King Baby

Christ the King Sunday, November 25, 2018

Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Burlington, Vermont

The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling

Theologian in Residence

Revelation 1:4b-8

John 18: 33-37

Let us pray:

            Come, Lord Jesus, and speak truth.

            For four years, I was part of a program called Education for Ministry, which was held weekly for nine months in the rector’s office. In his closet was the picture of a puppet, whose head was in a guillotine, and the words below it said, “The truth will set you free; but first it will make you miserable.”

I don’t know about you, but transitions and holidays can stir up a lot of feelings in me. At times like these, we can easily get emotionally out of whack, lashing out at others with angry and resentful words, overreacting to people rather than responding to them, and stuffing our feelings as well as our faces. Some of us refuse to talk about certain issues, or with certain people, or we just avoid them altogether. And yet, as a recent FaceBook post related, “Of course your family pushes your buttons…..they installed them.”

There is a description of a certain personality type called King Baby. It describes someone who thinks he (or she) is the center of the universe and expects everyone to do as they want. Like a king, they rule with single authority. Like a baby, they are emotionally undeveloped. Take for instance the young crown prince in Saudi Arabia. Mohammad bin Salman is only 33 years old and has been accused of ordering the murder of journalist Mr. Kashogghi. He has made unilateral decisions about changes in their culture and spent millions of dollars on questionable items. One might call him a King Baby.

I’m sure you can think of others just like him. What seems especially egregious is the use and misuse of power. And the responses of people around them. Presumably, the crown prince had ordered the death of this journalist, primarily because he did not like his public criticism. If true, the crown prince thought that because of his power, position, and wealth he could order someone to be murdered, and without consequences. Despite layers of denial and self-protection, cries of protest have echoed throughout the world.

The emperor of Rome ruled his empire from a distance, and with similar characteristics. Governors, like Pontius Pilate, were appointed over regions like Judea in order to extend the emperor’s rule. Pilate’s job was to prevent revolutions and maintain firm control over people of diverse cultures and faith. He also had the power to execute someone. Such was the case in Jerusalem at the time of this gospel writing.

The Jewish people in Palestine had a governing council they called the Sanhedrin. The “Jews”, often referred to in the gospel of John, were actually the Jewish leaders, the chief priests of the Sanhedrin, who ruled over their people with religious laws, and the power of their positions. They had a small police force, mainly for keeping order in the Temple. (HSB, p2027)

During the time of Jesus, the Jewish people often chafed at the high taxes of the Roman government and the demands of their own religious leaders; and so when they gathered together in large numbers, they would often protest. Some, like Barabbas, became well-known criminals. Others were known as prophets. During religious festivals tensions would run especially high, and so Rome would send more troops into the city to keep potential riots under control. Think about troops being sent to the borders of our country, or to major cities when racial tensions erupt.

Jesus had often angered the religious leaders because, like the crown prince, they did not like being publicly criticized. Jesus was part of those crowds that came for the Passover in Jerusalem, and when he arrived, people did not cry out, “Look! He is coming with the clouds” but rather “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Threatened by his power, the chief priests sent the Temple police to arrest him, but they were prevented by the crowds. And so they solicited Judas to betray him secretly, and then they accused him unjustly. Caiaphas, the chief priest, said, “It is better that this one man die than for him to cause trouble for all of our people.”

Truth-telling can make people angry, especially if it threatens their power or their image of themselves. And speaking truth to power can get you killed. Jesus was one of those prophetic messengers. Giving voice to the powerless, He spoke truth to the people in power, and the powerful people did not like it. “Truth that is pure and simple is the luxury of the zealot,” wrote Katherine Grieb, who teaches New Testament at Virginia Theological Seminary. And Jesus was zealous for God - for God’s power, not his own.
            Did you ever play truth or dare? It’s an old and classic party game when people take turns asking each other “truth or dare”? When someone chooses truth, they must answer the question truthfully regardless of how embarrassing it is. When someone chooses dare, they are given a task to complete. But I wonder, how do you know if someone is telling the truth?

“Baby boomers might also remember the TV show called Truth or Consequences, which started out as a radio program in 1940. Contestants are asked a thorny question, and if they get it wrong, which was typically the case, they had to participate in a stunt—which was the consequence.” (Claudia Gryvatz Copquin)

Enter Pontius Pilate and Jesus. Of the four Gospels, John provides the most detailed account of the encounter between Jesus and Pontius Pilate.           Jesus was caught in a game of truth or consequence between the religious leaders of the Temple and the Roman political leaders in Jerusalem. He dared to speak truth to power. And so, Roman soldiers and Temple police arrived on the Mount of Olives in the middle of the night to arrest him, his consequence for speaking truth. Despite Peter’s attempts to defend Jesus, he refused violence. “My kingdom is not of this world,” Jesus said. “If it were, we would fight against you.”

 Jesus was first taken to Annas, the previous high priest, who privately questioned Jesus. “Why do you ask me,” Jesus said. “I have spoken the truth and I have spoken it openly.” Transferred then to Caiaphas, and later, to Pontius Pilate, and not wanting to defile themselves, the chief priests waited outside, accusing Jesus of treason, and demanding the death penalty.

Unlike the other gospels, the gospel of John emphasizes that Jesus claimed to be a king, in opposition to the Roman emperor. Publicly ridiculing Jesus about his kingship, Pilate challenged the Jews to declare the Roman emperor as their one and only king. Soon after Jesus’ death, “Pilate was recalled to Rome for his own trial, facing accusations for cruelty and oppression. His callousness was legendary: if you could choose your judge, you would not want Pontius Pilate,” said Katherine Grieb. (November 10, 2015)

Pilate is famous for his question, “What is truth?” Here in the United States, when we’re brought to trial, people will raise their hands and swear on Bibles, promising "to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." So help them God. But as Katherine Grieb reminds us, "the truth is rarely pure and never simple. Not one of us sees with the eyes of God. Our truths are often partial, incomplete and biased.”

In scripture union on-line this week, Paul Oakley wrote, “ St. Paul describes a society in which it is difficult for truth to have a fair hearing. Similarly, the concept of truth does not sit well in twenty-first-century Western culture. It does not matter whether a statement made by a public figure is factually accurate or not – what matters is that it is repeated loudly and frequently so that people believe it and act on it. Ultimately, truth is not a statement but a person: Jesus. Our strategy is not to shout loud and long, but to reveal Jesus by integrity of word and life.” Paul Oakley (wordlive@scriptureunion.org.uk)
            “The Gospel of John uses the word "truth" more than any other book in the Bible. In the beginning, we remember that "the Word of God became flesh, full of grace and truth." And "for this Jesus was born and came into the world, to testify to the truth." Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. If you listen to me,” Jesus said, “you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”

We now officially begin our run-up to Christmas, when we remember that Jesus is our true King Baby, the Son of God, who came into the world as a powerless infant, who spoke truth to power as one of us. He is our Crown Prince, not of war and violence, but of Peace. Today, listen to the One whose words testify to the truth and so we pray, “Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under His most gracious rule.”