Readings for the Day:
Reflection:
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During the Season after Pentecost this year, we've gotten to hear about the ancient kings of Israel and the power they held over the people of Israel. It seems fitting now that we are looking at kingship again at the end, this time through the lens of Jesus.
Except kingship looks so different with Jesus. It isn't about power and glory. We don't see Jesus riding into Jerusalem with an army. Instead, as seen in our Gospel, we see Jesus being questioned by Pontius Pilot just before being put on trial leading to His death on the Cross.
Jesus' Kingdom is not one of power. It is, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:9, a "power made perfect in weakness." Jesus died in this world, yes, but it was so we would have a chance at something new in the life to come.
That is because Jesus' Kingdom is "not of this world." We see that in the Gospel. We see that in Revelation. Jesus' kingship and power is something beyond this world, something beyond what we know.
If we are to follow Jesus, then we too have to be "not of this world." We cannot hold onto power as the world understands it. We must instead hold onto God's power, a power made perfect in weakness, even the weakness of death on a cross.
Jesus' kingship is not one we would expect. It is different than what we see in the world. It is different than what we see in His ancestors leading back to David. It is not one of power as we know it. It is one that is beyond this world.