Loving God you call us to hospitality
To live generously
Kindle in us a commitment to kindness
To justice
And genuine compassion
Song “Here I am to worship”
Let us in silence remember our faults and failings…
Christ have mercy on us, deliver us from ourselves and help us to
put right our lives.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer in our own language
Song “My dwelling place”
Reflection on John 18v33-37
We have been remembering this month, remembering those who have died on All Saints Day, remembering a man who tried to blow up parliament in the UK because of the persecution of Catholics at the time and remembering those we have lost in two wars that devastated the UK and much of the world.
Now we are remembering who we serve, who we are trying to follow. In this passage before Pilate, Jesus is being questioned about who he is. To a Roman governor he was probably just a nuisance, a rebel rouser. Pilate had no Jewish background so he doesn’t care about the Jews concerns about Jesus. In fact, Jesus constantly hides who he really is except for those who have ears to hear and eyes to see. In this day we like to follow gurus, leaders favourite Christian leaders/speakers, politicians, journalists, tv stars. But Jesus in contrast has a quiet power choosing a small group of people to love and nurture. He spends three years preparing a small group when he is taken away from them. Teaching, praying, healing and baptizing, eating and drinking with them. This is his style of leadership. The power is in its integrity. He was wisdom and truth. Jesus was not a king as we know kings, but a servant king who came to serve and not to be served.
Pilate asked him “Are you the king of the Jews?" Pilate is being sarcastic. Jesus says “You yourself, you say this”. Almost Irish! “Whatever you think!" Pilate doesn’t want to know the truth about Jesus, but is just playing games, “So did you work this out for yourself, or are you just copying what the Jewish authorities have told you?" Pilate in response says "Am I a Jew?" - "Are you my king?".
Jesus does not defend himself by answering the question "What have you done?", rather he answers the question asked about kingship. The fact that Jesus now answers the question, possibly indicates that he considers Pilate's enquiry genuine.
“My kingdom is not of this world". Jesus establishes that his role, as deliverer-king, is spiritual and not political and is therefore, not a threat to Roman rule, so not a threat to Pilate. He supports this claim with evidence. If he was a political leader, his followers would have violently resisted his arrest; they did not do so. Jesus' "guards" unlike Pilates, didn't take up arms to resist his arrest, and the one who did was told to sheathe his weapon. The Jewish leaders are the enemy, not the Romans.
Pilate says “You are a king, then!" But the title "king" is not one Jesus would choose himself. He is the servant king, but avoids the title. Jesus is speaking with a pagan Roman, not a Jew. His words, his truth is a mystery to the crowds, but to those who know who Jesus was, the mystery or truth was revealed. "Everyone who loves truth knows my voice". This then is the king we follow, encouraging us on a humble, patient way, speaking truth and having integrity, pilgrims on a journey to another world beyond this one. A king who has come to live with us, pitched up his tent among us to show us another way of being.
Our Prayers
We pray for peace in Belarus, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Syria, Ethiopia and for all those fleeing war and persecution, for those fighting climate change and those who we carry on our hearts and minds today... May we not fail you. Amen
Song “Shout to the Lord”
The blessing of God be upon you
On those you love and those you meet
This day and for evermore. Amen
With thanks to the ©Iona Community adapted
