2 Samuel 11:1-15; Psalm 14; Ephesians 3:14-21; John 6:1-21 (Preached for Hope Lutheran, Calgary)
This is an interesting gospel story we have today - one of the miracles of Jesus that finds its way into all four gospels, that is meant to be a reference to Holy Communion and to Jesus feeding the world. This is a gospel story that is just full of material to talk about, and full of opportunities to testify to God’s presence in the world.
But there’s one verse in particular that struck me this week, and that’s what I want to talk about. The people react very positively to this miracle of feeding, and talk about Jesus as sent by God into the world, the one who has been expected for a long time. And the verse I want to look at is v. 15, “When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” When Jesus realized the people were going to make him king, he withdrew.
It’s such an odd statement, and kind of buried in all the excitement over the miracle, but there it is. Jesus has the opportunity to become the king in a land that has suffered from oppression for centuries, that is currently being occupied by a Roman force that determines their every move and even regulates their worship. By being king, Jesus has the chance to fix everything and to overcome every injustice and to make Israel the kingdom of God - where there are no hungry, no poor, no oppressed, no sick, and no lonely. And yet Jesus says no.
Why would Jesus say no to this opportunity? Of course, we could say, “well, he had to die, or we wouldn’t have been saved,” but let’s put that answer on hold for a minute, and get into this a bit more deeply. Because there’s something going on here about power and about what we do with power and how we use it, and also about how power corrupts, that we need to look at. Because we may not die like Jesus did, and our death will not save the world, but we all, to one degree or another, have power, and how Jesus deals with power can teach us a lot about how we use our own.
So. Why did Jesus withdraw from being king? What was it about having power and using it did he not want? Well, to start with, kings in the Bible have never been that great. We all know the stories about King David and King Solomon and how great they were, but the Bible also presents a strong critique of these kings, even if we don’t learn these stories in Sunday School or confirmation. Look at King David. The great king, anointed by God, whose piety inspires him to want a house for God, this David is not as perfect as we like to think he is. David, blessed by God, has trouble with the ultimate power that he has as king. We see it in the story about David and Bathsheba, when we see David not only have sex with another man’s wife, without her explicit consent, but arranges to have her husband, one of David’s own soldiers, killed at the front so that David’s actions won’t be found out. And yes, we know that David repents greatly, but let’s not get there quite yet. The point is that even God’s anointed king can’t handle the power he has been given without destroying those around him.
And then there’s King Solomon, whom we look up to as the model of wisdom and piety. He built the first Temple for God, he solved knotty ethical dilemmas, and is considered to be the author of the book of Proverbs. But what else did Solomon do with all of his kingly power? Well, 1 Kings 5 tells us, “King Solomon conscripted forced labor out of all Israel.” When you add up all the numbers, King Solomon, whom God appointed to be in charge of the well-being of God’s people of Israel, forced one hundred and eighty thousand Israelites into slavery for seven years. Solomon, with all his power, enslaved Israel rather than caring for it.
So it’s no wonder that Jesus did not want to be King over Israel. Our human reality is that we do not do well with power. “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This is true of kings, and this is also true of us regular folk. We may not be the rulers of nations, but we are often the monarch of our own particular little world, and as such, we have the same kind of power. Each of us is regularly placed in situations where we have power, and more to the point, where we have the power to damage others. Maybe not literally, as David and Solomon did, but in emotional or spiritual ways. Who among us has not had a moment, even a brief moment, where we used our position of authority - whether as a boss, or as a supervisor, or as a parent, or even as a grandparent - to impose our own will, to make things the way we think they are supposed to be? Who among us has not taken an opportunity to fix a problem to our liking? Who among us has not said or done something to someone weaker than ourselves, simply because we had the power to do it, even if we immediately regretted it afterwards? As Christians who call ourselves both saints and sinners, we acknowledge that there is something within us that engages our own power in often destructive ways. We know both through others and through our own experiences, that when we have power, we do not use it well.
But, you might ask, if Jesus was king, wouldn’t he change that? Couldn’t Jesus be a king without destroying lives as everyone else does?
It’s a good question - and of course now we can argue that if Jesus were king, he wouldn’t have died the way he did. He certainly wouldn’t have died as a subject of the ruling power, or in humiliation as a criminal. But then we would have come to believe that the best way to heal the world is through the use of power, and in attempting to be like Jesus, in attempting to be faithful Christians and follow our Lord, we would have attempted to make ourselves kings and queens - even more than we already do - and justified it by claiming that Jesus already did it - even more than we already do.
There’s a scene from a movie, which comes from a book, and if you haven’t seen the movie or read the book, you’ve definitely heard about it. It’s Lord of the Rings. It is an epic story about power - about who gets it, how it should be used, and the consequences of it. Power, in the book, takes the form of a ring, which gives to its wearer ultimate power - the power over life and death, the power to control people’s will, and the power to shape the world into whatever the wearer of the ring desires. And near the beginning of the book, there is a scene where all the rulers of the world, as you might say, debate what they should do with the ring. They know that if it falls into the wrongs hands, the worst possible destruction would come upon the land, and the evil enemy, Sauron, would have ultimate power forever. And so the argument begins - what to do with the ring? And one man, Boromir, who is a good man, and wants the world to be a better place, and hates the darkness of the enemy, and has all the best intentions in the world - he wants to keep the ring and use it against the enemy. His argument is that you can only fight power with more power.
And so we ask, what is so wrong with that? If we are good-hearted and well-intentioned and if we care for those around us, and seek justice, and want to do good in the world, what is wrong with having power? What is wrong with using power? Why didn’t Jesus use his power to perform miracles of food and healing to overthrow the Roman Empire (bloodlessly, of course)? It would have made a better world for everyone. Why did Jesus turn away from that power?
Well, as it turns out, there is only one way to handle power. There is only one way to use power so that it gives life to others, and not death. The only constructive, creative, life-affirming and life-giving use of power is to give it away. It is completely counter-intuitive, but that’s how power works. It only works for good when it is not kept for one’s self and when it is given away to others.
This is the reality that Jesus shows us. That the power of rulers and kings and queens, the power of taking charge and taking over, the power of running the show and making the best decisions - this power is not for humans to use. It fails us. It traps us in its evil. But Jesus shows us how to overcome this kind of power. Jesus turned away from those who wanted to make him a king, and instead, Jesus turned toward Jerusalem. The writer of the Gospel of John describes this story as taking place near the festival of Passover, and for the Gospel writer, Passover is synonymous with Jesus’ death. Passover is when Jesus died. Jesus turns his face away from kingly power, and towards the power of weakness. Jesus uses his power, that of multiplying the loaves and fishes for the crowds to eat, to give that food away. Jesus blesses the food to make it holy in Holy Communion and then gives it away to each of us. And in Jerusalem, Jesus uses his power and strength to see him through toward dying on the cross, and then gives the new life that was a result to each of us. Jesus turns away from power that would make him stronger and give him power over everyone, and instead turns his face to the cross, and in doing so, gives up all his power so that everyone else can share in it.
And Jesus calls us to do the same. To live as a Christian is to live a life that constantly turns away from power, and gives it away when we have it. The Christian life is about letting go of our desire to be in charge of everything, no matter how good of a job we might do, and to let go of that power.
So how will you give it away? How will you follow Jesus and give your power away?
Jesus gave away his power by asking other people for their opinions - he asked Philip where they should buy bread, even though he knew what was going to happen next. So, try that. In the next conversation with others, ask them for their opinion. Give them the power to change the future. Let others have the last word. Let others speak for themselves. Let them make decisions for themselves without offering advice. Give away your power by giving others autonomy.
And so Jesus calls us, we might even say Jesus empowers us, to give our power away. Only power that is given away has the power to bring life, and Jesus gives us his power, through baptism and through the blessing of food in Holy Communion. Jesus gives us his power to go out and to serve others - to give them our power - so that, one day, as everyone who receives power gives more of it away, and they in turn give it away, and so on and so on, we might all participate in the healing that Christ offers, and we will all be satisfied, with more than enough for everyone. Just as everyone who ate Jesus’ food was satisfied with more than enough left over, the same is true with the power that Jesus shares with us. Jesus’ power is yours. Thanks be to God. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment