Our Journey to God's Reign

 

Pastor James Israel M. Cababan

Scripture Text: John 18:33-37

 

            Let us Pray. Open our hearts and our minds O Lord, speak into our lives. May Your Word be revealed to us this morning as journey together into your reign, AMEN.

 

            Good morning! Magandang umaga po! It is indeed a very beautiful opportunity to be used by God today, I am very happy to see everyone today, especially my teachers and my mentors. Sisters and brothers, we are now in the  last week of the Kingdomtide season, the liturgical season where we focus on Christian growth and the kingdom values. But you might all be wondering, we are still in the Kingdomtide season but we are reflecting on a passage that is usually used during Lent. We read the story when Jesus was brought before Pilate, the Roman governor, what can we learn from this Lenten story in connection with our Kingdomtide journey?

 

            Every year, when the Kingdomtide season comes, we reflect on the different values that we are looking forward to in the Kingdom of God. And each week is a step on a beautiful journey of learning and growth. And so as we prepare ourselves for our next Liturgical season, which is Advent, and as we are now ending this beautiful Kingdomtide journey, I would like all of us to reflect on this gospel reading.  In our journey to God’s reign, what should we bear in mind so that we can work towards genuine Christian growth.

 

I.

 

First of all, the Kingdomtide season is a journey of knowing who Jesus Christ is in our lives. This was the main focus of the conversation between Jesus and Pilate. When they faced each other, Pilate certainly have heard a lot of things about this man that is being brought before him. He might have heard stories, and he is also aware of the different accusations and charges to this man. But in reality, Pilate does not really now anything about Jesus, they do not know each other personally, and so he had to ask and confirm if Jesus really is a threat to the existing social order that the Romans are implementing. He asked, “Are you the King of the Jews?”. In his mind, Pilate had no intentions of becoming close friends with this man or knowing this man on a deeper level, but Jesus answered on a very personal way. “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” It’s like Jesus is saying to Pilate, are you really interested in getting to know me, or you are just willing to settle about the things about me that you have heard from other people? As I was reflecting on this passage, I was also challenged to think about my personal relationship with Jesus.

 

And so, I would also like to ask all of you today? Who is Jesus for you? As seminarians, bible scholars and theologians, most of the time, we are inclined to answer in an academic or, for the lack of a better term, a more “technical” way.

We develop this deeper knowledge about Jesus through the books and journals that we read, and don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong about that. It is a very important part of our lives as we are in an academic setting. But today, as we continue our journey to God’s reign, Jesus also wants to ask all of us, “do we want to know Christ on our own, or do we just hear about these things about Jesus from other people?”  Personally, I always want to go back to specific moments in my life where I encountered Jesus on a more intimate way. Although I could say that, in a way, I have grown so much from those, but still, moments like that are still beautiful to remember. Who is Jesus for you? To all of us, he is the savior, to some he is a best friend, to some he is a parent. God is all of these things and so much more, and so may we all keep that deep desire to know Jesus each and every day.

 

II.

 

            Secondly, aside from knowing who Jesus is in our lives, our journey to God’s reign is also TOWARDS REAL FREEDOM AND LIBERATION. As we continue reflectin on Jesus’ conversation with Pilate, on John 18:36, Jesus says, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” What does this mean? We have to take into consideration that Jesus was being tried as a criminal at this point. If proven guilty, if Jesus is really proven to be a threat to the existing social order, then he will surely face punishment from the hands of the Roman government. But as Jesus was declaring that “My Kingdom is not of this world”, this means that no worldly power can ever enslave or imprison him. Even if he is viewed as a criminal in the society, there is freedom in God’s kingdom.  And this is a very serious claim for Roman authorities, Jesus’ words are words of defiance to the existing powers that have been exploiting the people for a long time. The Roman government may be treating him as a prisoner, but in His reign, there is freedom.

 

            Thousands of years have passed, and these words of defiance should remain relavant today. There are still existing powers that enslave and imprison us today. The pandemic has imprisoned us inside our homes for a long time now, and our leaders, who should be the ones leading us towards liberation, seem to have misplaced priorities during this very critical time. But as Christians who claim to be following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must do our best in working towards the real freedom and liberation, we must work together, thru the power of the Holy Spirit, in doing our part, as little as they may see, in ushering the reign of God. This should be the result of having a deep relationship with Christ. We have reflected that Kingdomtide is a journey towards knowing Jesus deeper, but it does not stop there. Our relationship with Jesus should inspire us in this journey towards freedom and liberation. And sister and brothers, this is easier said than done.

 

The Kingdomtide season may soon be coming to an end for this liturgical year, but the challenge towards genuine growth and the journey to God’s reign should definitely continue as we eagerly wait for the consummation by our Lord Jesus.

 

III.

 

            Sisters and brothers, we have already reflected that our Journey to God’s reign is a journey of knowing who Jesus really is in our lives, and also a journey towards freedom and liberation. Lastly, we also learn from this gospel reading, that it is a journey TOWARDS THE TRUTH. Christ was emphasizing this in this conversation with Pilate. In John 8:37, Jesus says, “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”  And on verse 38, Pilate asks a very important question which I think we are all still asking as well, “what is the truth?” This is a question that I have personally struggled during my time in the Divinity School. I still remember it vividly during our seniors’ retreat before I graduated. We were asked if we still have questions about the things that we learned during our seminary formation. And this was my question, what is the truth? Is there really an absolute truth, or it depends on what we want to believe to be the truth? It pained me accept that I was already graduating during that time and I still can’t answer that question.

 

            I will never forget how Dr. Aguilan answered my question, he said, “ALL TRUTHS COME FROM GOD”. Ang lahat ng katotohanan ay galing sa Diyos. I would admit that it did not directly answer my question, but it gave me some sort of peace of mind. The quest for truth is very important especially during a time wherein LIES are just around the corner. We live in a time wherein it is very easy to change historical narratives, you just need to have a social media account, a youtube or Tiktok account, then suddenly, a dictator, for example, who have been historically proven to have caused suffering to the people for generations, is now being heralded by the majority as a hero to be emulated and whose “legacy” should be continued. Sisters and brothers, beware of lies. As christians, it is our responsibility to be bearers of the truth in our time. Because if we are contributors of spreading lies today, we are not being faithful participants in the journey towards God’s reign. That is why I would like to take this opportunity to bring up a personal matter that is very close to my heart. A few months ago, my DS batchmate from the Class of 2019, Pastor Benjie Gomez, was arrested because fabricated charges which have been dismissed a long time ago. Kuya Benjie has always been advocate for the needy, and he has been faithfully serving his church assignment after our graduation. He is an example of someone who has been victimized because of speading lies. Please join me not just in praying for him, but also reaching out to his family and asking what needs to be done to prove that he is only being faithful as God’s servant.

 

            Sisters and brothers, the Kingdomtide season may end, but our journey towards God’s reign goes on. Let us journey together to know Jesus more, so that we can work together for genuine freedom, and for the truth to reign In our lives, AMEN.