by Unvirtuous Abbey
Gospel Reading: John 18:33–37
For Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012—Christ the King Sunday
The King James Brown version of the Bible might say, “The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing.” And that’s what Jesus and Pilate are doing in John’s Gospel, the hardest working Gospel.
High-stakes Flaminco
The Gospel writer sets the stage apart from Matthew, Mark, and Luke with a group outside of the praetorium and Pilate shuffles back and forth trying to reconcile the antagonists.
There is a not-so-subtle dance between Jesus and Pilate as Pilate lobs questions at Jesus in such a way that he continually provides Jesus an escape from this situation; however, as Jesus has said elsewhere in John’s Gospel, “No one takes my life away from me; I lay it down of my own accord.”
After the lengthy American presidential process, many of us are anxious to stop talking politics. Even former Vice-Presidential nominee Paul Ryan said, in an interview with ABC News, “Aren't you tired of presidential politics? I know I am!”
Not true for a woman in Arizona who blamed Obama’s victory on the fact that her husband did not vote. To make her point, she chased him around a parking lot in their Jeep and ran him over.
A Christian Mantra?
Jesus states that his kingship is not political. “My kingdom is not of this world.” It’s a Christian mantra. Mantra’s are not considered magical; they are meditative. I’ve had several over the years: “Calm blue ocean.” “This too shall pass.” But, perhaps this year we need a helpful new mantra for all of us as the Christmas chaos approaches.
Who hasn’t stood in line at a coffee shop or a mall, and listening to the conversation or witnessing humanity at it’s less-than-finest—“My kingdom is not of this world.” As our hearts collectively break as we witness missiles being hurled back and forth between Israel and Palestine, we think— “My kingdom is not of this world.”
Lacuna of Truth?
Though vs. 38 is conspicuously absent (as this week's Beyond the Blog video points out what's up with that?), “truth” is an important theme throughout John’s Gospel. Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. Jesus says in John that, “The truth shall set you free” even if it costs you your life, and everything you hold dear.
More than just dancing, beyond recitation of mantras, testifying to the truth can exacta terrible toll. Eventually that’s what takes the life of Jesus. It’s interesting for us to note that Jesus is not executed for being a “king” but, instead, for referring to himself as God’s son. Roman Emperors could refer to themselves as divine, but not Hebrews from Nazareth.
The Hardest Question
We ask this question first of ourselves: are we dancing around truth, meditating on truth or dying for truth?
Unvirtuous Abbey appeared on the Twitter scene on August 6th, 2010. They are a slightly sarcastic, yet hopeful, group of monks. They try to elevate the conversation with humorous tweets about the Bible, God, and Jesus. They also pray about geeks, Guns and Roses, and Charlie Sheen. They have been interviewed by The Times -Union, The Practical Catholic and the Virtual Abbey. They consider themselves lucky to be among the guest bloggers of "The Hardest Question" and readily trade chores for the chance to write...anonymously, of course.
