​King of Nobody’s Castle

The Venerable Joan Clark

John 18:33-37

“You are the King of nobody’s castle.” That’s what a woman named Delores used to say to her husband when he became demanding and moody. Ralph could be a nice enough guy sometimes, particularly to his buddies down at the shop or at the bar; but other times, particularly to Delores, he could be downright ornery and mean. Today was one of those days when he wasn’t happy with anything.

Ralph was a guy who felt the world owed him something better. Although he had a job, a home, and a wife, he wasn’t happy with any of them. So, he took it out on everyone around him, and usually that was Delores.

What was Ralph’s problem? Yes, he was arrogant. Definitely mean. Probably a good deal narcissistic. Self-centred, yes! But he also was lonely, because when you push everyone in your life away, life becomes a very solitary space. When you are the Head at an empty table, no one is celebrating with you. When you are the King of your own private castle, you find that you have no kingdom at all.

Most of us will feel sad about this picture of Ralph. And yet, many of us do this very thing in our lives to one degree or another. We create our own kingdoms, where we can control our environment, our world, and our outcomes, but in which we don’t let anyone in, especially not Jesus, since he always seems to challenge our assumptions, doesn’t he?

How many of you are certain there is only one right way to do something?

How many of you have won an argument based on having more knowledge, more status, or more clout?
How many of you have stockpiled an arsenal of excuses for any infringement on your space or time?

How many of you are driven to build your own Babel towers of control or power so that you can feel secure in your own space? Your own home? Your own workplace? Your own job? Your own church?
We are all to some extent kings of nobody’s castles.

It’s no wonder that Jesus’ contemporaries couldn’t wrap their heads around him or his mission. He was so different from anyone they knew. He didn’t seem to be invested in status or power, money, or prestige. He didn’t seem to be preparing to battle the injustices of Rome or mount an insurgence against the authorities. He didn’t seem to be prepared to take over the throne of Herod or the office of Pilate. He didn’t even seem to want to take over the Temple. And yet everyone around him was sure that one of these must be his goal.

Everyone was threatened by him. Except, oddly, Pilate.  Ever notice that? Pilate, probably due to his wife’s eerie dream, is more spooked than threatened by Jesus. He truly believes he’s done nothing wrong. He wants nothing to do with Jesus’ punishment or what he sees as the Jewish leaders’ petty internal scheming. Herod too wants nothing to do with this enigmatic person and passes him off to Pilate.

The conversation in our scriptures for today between Pilate and Jesus is a brief verbal sparring, which convinces Pilate that Jesus is most likely much more harmless than his angry Jewish contemporaries claim. He sees right away that Jesus likely makes them angry not so much by any power he craves but by the truth he wields.

Jesus in the conversation refuses to say he is a King at all. He does say that his kingdom is not of this world. But as for why he came into the world, Jesus says, he came to “testify to the truth.” He is verbally evasive, and Pilate can’t pin a single thing on him.

Even if Pilate’s Roman sense of “truth” is relative, he still can’t find fault with Jesus. This will end up making him extremely uncomfortable. This is something we revisit when we come to these scriptures again in Holy Week.

In Jesus’ last line in this passage today, he says, “Whoever accepts the truth listens to my voice.” This is one of the most important statement’s Jesus makes, and it reveals both his mission and his identity, although Pilate doesn’t catch it. Jesus is the Truth in his divine nature, because his is the Voice of God.

Truth is important to rabbinic Judaism. In fact, in the Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 55a), we read, “Truth is the seal of the Holy One, blessed be He.” The God of Truth is found wherever there is truth and His absence felt wherever there is falsehood. “The Lord God is truth,” says the prophet Jeremiah (10:10).

The Jewish faith believes in an authoritative, absolute, universal truth (emet), to which one should strive, and that the ultimate Truth is God. The Torah too is said to be truth. Jews are to be constantly in pursuit of truth and truth telling through seeking “hidden treasure” within the Torah. Through studying and seeking God through the Torah, Jewish people can hear God’s voice and come close to the presence of God in their lives.

Jesus is presenting himself as the living Torah, the voice piece of God, and the Truth standing before them. To testify to the Truth then is to testify to the person and identity of Jesus.

Jesus is a King, not because of status, castle, subjects, or power, but simply because of his intrinsic identity. He is the voice of God.

He is the voice of Truth.

Truth is not something but someone we seek to be in relationship with. He is the Torah. He is the Holy One of God. He is the King of Kings. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

We cannot seek Truth and not seek Jesus. We cannot seek Jesus alone in our own solitary towers.

Truth is about relationships. Truth is about celebrating God and each other in community. Truth is being authentically open to others, and allowing them into our world without strings, or rules, or barres. Truth is about celebrating God in the midst of that community and in recognizing that truth and love reigns where God is present.

This coming month, many of you will celebrate Christmas with your families. This is a time when faithful people, grateful people, come together in family and community to eat at table together, to celebrate unity over difference, to celebrate the Truth of God who brings us through adversity and into a place of abundance, wellness, love, and peace.

I hope this season, you will make sure to leave a special seat at your table for Jesus. For when the Truth reigns at your table, your home will be blessed.

May Jesus be the King of your Castle. And may your “castle” be filled with people, happiness, joy, and prayer.

May you experience the Truth of Jesus in your lives. And the peace of Jesus in your homes.