Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Pentecost
…I love the liturgical year.
It’s like living here in the Midwest
…all four seasons…each unfolding into the next
This ancient liturgical rhythm nurtures something in me
…it awakens me to the passing of time.
Today’s feast of Christ the King is not ancient
It was added to the liturgical year in 1925
In the aftermath of WW1
I searched “societal upheaval in the 1920’s”
And this is what I found:
“Isolationism, unemployment, and a series of terrorist acts provoked nationwide panic over communist radicalism. Alarm manifested itself in vigilante attacks on union rallies and in raids that rounded up thousands of immigrants for deportation.”
Sounds a little familiar;)
In this time when Czars, and Kaisers, and Kings were toppling
The Church asserts to the world
“Take heart…Christ is King…his kingdom endures forever”
This is a feast day of hope.
And hope is a perfect way to close the liturgical year
and begin again the hopeful season of Advent…
So today: Hope to Hope!
Our Gospel reading is a slice out of
what is called the “Trial Narrative” in John’s Gospel
It is scene 2 out of 7
Just to set the scene a little
Jesus has washed the disciple’s feet
They shared a last meal together
A meal around a table of freedom and service and peace
DO THIS in memory of me is Jesus’ final command
Jesus is in the Garden with his friends
In the garden this peace meets violence
Judas leads a “detachment”
…has a SWAT team kind of ring to it
There were soldiers, and police
And the text says
“They came with lanterns and torches and weapons”
Jesus meets violence with peace
And Peter messes up again
He draws his sword and cuts off the right ear of the high priest’s slave
…who was named Malchus
(I wonder why we get the detail about Malchus? It is important…he has a name…I imagine that at the time of the writing Malchus was part of the community…he became one of them. Which highlights just how wrong Peter was. If Peter’s way ruled the day Malchus would have been collateral damage)
Jesus is first put before Caiaphas, the Jewish authority.
And then comes today’s conversation between Pilate and Jesus
The obvious question that the narrative poses is
Just what kind of King is Jesus?
Jesus runs away from being made king in Ch 6
Kingship doesn’t appear to be what he’s after
What kind of King?
What kind of reign?
What kind of power?
What are we talking about here?
To put it simply
Jesus’ brand of King, Reign, and power is NOTHING that Pilate can possibly imagine
Here is what I believe to be true:
JESUS IS NOT THE NEW AUTHORITARIAN CEASAR/CZAR/KAISER OR KING
AND
WE…ARE NOT POWERLESS
So there will be NO “Christ is King so we are off the hook”
· Jesus is not THAT kind of King
· We are NOT powerless
· Jesus forgoes violence
· His army is made up of “feet-washers”
· Do this in memory of me
What settled in my this week is the question:
What informs the way I wield my allotment of power?
It is TOO EASY for me
Reflecting on this reading
to say
“I am not violent…I don’t bring weapons to rallies ready to fight those who don’t agree with me!”
NO…My style of violence is more subtle
I would call it “aggressiveness of mind and body”
Just last weekend I was on retreat with the women of St Bens
And from the get-go
The retreat leader got under my skin
Her language, her style, her energy…I didn’t like it---I didn’t like her!
In the first 15 minutes I had decided
…unconsciously until I reflected later…
to close my ears
I was pretending to listen
I found out last night (when I was having supper with some friends)
that my pretense was not at all successful
My friend, who was across the table from me at the retreat,
could FEEL my aggressiveness.
In the evening when I went home for the night,
I shared with Rob all the reasons the retreat leader got on my nerves.
I decided to skip Saturday and return for the final Sunday morning session.
At the close of the retreat
I overheard many women talking
about what they were taking away from the experience
All of it wise, and inspiring, and challenging
This is my confession of how I participate in violence.
How I weild my allotment of power
It is aggressive
It pretends to be silent
It spreads to those around me
And it costs me!
It costs me the Joy of Generous Listening
One more story to communicate my hope and prayer for how I can be different
How to do more than just try NOT to continue as always.
On my last visit to see my Dad
I was surprised to find that there was a 25 minutes wait for an Uber
That never happens
SO I check in at the Taxi stand…there too was a 20+ minute wait.
And just as I was grumbling to myself
A woman ahead of me in line
Asked me to join her ride
She must have heard me say my destination
and knew that it was very close to hers.
I am not making this up!
So for the next 12 minutes in the taxi
She told me of what a remarkable travel day it had been
How she had witnessed kindness after kindness
There was a story about a guy who lost his cell phone
And the someone who found it took the time to track him down
And the woman on the flight who gave up her prized aisle seat so that a family could sit closer together
And more
I have been flying a lot
I go to care for Dad
And yesterday I got home from Denver
after responding to an SOS from my Son and daughter in law
And I can safely say that no matter when you fly
Any day of airline travelling there will be plenty “aggressive” behaviors to focus on.
But this woman…
Not only did she choose to forgo aggressive thoughts/words/actions
She CHOSE to see the kindnesses
to see and to spread them to whomever she met!
SO full of the goodness of her day she paid the cab fare for both of us.
I want to have her eyes and her ears
I want to see and hear Christ’s kingdom of non-violence and peace
Early yesterday morning my son drove me to the Denver airport
It was the first time in 4 days that we had the opportunity to talk
For more than 5 minutes
He talked about his school where he is the principal
We talked about the church…his is a catholic school so he works for the church which has its frustrations
And we talked about Christ the King Sunday and approaching Advent
And somehow during this wandering conversation
Robbie mentioned that he regrets the new translation of Mary’s Magnificat
in the liturgy of the hours
The Magnificat is a prayer recited every evening
It is the Song of Mary
When Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth
The 2 pregnant women rejoice together
And Mary erupts in the song that begins with these familiar words:
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my savior,
For he has looked with favor on
The lowliness of his servant…”
Robbie’s disappointment came when the word “Magnifies”
was changed to “glorifies”
…“My soul glorifies the Lord…
Glorifies isn’t bad
But Magnifies is so much better!
It’s a bullhorn for our soul
Magnifies speaks to OUR power!
Like Mary
We are NOT powerless
Our souls magnify
That is for certain
But…What does my soul magnify?
(Well…I suppose it depends on the day)
But I pray
With you and for you
Let it be the Lord
Let it be the Lord who is a servant/foot-washing/King!
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