November 24, 2024
Revised Common Lectionary
2 Samuel 23:1-7 or Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
Psalm 132:1-12 (13-18) or Psalm 93
Revelation 1:4b-8
John 18:33-37
Lectionary for Mass (RC)
Daniel 7:13-14
Psalm 93:1, 1-2, 3 (1a)
Revelation 1:5-8
John 18:33b–37
For many months before the recent presidential election in the U.S., voters weighed the positions and considered the qualities of the candidates—and now they have made their choice. Today, less than three weeks after the U.S. presidential election, many church communities celebrate a feast in honor of Christ the king and of his reign. While Jesus never sought political office or authority, the scripture readings for today do present a view of leadership and power—one that is quite different from the discourse that has dominated this election.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus proclaimed the coming reign of God in which the lowly would be raised up and the powerful cast down. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus comes face to face with the power of the Roman authorities as he is accused of subverting imperial authority with claims of kingship. Pilate, the representative of Roman power, encounters this itinerant rabbi from Nazareth, whose “kingdom is not from this world” (Jn 18:36).
In the terse dialogue between Jesus and Pilate, battle lines are drawn over truth. Which holds greater sway: the “truth” of Roman domination or the “truth” of God’s rule? What Pilate is missing here is that “truth” cannot be reduced to a set of propositions. Jesus had revealed this mystery to his disciples just a few short hours earlier, declaring, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6). Pilate—and the power he represents—fail to recognize that Truth is standing right there.
Pilate would appear to have the upper hand, but the Gospel of John portrays the cross as the throne on which Jesus is glorified and reveals his sovereignty as he is “lifted up” and “glorified.” His rule is expressed not in domination and conquest, but in love. Christ is the ruler who pours out his blood and lays down his life for others. His death is a witness to the truth of God’s rule.
Unlike early generations of Christians, many North American Christians have a voice in the political process and even participate in civic leadership. Today’s feast reminds us that as disciples of Christ, our first allegiance is to the reign of God that Jesus came to announce and inaugurate. In God’s reign there are no national boundaries, no political parties, and no divisions by race, class, language, or gender. Proclaiming the reign of Christ today involves rejecting systems that divide or exclude. As members of Christ’s rule, we are called to act with and on behalf of those without power or privilege, with confident trust in the God “who is and who was and who is to come” (Rev 1:4b, 8).
The short passage from Revelation that we hear today suggests that Christ’s coming and Christ’s rule are not just future events; rather, they are already being accomplished in the present. Jesus Christ is “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth” (Rev 1:5). Even now we participate in the rule that he came to establish; he has “made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father” (1:6).
No matter who our political leaders may be, Christians are called to embrace the truth of God’s reign, in which divine favor is poured out on the poor, the grieving, the peacemakers, the pure in heart, and those who hunger and thirst for justice. Even now, we are to live and act with confidence that the Lamb who is seated on the throne has already begun to rule, holding ultimate sovereignty and dominion.
A Hymn for Today: “Christus Paradox”
To proclaim Christ as a king requires believers to embrace the paradox portrayed in today’s readings: Jesus is condemned and executed by the power of the Roman state, yet he is the bearer of truth and the ruler of the world’s rulers. United Church of Canada minister Sylvia Dunstan, FHS (1955-1993) titled this text “Christus Paradox,” because it expresses this and other seeming contradictions that are revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Listen here to a recording of an arrangement by Alfred Fedak.
You, Lord, are both Lamb and Shepherd.
You, Lord, are both prince and slave.
You, peacemaker and sword-bringer
Of the way you took and gave.
You, the everlasting instant;
You, whom we both scorn and crave.
Clothed in light upon the mountain,
Stripped of might upon the cross,
Shining in eternal glory,
Beggar’d by a soldier’s toss.
You, the everlasting instant;
You, who are both gift and cost.
You, who walk each day beside us,
Sit in power at God’s side.
You, who preach a way that’s narrow,
Have a love that reaches wide.
You, the everlasting instant;
You, who are our pilgrim guide.
Worthy is our earthly Jesus!
Worthy is our cosmic Christ!
Worthy your defeat and vict’ry.
Worthy still your peace and strife.
You, the everlasting instant;
You, who are our death and life.
Text: Sylvia G. Dunstan, 1984 © 1991, GIA Publications, Inc. Used by permission under OneLicense # A-729857
Tune: PICARDY
Image Credit: Christ with Beard, Catacomb of Commodilla, Rome, 4th cent.
“Word and Song: A Lectionary Reflection” is written by the Executive Director of The Hymn Society, Rev. Dr. Mike McMahon. For his full bio, click here and scroll down to the “staff” section.
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