Saint John 18:33-37
Unless you pay particular attention to the opening credits of television’s most popular comedy series you don’t know this man’s name.
I didn’t either until a couple of weeks ago when he was profiled on CBS Sunday Morning.
Chuck Lorrie is the creator of some of the most popular TV comedies “in the past three decades, including the original ‘Rosanne,’ ‘Cybill,’ ‘Grace Under Fire,’ ‘Mike and Molly,” and ‘Two-and-a-Half Men.’”
Even if you are a news, sports, and British mystery guy like me while you may have never watched more than a minute of these programs you have heard of them.
“And that’s not even counting what [Lorrie] has got going on now. ‘Young Sheldon,’ ‘Mom,’ and ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ [three shows that [together] average more than 40 million viewers a week.”
Even as Lorrie was making viewers laugh he was making co-workers cower with his infamous explosive temper that once got him labeled “The angriest man in television.”
He’s mellowed over the years and now refers to himself as a Teddy Bear.
It seems to me that there is a lot of fear exhibiting itself as anger in today’s Gospel.
We can see the fear on the angry faces of almost every member of the cast in order of appearance.
Anger is there on the face of Pontius Pilate who had been awakened at an early morning hour by a mob with a prisoner. His relationship with the people standing before him has been tumultuous from the start when he, full of himself, insulted “their religious sensibilities ... [by hanging] worship images of the emperor throughout Jerusalem and had coins bearing pagan religious symbols minted.”2
They ware not his supporters and Pilate was afraid that it is possible to lose control of this angry mob very quickly. If word of a Jewish revolt got back to Rome it would call his leadership abilities into question. It might cost him his job, his pension, his security, even his life.
We must understand that matters of religion do not matter to Pilate. He has only one legitimate concern, and that is whether Jesus poses a threat to Rome. If Jesus is assuming the role of king, that is treason—punishable by death.
However, Pilate can hardly imagine that this ordinary looking man would be trying to pass himself off as a king. His question to Jesus is really a mocking question of the crowd: “Are you the king of the Jews?” He is bating them and appealing to their sense of tribalism.
We know all about that. A leader who may be afraid keeps showing us his anger. Exploit divisions that may already exist and make them deeper. Play to the people’s fears.
The people in front of Pilate were exhibiting their fears in their anger as well. They too were afraid that they were going to lose everything.
Herod the King had curried their favor by rebuilding their temple. He didn’t do it out of any sense of religious obligation but because he saw the financial advantages. If the temple was magnificent people would flock to it and tourism in Jerusalem would prosper.
While the religious leaders saw the temple as the center of their worship life Herod saw it as his Disneyland. For him it was a tourist attraction. Think of it like that re-construction of Noah’s Ark in Kentucky.
With political leaders there is always a catch. For Herod the catch was this: He would build them a temple and they would give him peace. They would be free to practice their religion any way they wanted so long as they didn’t question the authority of the state.
If Herod found out that they were swearing their allegiance to another king there would be trouble. Big trouble. The people knew that! Even Pilate knew that! That is why he uses the title “King” for Jesus.
If the designation of Jesus as king was done to get the Romans involved they were now and their involvement was a two edged sword. Their fear and anger has forced the people into a Hobson’s choice. Is Jesus their king or is Caesar their king? Choose Caesar and deny their faith. Choose Jesus and lose whatever freedom they had.
Anger born of fear can lead us to terrible places. Anger born of fear can lead us to do terrible things.
It can lead some people to define truth as anything they want it to be. It can lead some to believe that anybody who opposes them should be locked up. It can lead some to want to separate families lest they, while searching for a better life, take jobs that few are willing to do anyway. Anger born of fear can cause us to call out the military to “protect” us from a group of men, women, and children who are fleeing their home counties for the lives. Anger born of fear can cause some to see a group so small that it wouldn’t even fill the average minor league ballpark as a national security threat. Anger born of fear can cause any who have a heart or fear for their mortal souls to look back at what they have done and be very, very sorry.
And today’s gospel tells us that anger born of fear can lead to the death of an innocent man.
Yet this innocent seems to be the only one in this little tableau to not be fearful or even angry. Instead, he seems to be the only one who is in control.
Instead of referring to Jesus’ trial and crucifixion as a Passion Narrative Father Raymond Brown in his book The Death of the Messiah calls it “The Book of Glory” in which Jesus comes to do what he ultimately came to do.
He came to do what he is recorded as doing today: Challenging the powerful.
Pilate, who may see himself as the most powerful man in the city, is ultimately the one Jesus puts on trial here.
When Pilate asks him sarcastically here, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus replies in effect, “Who told you that?”
At this point Pilate has to admit that he is just listening to the cries of a fearful, angry crowd. He is not his own person. He is not thinking for himself. He is just parroting what others have told him.
He will actually be doing the will of the high priest Caiphais who fear is so great of this itinerant carpenter that, in a moment of frenzy, he says to the crowd: “You know nothing at all! Nor do you understand that it is expedient and politically advantageous for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.”3
Kill this guy and we’ll have nothing to fear. Kill Jesus and we will have one less thing to be angry about. Kill this rabble rouser and maybe his crowds will go home and our nation will be safe. Kill Jesus and maybe, just maybe, everything will be great again.
It is not as Pilate asks “What have you done?” but a matter of what Jesus about to do. He is about to do that for which he was born and for which he came into the world.
Amidst the anger and fear of his crucifixion Jesus is about to show us a kingdom not built on anger and fear but a kingdom based on something else. God reign and rule begins with an act of redemption and love.
It begins with a conversation between Jesus and the two thieves hanging on either side of him. One is fearful and angry that Jesus won’t save himself and them. The other’s fear is not turned into anger but trust and absolute dependence. All he asks is that Jesus remember him. All he wants to do is to be remembered. In his fear of God all he desires is not to be forgotten.
Jesus promised him more than that. “Today you will be with me in Paradise. This is a solemn promise.” Jesus says.
That is Jesus promise to us not for sometime, somewhere, out there but for here and now.
When fear manifests itself as anger Jesus shows us a better way. Even from the cross he shows us that the way of God is the way of love that is so deep, and broad, and high that it can embrace the two thieves on either side of him.
Jesus is showing us that God’s love can’t be defeated by anger or fear but always triumphs.
Jesus shows us that God’s love always has the last word. Jesus shows us that even in the darkest hours of our national or personal lives God’s love will triumph.
It will triumph over despots, the Pilates of our day. It will triumph of the mindless amid the crowds that march out of fear born of anger. We hold on to faith that tells us that God’s love will ultimately win.
In Jesus we know that the love of God is for every single one of us. In Jesus we discover that God’s love is a stunning, beautiful, expansive love that is for everybody, everywhere.
It’s for you. Yes, it’s even for me. It’s for us when we are fearful and yes, even angry. God’s love never fails.
That is something that can give us a glimpse of paradise on this Sunday we celebrate the Reign and Rule of Christ. Christ’s love can reign over fear and anger on this Sunday, every Sunday, and every day of our lives if we would only allow it. Don’t you think?
Thanks for listening.
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1. Tony Dokoupil, writer, "’Big Bang Theory’ Creator Chuck Lorrie Reflects on His New Netflix Series," on CBS Sunday Morning, CBS, November 4, 2018.
2. Encyclopedia Britannica, , s.v. "Pontius Pilate: Govenor of Judea," accessed November 21, 2018, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pontius-Pilate.
3. St. John 11:49b-50. (AMP) [AMP = The Amplified Bible ]
Sermon preached at Faith Lutheran Church
Bellingham, Washington
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