The Faithful Witness: a sermon preached on the Solemnity of Christ the King
22 November 2009
Henri de Lubac wrote:
“It is not the proper duty of Christianity to form leaders – that is, builders of the temporal, although a legion of Christian leaders is infinitely desirable. Christianity must generate saints – that is, witnesses to the eternal. The efficacy of the saint is not that of the leader. The saint does not have to bring about great temporal achievements; he is one who succeeds in giving us at least a glimpse of eternity despite the thick opacity of time.”
It has been quite a week for witnessing things. Crowds assembled, in some places six deep on the pavements of London on Wednesday to witness the State opening of Parliament … pageant, ceremony and symbolism in abundance which attracts, entrances and keeps spell bound people from all places and cultures. The English State and her ceremonial masters at their very best. There was a time or perhaps here this morning we can still say, there is a time, when the English Church could also be said to attract, entrance and keep spell bound. I cannot avoid the observation that its present apparent inability to do so might just be connected to de Lubac’s insightful comment that the ministry of God’s holy people is not to form leaders but rather to school people for heavenly citizenship now.
Observers of the European institutions and how they develop and grow witnessed only a couple of days ago another milestone in the journey of European nations as we travel together. The apparent destination seems to vary according to the character and stamina of those appointed to high office. There is relief in some quarters that presidency akin to that across the Atlantic is now at least more distant; but disappointment on the part of others that the chosen leadership seemingly lacks charisma … to attract, entrance and keep spell bound.
And, of course, those who have witnessed the loss of home and belongings as the unstoppable waters have risen in Cumbria and elsewhere; and what personal devastation there must be amongst the family and friends of PC Bill Barker – also what one might ask of those whom he was directing away from the bridge, the events which they witnessed will surely remain with them for a very long time? One can only imagine the sensation of loss, and also the elation of rescue, some have felt in Cockermouth as the helicopters and life boats have shuttled back and forth lifting people from the rising tide to safety on higher ground. The leadership of those working for the emergency services has undoubtedly been perceived as effecting lasting results which keep open the possibility of future attraction, entrancement and the ability to be spell bound.
What we see and how we subsequently respond to the vision varies very much according to the spectacle witnessed. What has been the most significant thing you have witnessed in these past days? Those already mentioned or the video of the hostages taken in Somalia or the reports emanating from the French-Swiss border of the Hadron Collider or others of a much more personal but nonetheless significant nature. Of course we might well have seen something that we haven’t entirely understood. I remember clearly the experience of having to produce a witness statement with a police officer who skillfully and patiently extracted from me rather more than I thought that I had seen; hopefully he didn’t encourage fabrication, but simply asked the right questions which nudged those dull recesses of the mind into action.
What we see, we do not always understand. It is only in the subsequent telling, or even translation, of the events that their meaning becomes understandable and our recollection of them is assimilated sufficiently for their truth to be communicated by us to others.
His inability to see or even glimpse what truth might be, despite the fact that he was staring him in the face, was Pilate’s fundamental problem. That and the fact that his leadership, his exercising of partial regal status as Procurator of a minor Roman province, was such that he was the focus: he was shuttling in and out, the centre of attention, lording and ruling, whizzing about but, unlike the lifeboats and helicopters, failing to save by raising to new heights.
However, the kingship of Christ as displayed in the gospel is another matter. Not to be compared to any earthly royal ruler, then or now, but rather a unique witness to faithfulness which provides not just a glimpse of eternity but opens the very door to life – heavenly life, the life of sanctity and unity, bearing witness to the deeper and eternal life of the Godhead which of course is the very purpose of his life and therefore of our lives. We who are called and sent, as he is, to bear witness to the Kingdom, the real character of which begins to emerge in this extraordinary encounter. Pilate’s leadership drew attention to himself; he was the one witnessed, observed and seen. The holy kingship of the universal monarch is portrayed by him bearing witness. Bearing witness to something other which attracts, entrances and keeps spell bound – the very life of the Kingdom of his Father.
Earthly kings and queens – although faithful might be in their witness … as is that of our own monarch and also, by all accounts, is the faithfulness of the Belgian politician. Earthly monarchs, having all the authority they might have or we might wish they had, even then have no authority over death itself. However, the Kingdom to which Jesus Christ refers and his universal lordship we celebrate today is one in which even death is overcome. Is one in which life and not death is finally and eternally triumphant. Standing as the accused he is the one bearing eternal faithful witness to the truth. The truth that God loves, eternally and not even death can separate us from it. Pilate can only respond to this testimony with the world weary question, “What is truth?” In a sense we can all identify with this ironic question. Even here, as each day goes past we realise that we know less than we thought we did; we feel that at least parts of our lives are a tissue of lies. We have more than a sense that the world around us is full of deceptions, some of which we participate in. Yet Jesus’ words serve both as a comfort and as a challenge to us. They can offer us comfort in the sense that through Jesus we can experience the Father’s love for us which of course is the most important truth in our lives. They also serve as a challenge to us about which Kingdom we are really citizens of; about where our primary allegiance lies.
The thick opacity of time can be and is pierced by the lives of saints who, like their King, bear faithful witness. However, of course, it is broken asunder and shattered like all false illusions when the saints assemble here not only to be led but more importantly to be fed by the food of the future Kingdom of perfect unity and love. For here, today and everyday, pageant ceremony and symbolism bear witness to one thing; and the gift, of that one thing, provides all the charisms necessary for the generation of saints and their nurture and sustenance to become witnesses to the eternal.
For here this morning as on the pavement of the Praetorium stands the gift of God to the world in the presence of his Son here held forth and given to and for you as surely as he has been made plain in the person of a Palestinian carpenter who, if you like, opens for us a window into the life of God, opening up and making plain, bringing light, revealing truth that attracts, entrances and spell binds. Attracted to the entrance, or foyer of the Kingdom, and bound to the Father by the gift of the Body of his Son; the opening of your hands on this great Feast is a commitment to become and be a witness to his eternal Kingdom. To attract … entrance … and spell bind.
The Rt Rev'd John Ford Bishop of Plymouth