has been true in every age and it is certainly true in our day:  there are aspects of modern life and prominent assumptions that are in need of a serious attitude adjustment.

·         Yes - the mean global temperature is on the rise and 97% of climate scientists have concluded that human choices are making things worse, but I can't imagine being able to change enough that it will make a difference to the big picture.  What can you do?

·          Yes - war, and terror, and poverty, and incredible human suffering is not ideal, but can't imagine a way out of it that will not overly challenge my place in the world.  What can you do?

·         Yes - loving your neighbour makes a good sermon - a decent theory to ponder in the mind and soul - but have you seen how unlovable some people are?  What can you do?

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"Who am I?", Jesus asked his disciples.

"You are a great teacher.  You are a mighty healer.  You are deeply caring and compassionate.  You truly show us the heart of God.  You are a prophet.  You are the God-Anointed-King (messiah, christ)."

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"Are you your people's king?", governor Pilate asked Jesus.

"No kingdom that you can imagine.  I focus on what is true."

“Truth?  That’s a matter of opinion.”

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I appreciate that it might seem odd for us to be reading a Holy Week passage, just a few weeks before Christmas, but I love the fact that our lectionary cycle of bible readings invites us to explore the leadership and authority of Jesus at this time of the year.

As I said earlier, today is the last Sunday of the church liturgical year.  A new year starts next Sunday as Advent begins.  This final Sunday is called Christ the King Sunday or Reign of Christ Sunday.

But as Jesus told Pilate, my kingdom is like nothing in this world.

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But Pilate did not know how to respond to this idea.  Pilate could only view leadership and authority from his own experience.  The pax romanus: there could only be peace and order through 'might' - a superior force was the ultimate source of authority - when the threat of force is known, there will be peace.  The masses will be too afraid to challenge the leaders and there will be peace.  

This approach was effective and efficient.  It had brought the world that Pilate knew to its present state.  Anyone wanting to gain the authority must play that game by those rules.

If Jesus was a threat worth worrying about, he could be overpowered by violent force.

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The Roman leaders were used to two types of revolutionaries:

1     Violent revolutionaries: those willing to take up arms to defend their cause; and

2     Non-violent idealogues: who hoped to inspire change on the strength of their ideas.

If Pilate (or another leader) was dealing with someone in the first category, he would need to take out not only the leader, but also any followers who were also violently inclined in order to quash the movement's authority.

If the problem was of a non-violent nature, experience taught Pilate that he only needed to cut off the head.  Violently and publically eliminate the leader, and the passive, peace-loving followers will scatter discouraged.  The problem will go away on its own.

We can tell by the way our bibles describe what Pilate did, that the governor of Judea was not very concerned about any real violence coming from Jesus or his followers.

Jesus proclaimed as much in the conversation we read from John today:  If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.

Jesus was no real physical threat to his power.  The ideological threat was easy to deal with.

Jesus' pax christos (which we can describe as a 'peace through compassion') was no match for the pax romanus (peace through might).

These were the rules that Pilate knew. 

And he couldn't imagine authority  and leadership working... any... other... way.

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But Jesus didn’t see Pilate's rules as definitive.

Jesus had a New Rule.

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Pilate represents an empire whose foundation is might, whose reality is power, whose Caesar is god.

Jesus’ vision is of a different realm: one which is grounded in seeming powerlessness, whose leader is a servant.

With a word, Pilate can send soldiers to show the power the empire wheeled.

With gentle and powerful words, parables, about lost children, tiny seeds and surprising generosity, Jesus changes hearts and minds and souls.

This upsets the presumed notions of what power and authority are all about.

In the Realm of God about which Jesus preaches and teaches, selfless love and compassion rule.

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Pilate hopes to silence Jesus’ message with an humiliating act of capital violence intended to terrorize those who might be tempted to not feel total loyalty to Caesar in Rome.

But the pax christos is beyond intimidation.

The truth which Jesus says that inspires him is grounded deep within a relationship with the God of All.

As the early church would later share: the connection with God is unending.  Revelation 1:8 = The Lord God is... Alpha and Omega (Alef and Tav, A and Z, the first and last, beginning and end); the one who was, is and is to come - eternal. 

This was Jesus’ new rule about the true rule of God:

The compassion of God is... eternal, unending, un-intimidatable (if that’s a word).  Violence-fueled power does not separate us from the love of God (cf. Romans 8)

One of my favorite puns is to claim that God is a god of justice - just loves us.

Jesus knew this truth, so he was not afraid of Pilate and Pilate’s rules of empire.

If that was the way Pilate insisted that the world was supposed to work, then Jesus kingdom was not of this world.

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 Our scriptures today invite us to reflect on the nature of power and authority in our lives.

What is important to us?

What motivates us when we are given power to exercise? 

Do we (like King David) seek to be like the warming light of the sun on a new day - to bring comfort and growth into the world we share? 

David’s dying wish was that he would be remembered as a just and faithful ruler.  History may judge the totality of his actions differently, but he does point us to the best of our hope in God - the source of unconditional love and justice.

On this eve of advent - as we prepare to remember the birth of our servant king, we are grateful for the unending care and compassion of God.

And because of that, we should also accept a New Rule:  Whenever we claim to speak for our God, it had better meet the ‘love of neighbour’ test.  Even - especially - when the neighbour seems unlovable.

Let us pray:

God of our lives, reign over us and through us, so that your creation will know all beauty and wonder and hope.  Amen.

#106MV “I Am the Dream”