Who do you say that Jesus is?

A sermon by Rev. Deacon Jacqueline Cherry

St. John the Evangelist, San Francisco November 22, 2009

Last Sunday after Pentecost: Christ the King Proper 29

John 18:33-37

Today is the last Sunday of our liturgical year, and it is the day we celebrate the kingship of Christ. We’ve journeyed with Jesus from the beginning with the advent of his birth, and now we stand with him before Pontius Pilate. “Are you the king of the Jews?” In John’s gospel, Jesus isn’t shy about who he says he is. I am the Good Shepherd. I am the true vine. I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. Jesus knows that Pilate doesn’t give a hoot about who he is. This dusty man is not regal and he poses no threat to the Roman Empire. But Jesus is stirring up plenty of trouble for the religious leaders, the Pharisees and chief priests by proclaiming a new kingdom – a kingdom of truth and justice, grace and peace, a kingdom not of this world and people are listening.

Pilate on the other hand, is perfectly satisfied with, and in fact quite protective of the established kingdom. So when the crowd outside the praetorium gets more and more rowdy and insistent on Jesus’ execution, in a cowardly act of self-preservation, Pilate chooses to placate the people. In order to maintain his position of power Pilate betrayed his own conviction that Jesus was innocent.

In today’s gospel, we are spared the details of the crucifixion, although it is precisely the death of Jesus that allows us to recognize his royal kingship. Over the past liturgical year, our Sunday readings have lead to this event. But interestingly, The Feast of Christ the King is a newcomer to the liturgical calendar; it was instituted in the Roman Catholic Church in 1925 by Pope Pious XI. At that time, the Roman church was losing membership as citizens were drawn away by the charisma of Mussolini and other secular rulers. Pious wanted to remind the people that the rulers of the state had no real power, it was God through Jesus Christ with the ultimate authority – the power to grant eternal life in heaven.

Today, most of us still need to be reminded that we are not in control. Any sense of safely we might have is an illusion. No matter how well and responsibly we plan our lives, it can disintegrate in a heartbeat. Our security could be wiped in a market crash, the temple painstakingly built stone by stone could fall in an earthquake, overnight our transgender child could be beaten to death. The truth is – we are powerless.

There’s been a lot of talk about death in our household recently. Beth’s mom was diagnosed with very acute leukemia at the end of August. We’ve had to explain to our almost 4 year-old daughter Firefly why Beth has been going back to Boston every other week. The separation has been challenging for firefly, and in turn challenging for me with various forms of regression, and outright hostility – Mama Jac, I hate you, you can’t live in our house anymore, you must go to jail for twenty years. And then in almost the same breath she’ll ask, Is Gran dying?

         And two weeks ago, our friend Dave died while traveling on business in India – he was 37. Daphne is Dave’s wife and they have a daughter named Sadie who is the same age as Firefly. Beth was in Boston when Dave died, so it was my job to tell Firefly that Sadie’s daddy was dead. The day before Firefly was going to see Sadie at a birthday party, Firefly and I had a conversation:

Firefly, I have something important to tell you. Tomorrow you will see Sadie at Leila’s birthday party, and I want you to know that Sadie’s daddy died a few days ago. There was a long pause; Firefly looked at me without expression. Sadie’s daddy is dead. There was a longer pause, still not a word from Firefly. Sadie’s daddy is dead, the kind of dead where he is gone and he’s not ever going to come back.

Her eyes got wide and I could see something in her little brain clicked. Firefly said, Oh, he’s not coming back. Not like Jesus, because Jesus died and then he got up and walked again. No, not like Jesus, Sadie will never see her daddy again. Firefly had heard enough. She understood that Dave was dead, and she redirected the conversation – Let’s go upstairs and do arts and crafts.

           Dave’s memorial was last Sunday – Daphne had asked me to preside. Let me tell you, the School for Deacons did not prepare me to officiate at the memorial service of an ex–Seventh Day Adventist, Japanese, father of a 4 year-old, and husband of a dear friend, held in a Portuguese ultra-hip restaurant on Potrero Hill. The Book of Common Prayer was absolutely no help. But by the grace of God, and our musician Tom Conroy, we managed to pull it off.

           It must have also been by the grace of God that Daphne was able to stand up in front of a crowd of nearly 400 people and speak. After I escorted her to the podium, 4 year-old Sadie walked over to her mom and held onto her leg – she was not going to let go. Daph asked if Sadie could sit on the podium and we hoisted her up. With little Sadie raised up high before the assemblage, Daphne began to speak:


Dave and I worked hard on our relationship and brick by brick we created a solid foundation on which we would raise our daughter. We knew what we wanted for Sadie, and we agreed on how we would make that happen. And poof, it was all gone.

The remarkable thing is what Daphne said next:

Dave is gone, but the foundation we built together is still here. And I will continue to raise Sadie alone the way that Dave and I had planned to do together, with the same values we had agreed to and on that solid foundation we have created.

Dave’s death was tragic. His wife, daughter, family and friends are still stunned. Daphne and Sadie’s grief must be unbearable – Sadie cries herself awake at night sobbing daddy, daddy, daddy. This is a life Daphne never imagined she’d be living. But Daphne is able to hold both her despair and her hope because of that solid foundation she and Dave built brick by brick.

It’s the end of the liturgical year and Jesus has been sentenced to death. But it’s not Jesus who is on trial today; it is we who stand before Pilate. What will be your testimony? Who do you say that Jesus is? If Jesus isn’t the ruler of your life, where does your loyalty lie? Brick by brick, day by day, right until his last breath, Jesus laid down for us the foundation on which we are to build our lives. He taught us the values of the kingdom of heaven. Through his resurrection he has assured us of his royal authority. We have been given all of the tools we need to live a holy life on earth, grounded in this realm as we strive to bring forth the kingdom of heaven right here, right now.

I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the bread of life. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. I am with you only a little while longer. You will have pain but your pain will turn to joy. I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. Today you will be with me in paradise.

On the way home from school Friday, Firefly asked me if my Gran was dying. My Grans have already died, a long time ago. Firefly asked, My Grandma Cherry is dead? No, your great Grandma Cherry is dead, your grandma Cherry in San Diego is alive. Your Grandma Freeman is alive too, but she is very sick. Firefly said, That reminds me of something. I waited to hear what she had to say, and she began to sing:

Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?

I want to know, Where have all the flowers…

She stopped and was silent for a while and slowly, with hesitation, began again –

Where have all, where have, where have all the soldiers gone,

long time passing? Where have all the soldiers gone, long time ago?

Where have all the soldiers gone, they’ve gone to flowers everyone.

I started to sing with her but Firefly stopped singing and said,

Stop Mama Jac, don’t sing that song.

As we complete another cycle that takes us through life and death and new life, let us rejoice that Jesus Christ is our true king and together may we welcome a holy Advent.

Amen.