RCL Proper 34C:
The Reign of Christ
25 November 2012
Saint Faith’s Anglican Church
Vancouver BC
2 Samuel 23.1-7; Psalm 132.1-12 [13-18]; Revelation
1.4b-8; John 18.33-37 [38]
Twenty years ago this weekend I was leading a worship
workshop in a local parish. This parish
had a significant number of recent members who had little to no knowledge of
the Anglican tradition. The parish
leadership thought that a workshop on worship would be one stage in helping
this community grow in its understanding of how its distinctive character could
be expressed within the parameters of Anglican thought and practice.
One of the things that I was trying to do was to show
them that the lectionary was not a weight around their neck. I worked with them on the concept of ‘proclamation’
by noting that we speak of the ‘proclamation of the Word’ not the
‘readings’. In other words, I pointed
out to them that the Word of God could be proclaimed in word and song, in dance
and drama, in ways that would enhance the possibility that the Word would
actually touch those who heard.
So in planning the Sunday liturgy I asked them to include
one additional verse in the selection from the gospel according to John: “Pilate asked him, ‘What is truth?’” (John 18.38)
I then had them set up the reading as ‘reader’s theatre’ where three
voices would narrate the story: a
narrator, Jesus and Pilate. They thought
that this was great and the next morning the liturgy progressed well. At the end of the gospel, Pilate’s voice duly
asked the question, “What is truth?”
I was sitting in the congregation. I stood up and said, “I would like to answer
that question.” With this I went to the
lectern and began my sermon.
On this Sunday when we celebrate the reign of Christ,
when we proclaim that Jesus, to the exclusion of all other claims to our
loyalty, is ‘Lord’, the question, “What is truth?” rings as pressing as it did
two thousand years ago in Jerusalem and twenty years ago in Vancouver.
Those of you who participated in our inaugural book club
and who read The Lemon Tree will know
that the book is about truth --- but whose perspective on the truth? Should we look at the events of the last
sixty-five years from the Israeli perspective and celebrate the establishment
of a modern multi-party democracy that shares many of the values of Canadian
society? Or should we look at the events
of the last sixty-five years from the Palestinian perspective and lament the
callousness of Arab governments toward the plight of the Palestinians as well
as the continued loss of land, life and hope that seems to colour both Gaza and
the West Bank?
Despite the claims of religious and scientific
fundamentalists truth is like a multi-faceted diamond. We can agree that the gem is beautiful and
that it exists, but when we try to describe the stone we will quickly find that
our perspective will colour our perception.
This is not a counsel of despair but a reminder that truth is best
discerned when we seek as many perspectives on the question before us as we
possibly can.
For example, as the early Christians began to develop the
canon of the New Testament, they did not give into the temptation to preserve
only one account of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Among the competing perspectives, four
finally came to be held by the various communities to be authoritative: Mark, then Matthew and Luke, then John. But even as these four gospels were enshrined
within the canon, the tradition was careful to add an important phrase to each
title: They are the gospels ‘according
to’, a reminder that they each tell the story from point of view of a
particular author or editor who comes from a distinctive Christian community.
But all four tell the story of a Jewish rabbi who was
revealed to be not only a gift teacher and healer but ‘God among us’,
‘Immanuel’. All four tell the story of a
spiritual teacher who challenged the limits of his religious community and who
ran afoul of both the religious and civil authorities. All four tell the story of a man executed for
sedition who did not remain confined to the tomb but who was raised and
empowered his followers to change the world.
What is truth? The
truth is that Jesus continues to inspire women and men throughout the world to
work for justice and peace even if that work leads to persecution, imprisonment
and death. The truth is that Jesus
continues to work through small communities throughout the world who are
unwilling to accept the status quo
and are willing to work to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and free those who
are in spiritual, emotional and physical bondage. The truth is that Jesus continues to reign in
the lives of millions of people throughout the world despite the claims of
political ideologies and economic systems.
At our recent special synod on the proposed diocesan
financial campaign there were many voices.
Some were little short of despair as they described the state of their
congregations. But these voices were, in
my opinion, in the minority. While they
should not be ignored, they should not be considered the consensus. In many and varied ways throughout the day I
heard a more hopeful message: ‘We have
good news to proclaim. Let us work
together to proclaim it.’ In these
voices I heard the echoes of our proclamation of faith: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
As we approach Advent, I invite you to join me in
answering Pilate’s question. Let us
share with one another our perspectives on the truth that we celebrate this
day, the truth that “Since Love is lord of heaven and earth, how can [we] keep
from singing?” Let us speak the truth to
a world that seeks truth, sometimes in all the wrong places. Let us remember that the last word is not
spoken by the Pilates of our world but by God.
And that word is ‘yes’; ‘yes’ to you and to me; ‘yes’ to all those who
are seeking hope; ‘yes’ to the whole of creation. Amen.
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