A homily for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 25, 2021
2 Kgs 4:42-44, Eph 4:1-6, Jn 6:1-15
Why, in Heaven’s name, would Jesus not want to be acclaimed as King of the Jews?
Probably because it would not have been in Heaven’s name.
We as Christians revere Jesus Christ as King of the Universe, and our Triune God creates, redeems and sustains all that is, was or ever will be in the deepest love imaginable, and then some.
But that reign is shaped by the perfect mind of God, and not by what we highly imperfect humans would impose on it.
Remember: The Jews of First Century Palestine were waiting for a messiah who would kick out the occupying Romans and restore the political and economic greatness of Israel. They wanted an earthly warrior-king to restore the throne of the David who slew Goliath. They wanted a giver of gifts and luxuries that they lusted after and not someone who would provide precisely what they needed.
Daily bread and peace, not nonstop lollipops and bloodshed.
Miraculously multiplying one boy’s lunch into a meal for thousands, not a banquet of endless wine and pastries.
Certainly not the suffering servant that the prophet Isaiah spoke of.
Nope.
And Jesus, in his divine wisdom, scooted away from these people after the miracle of the loaves and fishes. The Gospels are full of similar walk-aways.
Because warrior-king-messiah was not the mission of Jesus. Restoring the earthly throne of David and purifying Solomon’s temple was not his job.
Jesus was not sent to Earth to wield a mighty sword and wear a crown of gold and jewels. His earthly crown would be of thorns, pressed deep into his bleeding flesh.
He came to serve and not be served, and to teach all of humanity to do the same.
It was a challenging message then. It’s a challenging message now.
Jesus, of course, did recognize his kingship. His exchange with Pontius Pilate as recorded in The Passion makes that clear.
But The Christ spoke to the Roman governor about the Kingdom of Heaven, not of some political and military challenge to Caesar.
And a lot of the powers-that-be of those days didn’t get it, Jew and Gentile alike. They turned their backs; they cried out, “Crucify him!”
What has changed in the two millennia since?
Truth be told, we Americans don’t have a lot of use for kings, not the kind we broke away from some 245 years ago. Those kings were selfish and capricious and imposed laws that benefited them, not their subjects. They beat down the people they ruled, reducing them to lower- and lower-class humans.
And because of centuries of history, we’re conditioned to believe all kings are like that.
Even a divine one.
A cynical comedian once quipped, “If power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, where does that leave God?”
Have we ever wondered that?
Sad to say, it’s an easy trap to fall into. It’s a case of assuming that God is — that God could ever be — as petty as we are.
God isn’t. God’s love isn’t.
And even when we realize that God is generous and that her relationship with us is based on what’s best for us, we conflate wants with needs, we turn prayers into orders on Amazon.
So let’s be grateful for all God’s gifts. Be grateful for all of Creation. Be grateful for the Eucharist.
Be grateful that God knows what we need, and will always provide it.
And be grateful for miracles without demanding more.
