The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to Matthew,

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”

Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written,

‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’

“Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”( Matthew 11:2-11)

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Can you believe it, it’s almost Christmas?   

I’m not ready!  I  am not ready in terms of the usual Christmas stuff  – buying gifts, planning dinners, or visiting friends, and here it is December 15 th.

I am not ready in terms of my spiritual preparations. Christmas is barreling down the road and I haven’t really thought about it.   And I am not ready in terms of what I expect this Christmas to accomplish in my life.

We have had plenty of warning, haven’t we?

In the market place, Christmas selling began almost before Hallowe’en was over.

In the church, we have already had three Advent Sundays counting today so I ought to be ready.

And I don’t want Christmas to go by in a rush, a rush of spending and eating and driving from here to there and there to here. 

I would hate to think that when it was all over, all that had happened was that I was deeper in debt.

I wonder if maybe it is time to rethink what I expect to get from Christmas.

What are you expecting from Christmas?

I heard a story about a little girl who sat on Santa’s lap, and when he asked what she wanted for Christmas, she said,” Another ten megabyte of ram.”

When Santa asked why, she said,” So I will have enough memory to be able to play the game my dad is getting me.”

It’s a time when children think their dreams will be fulfilled. They can ask for the thing dearest to their hearts, and Santa will bring it.

But what are you expecting? 

To be more exact, what do expect from the Coming of Christ, this year?   The usual?

A warm feeling when you sing the carols?  An enjoyable service? It will be good to see the church full, won’t it?

It really is special to be in church Christmas Eve. But that special atmosphere, or ambience, shouldn’t be all that we expect.

One of the  things I tell couples when I am preparing them for marriage is that when they leave the church after a beautiful wedding, and after the three or four hours with the photographer, and the reception and all the flattering toasts, and after the honeymoon in  some tropical paradise;  after all that I tell them, they will come home to real life. They will see each other first thing in the morning, she with no make-up, and he, unshaven, and hair uncombed. They will have to wash the dirty dishes, do the laundry – even pick up after each other.

So although the magic of the wedding day is fine, there had better be something else there, for when it wears off. 

And as a wedding is just a beginning, and right afterward, comes life, Christmas is also a beginning,  and right after comes life.   So for us too there had better be something else there for when Christmas wears off.    

Because otherwise, there will be a big let down when you stuff all the wrapping paper into a garbage bag, and eat what is left of dried out  turkey.

If you have expected the wrong thing, that is. 

John the Baptist seems to have expected the wrong thing from the Messiah.  

He sent his disciples to ask,” Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

He wasn’t sure.

He had prophesied the coming of a judge with a winnowing fork in his hand  someone who would sort the wheat from the chaff and throw the chaff into the fire.  A stern judge.

But this Jesus was a man of mercy.  He brought news of a loving and forgiving God.   He didn’t sound like a Messiah  when judged against John’s expectations.

Jesus didn’t sound like a Messiah when judged against the expectations of the religious rulers either.  Or of the people.

The people wanted someone who would  be strong enough to overthrow the Romans,  and the religious leaders wanted someone  quiet enough not to cause trouble.

Jesus didn’t do what the church leadership expected a Messiah to do, and he was unwilling to be what the people wanted him to be, so he was rejected.

They didn’t want the real thing, did they? They wanted a Messiah who fit a certain image, and if they couldn’t have that, then they didn’t want in. 

I saw a television presentation once that looked at the life of Lana Turner. Does anyone here remember her? She was the original  sweater girl. Her picture graced the locker of many a soldier during the Second World War. She was a movie star if ever there was one.

Miss Turner was married seven times.  One of the men she married was a mobster by the name of Johnny Stampanato. He was abusive to her.   See,  Stampanato had fallen in love with the movie star, Lana Turner – not the person, Lana Turner. 

He wanted the Hollywood image, not the real thing.  

That story is a perfect illustration of how, how if someone  – even God – doesn’t fit our expectations, then we reject them.

Next week, there will be a lot of people here who do not normally attend. I am glad. I am glad that once more God gives us the opportunity to minister to them, and to welcome them.

What do they expect from this church? 

What do you expect from Jesus? 

Is he just a part of the mythology  of Christmas? Or is he real to you?

What do we   –   people who are here every week – or close to every week – what do we expect to find in Jesus?

Does what we know of Jesus fit our expectations? 

I guess that the determining fact of Jesus is that he doesn’t fit anyone’s expectations.

He doesn’t fit to the extent that over the centuries, people have had to find ways to present him that fit what they want. 

Like paintings of Jesus that show him as a Caucasian  sometimes even with blond hair and blue eyes.

Like when ambitious leaders used his name to conquer and oppress.

Like when a long line of Inquisitors from the 12th to the eighteenth century used force to make people follow their particular expectations of Christ.  

It’s very tempting to make Jesus into something that suits us, rather than looking at the real man, the real Christ.

I remember seeing a television program that looked at the phenomenon of a faith revival in the United States. The camera and interviewer went to a service and spoke to a woman who, it transpired, had been brought up by an abusive father.  In Jesus she saw the loving father she wanted her own father to be.  

Somewhere, I read about a sister in a convent greeting a newcomer  to the order by saying,” Imagine, we are in love with a two thousand year old man.”

We can look to Jesus for many things. 

And that’s alright, provided we don’t take our bat and ball home when he doesn’t do what we want Him to do.

The Bible presents Jesus to us as a man who went against the rules  when the rules became oppressive.    So don’t expect to find Jesus where everybody has to obey the rules, or else! 

The Bible presents Jesus as a man who had compassion for those with needs.     So we shouldn’t expect to find Jesus where compassion is in short supply.

The Bible presents Jesus as a man who healed the wounded.   

So we can’t expect to find Jesus among those who hurt others.

The Bible presents Jesus as one who talked about a loving and forgiving God.      So we would not expect to find Him  where condemnation and non-acceptance of others is the order of the day.

But the Bible presents Jesus as someone who loved children, so God help those, who lead little ones astray.  It would be better for that someone to have a  millstone tied around their neck and to be cast into the sea.

And the Bible presents Jesus as someone who sees us as the precious children of God, and gave His life for us.    So don’t expect to find him among those who use others as objects. 

The Bible presents Jesus as saying,” I will be with you, always, to the end of the age.”

All these things we can expect of Jesus.

And if we expect all these, then we will not be disappointed.

So come Christmas, let’s celebrate His birth, let’s sing His praises, let’s welcome Him into this world  – God knows he is needed  – and let us have a loving, wonderful, Christ – filled Christmas, and  amidst all that, let us look with joy toward the coming of the real Christ……… the Messiah.

Amen. 

The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to Matthew

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.’”

Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:1-12

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Did you know that more people are living now than have lived since the human race came into being? 

Did you know we are living in a golden age?, More people are living longer, than ever before. More people are well-fed than ever before. Disease is less a killer than it ever was.

However, as each object has its shadow, so does each achievement of this age, have a shadow.

Six million Chinese have been lifted out of poverty by the communist government, over fifty or so years.

An outstanding achievement by any measure.

But many others, ethnic Uighurs, had been  confined in prison camps where they will be compelled to give up their religion, and learn to be obedient subjects.

Many diseases have been virtually eliminated  –  smallpox,  consumption, diphtheria, scarlet fever, typhoid, cholera. Ringworm.   – but new diseases have materialized.   Fifty years ago, who had heard of AIDS or Sars, or flesh eating disease? Or Covid

And  Measles seems to be making a come back.

In a lot of areas where we thought the human race had made irreversible advances, we seem to be slipping back. 

Countries still invade countries. Terrorists kill hostages. In many places, civilization has been revealed to be only a thin veneer.

We are just human beings, with our frailties, our faults, and our insecurities, so it’s only  natural that we will make mistakes, and mess up as individuals.

And since human beings comprise governments, organizations and other institutions they will be messed up too.

A friend of  mine came into work one morning and told me that he was in the dry cleaners situated at a busy intersection and the policeman who had been directing the traffic outside, came in to the store, red-faced and frustrated.

The traffic he had been attempting to direct was tied up in knots.

Taking off his helmet,  and mopping his brow, he said, “I figure I’ll let them sort it out for themselves for a while.

They are probably better left alone.”

Similarly, I read once, about the options open to the government in a particular situation.

The suggestion was made that the government might only make things worse by interfering, so it would be better to leave things alone. 

So  we human beings, whether acting individually or in concert with others,  for all our vaunted technology,  all our learning,  all our over-weening confidence, can’t do right for doing wrong.

Isaiah, in the Old Testament reading today addresses Judah at a time when that nation has got things wrong.  

And how!

The Assyrians had conquered them.

Life was hard.

But Isaiah reassures that God will deliver them, and restore their sovereignty, and He will do this through a Messiah whom he will raise up from the root of Jesse.

Jesse was the father of David, so talking about a shoot growing out of the stump of Jesse, means someone will be born of the house of David.

That someone will be the Saviour of Judah, and of Israel.

He will be someone with wonderful attributes. He will restore the nation to greatness, and will bring  peace and security. He will do what kings and presidents have not been able to do.

Reading this excerpt from, Isaiah, along with today’s psalm extolling the righteous king,  we can see the prophetic reference to the person that John the Baptist is also announcing – Jesus Christ. 

Isaiah talks of a shoot that will grow from the stump of Jesse. 

Jesus is a descendant of Jesse.

Isaiah also tells us that on this man will rest the Spirit of the Lord.

Do you remember the baptism of Jesus, when the dove landed on his head?  The Spirit of the Lord?

And the promised Messiah has some specific attributes. He has wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, and the knowledge and fear of the Lord.

His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. (Fear here is synonymous with awe, obedience, trust and worship.)

Wisdom, power and understanding, are attributes of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Jesus.

We are told further, that He shall not judge merely by what the eyes can see, but he will look below the surface, into the heart.

That describes what we know of Jesus, doesn’t it?

“Righteousness will be his belt, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.” In other words his righteousness will be obvious, and so will be his faithfulness.

Again, Jesus.

But what about the reign of this king; this Messiah?

Well, with beautiful imagery, Isaiah tells us that peace will be universal. It will cover the earth and all that lives on it. 

Isaiah uses images of animals co-existing with their traditional foes. He shows us a wolf living with a lamb; a leopard and a kid; a cow and a bear.

In fact, things will be so wonderfully peaceful and serene that a child will not be bitten by a snake, even though playing by its den. In other words there will be nothing to fear in this new world order.

Under the reign of Jesus Christ, there will be peace between all things on earth.

The predator animal will no longer prey on the weaker animal.

Living in the city, away from the forests where some wild animals still live, we are not aware of that sort of danger, except when we read in the newspaper, of some mishap in the bush.

Predators belong in the wilds, whereas we live in the city.

But there are predators in the city, aren’t there?

Human predators.

In discussing a man due to be released for parole, a case worker described him as  a predator.

A danger to society.

Today’s human predators are more to be feared than any animal predators.

They prey on children, on women, on anyone weaker than themselves and they hide in the shadows, and in internet chat rooms. 

But on the day when the Messiah rules, such behaviour will have been eliminated. 

Women, children, hostages, shall no longer be  exploited. They will no longer be oppressed. They will no longer live in fear.

On that day there will be peace – a palpable peace – a peace that can be sensed  – felt – enjoyed.

We are told that this will happen because the earth will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord – covered in that knowledge, in fact – as the waters that cover the sea.

People will know the Lord, the world over.

His name will be written on their hearts. 

His love will be known.

His rule will be known.

All over the world.

Now whether you choose to look at this text as foreshadowing the end of the world as we know it, and the beginning of the reign of  Jesus, or whether you choose to look at it as a somewhat  allegorical description of the inner peace that comes from knowing  the Lord, it doesn’t matter, the result is the same.

Because we are given hope, as the Israelites were given hope.

This is a message of hope for these times, just as it was a message of hope for those times.

It brings us to an expectation of the coming of Jesus Christ, we will remember and celebrate this Christmastide. 

It brings home to us that in a world where human beings with intelligence, with power, with ability, still mess things up corporately or individually,  there is yet hope.

There is a wonderful hope in what we know of Jesus Christ, Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Saviour, Redeemer, Son of God.   

There is wonderful hope that with his help, with his love and direction in our lives, we can try again to get it right.

Again and again.

When I was a little boy, and uncles or aunts would stop by for a visit, the conversation would often turn to, ” Guess what our Trevor did now.”

And I provided plenty of fodder for such conversations.

But you can imagine how I felt.  How embarrassed I was.

People I loved and admired were being told the latest episode in my young life.

Not now. Not any more.

There is reassurance in Christ, that as human as we are, and as many times as we mess up – that many times and more  – will we be forgiven.

And not only are we forgiven when we mess up, but even the memory of what we have done is cast away by God, as far as the east is from the west.

Those things we did won’t be thrown at us; brought out at embarrassing times; held over our heads.

They are gone. Period.

That’s what we are promised,  as in this second week of Advent, we anticipate the coming into this world of the child Jesus.

Hope for it.

Look for it.

Prepare for it.

Christ  is coming.

And of Him who comes. we are told: 

“He shall live as long as the sun and moon endure, from one generation to another.

He shall come down like rain upon a  mown field, like showers that water the earth.

In His time shall the righteous flourish.

There shall be abundance of peace till the moon shall be no more. He shall rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.”

Praise His wonderful Name.

And Amen.

Jesus said to the disciples, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” Matthew 24:36-44

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Paul warns us today in his letter to the Romans that we shouldn’t get drunk, or quarrel with each other, or be vulgar. He wants us to live our lives as if the world could end, or our life could end, tomorrow.  

And the way things are going in this world, today, right now, it could be sooner than we think.

Maybe that’s what Advent is for – in preparation for  Christmas, maybe  we should take a good look at ourselves – at who we are, and what we are –  and see if we have slipped into doing stuff we shouldn’t be doing. 

As children of the light we need to be ready for the coming of the Lord.  And believe me, no-one knows when that will be. Jesus told us that God alone knows when that day will come. 

It could be today,  tonight,  tomorrow, or a week on Friday.!!

I know that lots of  people don’t lock their doors, and I also know of two  different couples  both of whom were out back and came in, in one case to find they had been robbed, in the other case that the robber was still there.

That’s how the  Lord will come  – like a thief in the night, or as in this case, in the day – just when we least expect it.

Pow! There He is!

You might say,’ He can come when He likes, He won’t find me doing anything wrong.  I am living my life in such a way that I won’t be caught out in  a sinful act.’   And that’s good.

But the bigger question is, “Will you be caught out in a righteous act? “

Will he find you actively helping to build the kingdom?

The fact is, that our church Christ Church, like many, isn’t growing as it should be.

If things don’t change in the next five to ten years, the church could close.

The time capsule that was put out there a year or so ago, won’t have had time to get dusty.

What should we be doing about that? And I don’t mean dusting it.

And if we aren’t doing anything about our lack of growth, then who is ?   Doing something about it? 

Luckily, we have an army of people. People who were called by God to be in his army;  people who have been schooled in the Bible – they hear it every Sunday they are in church.

We have people who have listened to innumerable sermons; people inspired by the beautiful words heard in hundreds of hymns;. people who have been promised that when they have need, the Holy Spirit will be there to help them with that need.

This army is comprised of people from many different backgrounds, and with many different skills. There are businessmen and women.  There are nurses, teachers, managers, firemen, engineers, farmers, computer experts, bakers, cooks, electricians, plumbers, accountants, school bus drivers, finance experts, and so on.

Where is  this army?  You ask?

It’s right there in your church.

It’s you and I. We are that army, Or at least a regiment, or platoon.

Someone said once, in a planning meeting that our biggest asset is ‘us’.   Not  the Rector. Not the church building, as beautiful as it might be.  No, it’s “Us.”  You and me.

She said that we should be persuading spouses who don’t accompany us to church, to come out anyway. We should call on newcomers in the area and take a pie, introduce ourselves, offer help, and tell them we are from the church down the street. Give them one of our leaflets. 

We should be bringing grandchildren to Sunday School or if we don’t have grandchildren ,our neighbor’s children.

Workmates should know from our impeccable conduct, our fairness and scrupulous honesty, and our forgiving nature, that we are Christians.  

The Sunday service is, hopefully, to charge you up for the coming week so that you can show His face –  the face of Christ – out there in the world, talking the talk, and walking the walk. 

You may not have been to a baptism preparation or baptism  for a baby which is to be baptized:  you may have – but here’s what I say to the parents  having a baby baptised, and it makes a powerful point.

Part of the baptismal prep includes why we give a candle to the child.

I tell them about the symbolism of the lighted candle – it shows that in our baptism we pass from darkness into light – and then I put it in its box, and tell them that most people will throw it into a drawer and forget about it.

But I suggest that instead of throwing it in a drawer, they put it in the middle of the child’s birthday cake. Not to let it burn away, but just to have it there for a while. 

And not the first birthday, and not the second birthday. But maybe by the third birthday,  the child will ask, “Mommy, why do we have such a big candle there in the middle of the cake?” 

And I tell the couple. “ You can say,’ Oh that’s what we were given when you were baptised.’”

And the child will ask, “What is ’baptised’?” and you will say, “It’s what happened to you when we took you to church and asked God’s blessing on you and your life. “

And when I say this the parents smile. It is such a nice sentiment.

And then I tell them the child will ask, ‘ What is a church?” 

And you will say, “You know when we drive to the supermarket to get our groceries every Sunday, we pass that cute little building, with the boarded up windows?  That is the church.

The point  being that if you don’t bring your child to church, there may not be a church.

The same thing applies if we Christians are not actively working to bring God into the lives of people we know, then some day this church will not be here.

And  basically, it is just telling people what the church has done for you. 

People need to know that they would be joining a community where every person is loved.   A community where we eschew pettiness and the blame game……. and look for Christ in each other,  ………….and rejoice when one of us is blessed, and grieve  when one of us faces loss, or heartbreak, or hardship,………… and we try to be there for each other …… and not only that ……..but we try to reach out beyond this church to bring the love of God to as many people as we can.

That’s all! You can tell then all that while drinking one cup of coffee.

And if they do come to church, they will hear that we find a closeness with God,  through His Son Jesus Christ. And we learn here how God loves us so much that He sent his Son into the world to show us how to live, and when he did that –  when he was showing people how to live – some people didn’t like it, and they crucified him, and even though he was God’s Son and could have avoided that, he did His Father’s will, because it was in his dying – when he took our punishment, for us – that we find a chance to start a new life.

And maybe that is something that a friend of yours, or a family member, or a workmate, needs – a new life.

So this Advent might be a good time to look at how we are doing as Christians, and decide  that as we prepare for the coming of Jesus we might have to think about making some radical change.    We might see that we have been just cruising along, and we might decide that,  ‘Holy Mackerel it’s time I stood up and was counted.!’

It’s time I did something!

It’s time to change!

And I know that none of us likes change, in our lives or in the places we belong to.

It’s ironic when you think about it, but Jesus came to bring change and even churches –  some of them – resist change.

Remember all the fuss about ordaining women?

Or the introduction of the Book of Alternative Prayer?

I knew a couple who threatened to leave their church because the new  Rector didn’t bother wearing an alb.

We celebrate the coming of Jesus every year at Christmas time, the arrival of that child who became the man who most changed history, so are we going into a new year doing the same old things, being the same old person.

Because otherwise, what’s the point of it all? 

We do wonder sometimes, and sometimes aloud, why ‘they’ don’t do more. Why ‘they’ don’t make this better, or that more effective,  in the church or wherever.  

But we are “they”.

It’s up to us.

So let’s presume that we won’t be doing something wrong on that Great Day, but also let us be sure that we will be found working for the Kingdom!

After all, when the boss comes by we want to look busy, don’t we?

Don’t we?

The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to Luke.

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing. The people stood by, watching Jesus on the cross; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!”

The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:33-43)

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How do you know a person is a king?

If a king, dressed in everyday clothes, walking down Main Street, without a retinue, without bodyguards, just walking, looking in the windows of the stores, maybe going into McDonalds for the daily special, would you know he was king?

What if you could talk to him? Ask him questions?

Like, where are you from?  What do you do?

And  what if he answered, “I am from another country. I rule. I am a king.”

 Would you believe him?

At one time a king would wear a crown most of the time, so people would know what he was. I remember seeing the movie Henry the Fifth. The king was wearing armour, and on his helmet was a crown. Not a big fancy crown, but a slim golden circlet.  A crown nevertheless.

That’s how you would know he was the king. Right?

Nowadays monarchs wear crowns only on ceremonial occasions.

You would know a king, or a Queen these days by the place they lived, by the number of bodyguards that accompanied them, and you might recognise  them from having seen their picture in the paper, or from television\, or on our coins.

But does a king or a queen, or a prince or princess, have some aura, some special something, some majesty around them that you would just know, what they are?

A newspaper reporter in England managed to get himself hired as a footman in Buckingham Palace, and wrote an expose. The palace  had an injunction placed on his newspaper to prevent the printing of any more stories about life in the palace. But some stories had already made it into print.

The stuff he revealed, however, was been pretty mundane.

He talked about what the Queen had for breakfast, and similar snippets of information about Prince Philip. It is all so ordinary.

As you might expect.

Away from ceremonial duties, and palace receptions for visiting dignitaries, royalty are just like anyone else; people.

The ruler, the procurator of Palestine was a man named Pilate, Pontius Pilate, who met a man who some claimed was a king.

The religious leaders had been kicking up a fuss about this man. Jesus was his name. They said he was a threat to peace and order. 

He had claimed to be a king, they said.

And they wanted him dead. 

He had said things about God and about the Temple that had  them worried.  If he were allowed to continue, then people might realise that God was available to everyone at any time, in any place, and you could talk to him just like that – in prayer – anyone could!. 

 You see, Jesus came into the world to witness to the truth. He came to tell the truth about God, the truth about ourselves, and the truth about life.

Instead of having to be trapped inside a matrix of rules and regulations, people would know that just asking God for forgiveness, and living a life of love – love of God, and love of neighbour – was all that was required, to be in God’s good  books.

This was dangerous stuff.

If this kept up, the temple would be deserted and all those who depended on it for a living would be out of work.

The whole edifice would fall down.

Clearly this man had to be stopped. And the sooner the better.

But they couldn’t order him killed themselves.  Only Pilate could sentence a man to death. But Pilate wouldn’t condemn a man to death for a religious crime.

So they told him that Jesus had said he was a king, and that he was a danger to law and order. Palestine had always been a powder keg. The people had risen up against the Romans more than once. So they figured this would get Pilate’s attention.

Yet, Pilate tried to avoid the responsibility of condemning Jesus. He told them,   “You take this man and judge him according to your own laws.”

But he could not evade his responsibility. He could not evade Jesus.

No-one can evade Jesus.

He is right there in your face. 

So Pilate has to examine Jesus and see if there is real cause to crucify him.

This is an interrogation. Pilate is a powerful man. He is looking on an accused person  who has been scourged until his back is raw to the bone. This is a  man who has been betrayed by his friends, deserted by his followers, tortured, and by all accounts should be a broken man.

And yet there is something about this Jesus.

“Are you the king of the Jews,” Pilate asks him.

Jesus asks,  “Are you asking this on your own account, or did someone tell you about me?”

“Your own people brought you here,” Pilate says, “What have you done?”

Jesus answers, “My kingdom is not of this world.”

“So you are a king,” Pilate says.

There is something about this man. Isn’t there?

You see, Jesus isn’t a man caught up in a web of circumstance over which he has no control.

He isn’t being hounded to death.

His death is part of God’s cosmic plan to save humankind.  Jesus is going to the cross willingly.

Out  of obedience to the Father.

Later, Pilate brings Jesus out to the people and says, “See, the man.” 

At first we might think he is trying to awaken compassion in the people. That he is saying,  “ Look at this poor bruised, bleeding creature. Look at this wretchedness. Can you really mean to hound such a pitiful creature to death?”

But  no. You can almost hear his tone change. His view of Jesus has been transformed. It is as if after his talking with Jesus, he himself  wonders at the majesty of the man. 

There is an aura.

There is – something.

Could this man really be a king?

Here, some scholars think, Pilate may be saying instead, “See!  This is indeed a man. “

You see the story of Jesus is not the story of a man whose life is out of control. Rather it is the story of a man whose last days were a considered and triumphant march to the cross.

His will not be a kingdom of conquest, but a kingdom of love.

He told his disciples, while on their journey to Jerusalem, that when he was lifted up – crucified – he would draw people to him. 

His sacrifice would be the means by which the lost would be found; the downcast lifted up; the sick in heart healed; those trapped in sin…. freed!

It would be the action of a king who loved his people.

You know, from time immemorial, armies have marched across this world, laying waste, killing, pillaging, conquering. The kingdoms they built have all but gone from memory.

When I was a little boy  at school in England, we had a map of the world on the classroom wall. Most of the map was coloured red. That was the British Empire.

It was said that the sun never set on the British Empire. In other words, it stretched from one end of the world to the other, so at any time the sun shone on some part of it.

Apart from a few islands here and there, it has, over the past fifty years, all but vanished.   

Empire builders have found out over millennia, that you can’t win the hearts  of people by force.

Jesus would win the world by love. 

There is a legend told about the return of Jesus to Heaven, after his time on earth. Even there, he still bore the marks of that cruel crucifixion.

The angel Gabriel approached him and said, ‘Master, you must have suffered terribly for people down there.”

“Yes,” said Jesus, “I did.”

“And do they know and appreciate how much you loved them and what you did for them?”

Jesus said, “Oh no!  Not yet.

Right now, only a handful of people in Palestine know.”

“Gabriel was perplexed, “ Then what have you done to let everyone know about your love  for them?”

“Jesus said, “I have asked Peter, James, John, and a few more friends to tell others about me. Those who are told will tell others, in turn, about me. And my story will be spread to the farthest reaches of the globe. Ultimately, all of humankind will have heard about my life and what I did for them.”

Gabriel frowned, and looked a little skeptical. He well knew what poor stuff human beings were made of.  He said, “Yes, but what if Peter and James and John grow weary?   What if the people who come after them, forget?  What if way down in the twentieth century people just don’t  tell others about you? Haven’t you made other plans?”

And Jesus answered, “I haven’t made any other plans. I am counting on them.”

Jesus was, and is counting on his followers to spread the news of his love throughout the world, into the hearts of men and women everywhere.

He is counting on you and me. Soldiers  for Christ. Soldiers whose only weapon is love alone.

In the service of our king.

Amen.