What kind of king would do that?

Text: John 18:33-38

My mother had many sayings. I bet your parents did too. Money doesn’t grow on trees. It takes all kinds. One day you’ll thank me. If so-and-so jumped off a bridge, would you jump off too? Just because you’re standing in a garage, it doesn’t mean you’re a car. (That one was my favorite.)

And then there was this one, "He would’t know the truth if it were standing in front of him." My mother said her mother always said that when she was talking about someone she wanted to warn her four daughters to avoid. I didn’t know until I was a grown up where that phrase came from.

As Jesus stood before him in his headquarters Pilate asked him: What is truth? He didn’t recognize it standing in front of him. But we know, because Jesus has already told us, that he is the way and the truth and the life.

Because, of course, Pilate, like many others, sometimes even his own disciples, didn’t recognize the kind of king Jesus was. As is often the case, Jesus comes along to upend things. The status quo. People’s attitudes. Even politics and religion. Would a king take off his tunic and wrap a towel around his waist and wash his disciples’ feet? Would a king shun power and instead preach about love and community and service to others? Would a king ride a donkey into town instead of a golden chariot? Would a king give himself up for his people and forgive the people who meant him harm and urge us to do the same?

We think of kings in terms of monarchs wearing fancy big crowns and sporting ermine cloaks and  living in sprawling castles. But for Jesus, a king is not concerned for himself but is dedicated to serving others. He is always looking out for the welfare of the marginalized, and yes, telling the truth. He was never afraid of the truth. Because for Jesus, the truth is that God adores us and will break through any barriers to get to us. The truth is that love and reconciliation is what God wants for us and wants us to learn that this is the foundation of life. The truth is that God sent Jesus to show us the way to live ourselves - the way to live for others - even if the cost is high. Jesus didn’t need any trappings, any castles, any army. He needed people to listen to him and through both his words and actions learn of God’s ways, learn what the kingdom of God is really like.

Here at St. James’s we are taking some time this month to contemplate what it means to live for others, to serve others, to really see others with compassion, and seek to be in relationship with them with humilit, and not with superiority. The work of this parish is to strive to show the world what Jesus wants for the world, for the people of the world, what the kingdom of God actually looks like. It looks like feeding, it looks like healing, it looks like serving our neighbors, it looks like building up community, it looks like working - doing - for the sake of others and not for ourselves. 

And it also looks like being there and holding one another up amid grief and loss. It looks like sharing joy. It looks like checking on those we used to see but who are not able to join us. It looks like doing that is an expression of caring. It looks like providing a place to gather with others to be fed, to experience the holy, to be moved and challenged. It looks like sharing what we have with others and not judging those who are different from us.

It takes all of us together to be the church in the world, to be the church right here in The Fan in the City of Richmond. The church is not about inhabiting a building. It’s about connecting with people, both friends and not-yet-friends, to hear their stories, to notice what is is they need to thrive and feel the peace of God amid the chaos and alienation and loneliness of living in a world that isn’t ever going to be able to give them that peace.

And so this month we have been hearing those stories of love, of service, of gratitude. Gratitude actually contributes to our sense of happiness and well-being. Practicing gratitude, even in times of our own stress, has lasting effects on our neurological system - it changes our brains. Studies show that people who are more grateful are also more attentive to how they express gratitude. 

Have you ever been in heavy traffic, restless to move ahead, maybe in a hurry, but then seeing someone who needs to move into your lane and is not getting a break to do so? And have you taken a big breath and decided to make room for them, realizing that you’ll still get where you are going and that if you were that other driver, you’d want someone to give you a break? And have you then experienced new calmness, noticed that your frustration with the traffic lessens or even goes away, at least for a while? Giving to someone else helps us disconnect with stress and anxiety. I had a mentor who said that whenever he gets anxious about money, he gets out his checkbook to give some of it away. He realizes that he has all that he needs, and that he is not going to become destitute by sharing what he has. His anxiety goes away - and someone else is going to benefit from that gift.

So today, we are asking you to consider just how much God has given you and to give back, to give to St. James’s so that through our ministries you will be sharing what you have with others. No matter how large or how small your gift may be, that gift will make a difference to someone else. 

You’ve been hearing stories all month that testify to that truth.