Enough

Christ the King Sunday – November 25, 2012
John 18:33-37; Revelation 1:4b-8
With thanks to David Lose and workingpreacher.org for the idea for the arc of this sermon and the reminder that we are enough for God.  

Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

Today we are supposed to celebrate Christ the King. In this time of the church year we hear readings that remind us of God’s future for us and the world and we remember that Christ is enthroned forever, we need not fear the trials ahead, and that the kingdom of God will come. But I’m feeling a little skeptical after this Gospel reading.

Because Jesus himself refuses to answer the question, “Are you the king of the Jews?” And I don’t think it’s just because he wants to have a philosophical debate with Pontius Pilate about kingship and whose kingdom is where. Jesus specifically refuses the category of kingship. At the risk of challenging a long-held tradition of the church that one of Jesus’ primary roles is that of ruler, let’s look at what Jesus does say about the reign of God.

Perhaps first and foremost, Jesus says my kingdom is. Not my kingdom will be or my kingdom is coming or you need to do something to make it happen, but my kingdom is. In the midst of this crazy political scheming and oppression by the Romans, my kingdom is. In the midst of Black Friday craziness, and the rush of the American holiday season, my kingdom is. In the midst of wars and rumors of wars, and nations and peoples that resort too quickly to violence, my kingdom is.

What Pilate wants, and what we want, is a clear answer. We want a time and place when the kingdom will start. We want a timeframe for when our anxiety and cares and pain and sadness will end. We want a promised land that is waiting for us when we can let go and forget our cares and go back to the Garden of Eden. But what we get instead is a God whose reign happens in the midst of it all. We get an undefined, unclear picture of God at work around us all the time. A king would want to establish a boundary and make clear his intentions, make promises to those in the kingdom, defend them against the enemies. But this kingdom isn’t like that – it’s happening around us, in our time right now. Is that enough of a king for us?

And Jesus says that the he comes to testify to the truth. What that means in this situation isn’t exactly clear. What truth? The least Jesus could do in this situation is speak in plain English about what truth he has come to espouse. A king would declare the truth for the land and command that it be followed. A king would tell us what we should do, give us clear directions as a church to know what step to take next, where to expand our mission, what to believe, what’s right and wrong in every situation. But instead somehow the truth resides in Jesus himself and those who listen to his voice are in relationship with the truth. This kingdom is relationship focused and the truth does not reside in simple edicts from the king, but rather in the eating and drinking with friends and the setting free of the oppressed. Is that enough of a king for us?

In the reading from Revelation, this kingdom is made up of us. It is not decreed from an all-powerful ruler, but gathered together by the sacrifice of the one who is and who was and who is come. As Jesus points out, his band of followers doesn’t even attempt to save him. A king would choose the best and brightest. He would weed out the weak and the simple. He would choose the smartest and strongest. A king would avoid including the poor and the powerless. But Jesus makes a kingdom out of us, instead. No offense meant to any of us and our wisdom, strength, and wealth, but there are smarter, stronger, wealthier people out there. But here we are with the promise that we have been made into a kingdom – that same ambiguous, boundary-less, timeless kingdom that Jesus is trying hopelessly to describe to Pilate.

So where does having this kind of king leave us as we face the challenges of this world? When we are downtrodden, sick, in despair and grief, worried about the future for ourselves, our country, and our world, it would be nice to hear a clear declaration of kingship from God. It would be nice to have the best and brightest surrounding us. It would be nice to be able to go to church and say a prayer and have an answer. It would be nice, at least, to have a clear-cut description of what is in store for us beyond life on earth with pearly gates and golden streets, or whatever your favorite vision of heaven is like. But we don’t get that. Will what we do get be enough?

Instead of a glorious and commanding kingship, we get pointed back to a community of imperfect people and we receive a promise of God’s presence. We get pointed back to a table of bread and wine that isn’t even enough for a meal. So is that enough?

That’s perhaps the question we ought to ask ourselves as this church year comes to an end and we begin to turn our thoughts to what we know is coming – the baby in the manger. Is it enough for us? Is it enough for us that Jesus comes in weakness to eat with us, to love us, to forgive us? Is it enough for us that Jesus gives us this ambiguous, everywhere yet nowhere, now but not yet kind of kingdom? Is it enough?

My fear is that at least some days it is not enough for us. There are days when the world crashes in on us, when darkness seems to win. There are days when the news overwhelms. There are days when we need a king who steps in and fixes everything.

But while we are busy asking our questions and puzzling over this kingdom, God is holding us and our questions and fears, and holding our friends and enemies, and this fragile planet, all of it now and forever beginning to end. Without demanding the same answers of us that we demand of God, God welcomes us into this crazy, upside-down, boundary-less kingdom. God says to us – you are enough.

When you fail to live up to the person you were created to be, you are enough, you belong in this kingdom. When you run up against powers of this world that you cannot defeat, you are still enough and you belong in this kingdom. When you question whether God’s promises are enough, God offers you bread and wine with the words “for you” – you are enough.

This kingdom is not always what we want it to be. The king does not always exercise power in the way we think it ought to be done. Sometimes the one who holds all things from beginning to end, Alpha to Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come doesn’t seem like enough. But today and forever you are welcomed into that exciting kingdom. For God, you are enough.

-Pastor Steven Wilco