“Lets go Brandon,” was chanted by those in attendance at a conference hosted by Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas. If you aren’t familiar with “Lets go Brandon,” it is a vulgar euphemism against President Biden. It should also be noted that Pastor Matt Hagee has since apologized for the church hosting the event.
So what do we make of all of this? The Twitter posts ranged from supporting people expressing their political beliefs to condemnation toward the church for allowing such an event to happen on their property. Division is nothing new to anyone. Unfortunately, division has also become a part of the church. Covid has made the division all the worse as politics has been carried into the pew. We are now vaccinated and anti-vaccination Christians. We are pro-mask and anti-mask Christians. We seem to be driven by politics more than anything else these days. The question still remains of what do we do when the faith becomes driven by politics?
This Sunday is called Christ the King Sunday. The end of the church year has come and Jesus Christ is declared King. Jesus is not shown sitting on a royal throne but is standing before Pilate in judgement. Pilate is interrogating Jesus to find out the truth of him being a rival king and threat to Rome. Jesus’ response was very interesting. He said,
Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” 35Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” 36Jesus answered, “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. 37Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. 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.”
John 18:33-37
If Jesus’ kingdom was from this world his followers would fight. They would also slander, insult, shout out “Lets go Brandon”, argue, bicker, lie, divide, kill and anything else granting them the goal of power. These are the ways of the world’s kingdoms. Jesus’ kingdom is not how the world behaves and his followers are to be different as well.
Jesus also said he came to testify to the truth which isn’t hard to understand. The false accusations, mockery and his unjust crucifixion reveal all we need to know about the world. Listening to his voice, the truth becomes obvious.
Christ the King Sunday has come and Jesus the King is portrayed by John as being judged by the world. However, the powers of the world end up being judged instead and the verdict isn’t kind. Jesus’ kingdom offers a far different reality from the kingdoms of this world. So when we are being divided we need to remember what Jesus came to testify: the truth.
Peace
What does it all mean... 