A Worthy King

A Worthy King--March 27, 2019

"And when [Pilate] learned that [Jesus] was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign. He questioned him at some length, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then he put an elegant robe on him, and sent him back to Pilate." [Luke 23:7-11]

It is a too-rarely heeded bit of wisdom that says "You don't have to attend every argument you're invited to."  That's smart.  We would do well to consider that policy in this age of instant outrage, immediate forms of communication, and viral media.  Sometimes people seem to be spoiling for a fight, and they bait you into taking it, because they have been just waiting for the chance to vent their bitterness over whatever has upset them at the moment.

But it's okay to send your regrets instead of an RSVP for that invitation. It's okay not to get baited into the bluster.

The more I think about it, the more amazed I am at that dimension of the trial of Jesus before the Roman governor Pilate and the Roman-installed puppet king Herod.  Jesus doesn't take the bait.  He doesn't speak, not because he isn't the Messiah, but because he is mature and grounded enough as the Messiah not to get sucked into a childish fight on their terms.  There are indeed exchanges in the gospels that Jesus has with the leaders of the Respectable Religious Crowd, and he does trade a few lines with Pilate before all is said and done, but Jesus never lets himself get drawn into a shouting match or a volley of insults.  

And let me make this utterly clear: Jesus' refusal to get drawn into such a petty fight with the powers of the day is evidence of his superior courage and strength, not of weakness or cowardice.  But that will only make sense if we are willing to accept, too, that Jesus' kind of victory is not to out-shout his opponents, nor to intimidate them with threats of force or violence, but rather to lay down his life for them.

If you are still hung up on how people see you, what others think of you, and what your reputation is like (like Herod and Pilate surely are), you are going to get suckered into having to shout back an insult for every taunt thrown your way.  If you are still convinced that the way to "win" in this life is to push your way through, then, yeah, you'll be drawn into answering back every jab with a counterpunch of your own.  But, even if that way of thinking is still popular among the Herods and Pilates of every age, it is still terribly childish, and ultimately self-defeating.  And I suspect that Herod himself didn't realize in the moment how very petty and immature he comes off in this scene.

This, I think, is part of what the Gospel writers want us to see: this showdown is a face-off between two contenders for the title of "King of the Jews."  Herod, on the one hand, claims the title even though he is not strictly Jewish (the Herod dynasty came from the neighboring region of Edom/Idumea), comes from a family of paranoid tyrants like his father Herod the Great who handed him his reign, and seems to be more interested in provoking petty and childish outbursts than in actually leading his people.  And on the other hand, there is Jesus, the homeless wandering rabbi who keeps his cool and won't be baited into answering Herod's goading. Which is truly "King of the Jews"? The contrast is stark--Herod hardly deserves the title, and is clearly beneath the office he has been granted by the Empire, while Jesus embodies a self-control that unmasks Herod's childishness for what it is.

It is worth lifting up that level of self-control here, because it reminds me that Jesus didn't just suffer with strength while he was nailed to the cross.  But every choice not to give into the pettiness of the so-called rulers around him, every decision not to give into their infantile power grabs and threat-making, every instance of Jesus' refusal to take their bait took conscious, deliberate strength on Jesus' part--especially knowing that the Herods and Pilates would take his silence for a sign of weakness or fear.  And yet Jesus doesn't give them the satisfaction of getting drawn into their game of bullying and bellowing.  He won't even let his divine power be turned into a sideshow for Herod by doing a miracle on command like a trained monkey.  Jesus shows a greater courage and integrity all along the way to the cross than the Herods and Pilates will ever understand.

And while it is not our calling to have to die on a cross for the sins of the world, that same strength is indeed a hallmark of the disciples of Jesus.  There are voices all around who seem to think that all that matters is if people "get the job done," regardless of whether they do it with integrity, character, strength, or honor.  They advise us that it doesn't matter if someone is bombastic and petulant like Herod, or amoral and ruthless like Pilate, if they maintain "law and order" and keep the trains running on time.  They suggest that it doesn't matter if you are a childish tyrant like the Herod family dynasty as long as the markets are up and the end of the day.  But that is not our way... because it is not the way of Jesus.

Only Jesus can die for the sins of the world, but all of us who walk in his footsteps are dared to live in the same strength and freedom that Jesus did, which includes the freedom not to get drawn into petty fights that shed only heat but no light.  It does matter, not just who looks like they have come out on top at the end of the day, but how you conduct yourself.  It does matter if we have honor and character, rather than bluster and bullying.  It does matter whether we let ourselves get provoked into sinking to the level of answering hatred for hatred and evil for evil, or whether we dare to trust that Jesus actually knows what he is doing.

Maybe, then, this is the question for this day: between Herod and his childishly petty antics on the one hand Jesus and his measured silence on the other, who seems more fit for the title "King of Israel"?  

Now, follow the path of the one who is worthy of that office.

Lord Jesus, let us walk in your footsteps, even knowing they lead to a cross, as we trust your kind of victory.