Today we celebrate Jesus Christ as king of the ages. Oddly enough, we do not encounter Jesus in a very majestic setting in this gospel passage. Instead, he appears to be on trial, but actually Pilate is the one on trial and so are we. In his last remark to Pilate, Jesus points out, “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Do we?
Listening to the voice of Jesus has guided the conscience of many through out the centuries since Jesus spoke those words. One who listened was Private Joseph Schultz, a loyal, young German patrol soldier on duty in Yugoslavia shortly after Germany invaded it during WW II.
One day the sergeant called out Schultz and seven other soldiers. They thought they were going on a routine patrol, as they hitched up their rifles. Soon they came to a hill, still not knowing what their mission would be.
Eight Yugoslavs stood on the brow of that hill. Before long, the soldiers realized what their mission was. They lined up. The sergeant barked out, “Ready!” and they lifted their rifles. “Aim!” and they got their sights. Suddenly in the silence that prevailed, there was the thud of a rifle butt hitting the ground.
The sergeant and the seven other soldiers watched as Private Schultz walked toward the eight Yugoslavs. His sergeant ordered him to come back, but he pretended not to hear. Instead, he walked the fifty paces to the mound of the hill, and joined hands with the eight Yugoslavians. There was a moment of silence, then the sergeant yelled, “Fire!” And Private Schultz died, mingling his blood with those innocent men and women. Found on his body was an excerpt from St. Paul, “Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.”
As always, the gospel comes back to haunt us. Light and darkness, right and wrong, principle or compromise, Pilate or Jesus. Each day, the words of Jesus should echo in the ears of every Christian. “For this I was born and I came into the world, to testify to the truth.” That is what we are here for, isn’t it? As his followers, are we testifying to the truth?
Alas, judging by the shape the world is in, not everyone, not even every Christian, is listening to Jesus’ voice and upholding the truth. Instead, many people follow the example of Pilate, choosing instead to ignore the truth and compromise their principles. If we belong to the truth, then we would never compromise what it means to be committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Catechism of the Church tells us what we must do in good conscience. “The duty of Christians impels them to act as witnesses of the gospel and of the obligations that flow from it. Witness is an act of justice that establishes the truth or makes it known.”
By the way we live our lives, we declare where our loyalties lie. Do our values resonate with those spelled out throughout the Gospels and the teachings of our faith? For example, Jesus tells us to extend forgiveness, love, service to the less fortunate, compassion to the sick, and to respect all life. The Church provides a contemporary ring by challenging us to welcome immigrants and oppose euthanasia, abortion, and capital punishment.
“My kingdom doesn’t belong to this world,” Jesus said. So where is it? His kingdom exists wherever people embody Jesus’ manner of acting and relating to one another. With his own life, Jesus demonstrated how to put such values into practice. Down through the centuries, saints, like Private Schultz, have imitated his example and so do we when we truly listen to his voice. As our eternal King, he is deserving of our service.
But let’s not kid ourselves. It isn’t easy in this culture of ours to stand apart from the American dream, portrayed by the entertainment industry, political movements, the courts, to name a few, which often promote causes that run contrary to the message of the gospel and the voice of Jesus Christ.
Our attitude about sin has changed significantly in the past few decades. Consequently, we find ourselves struggling between what we value as Christians and the contemporary wisdom of our times. Each time we ignore the truth of the Gospel; we compromise our values as Pilate did. When we convince ourselves that something that is wrong in the sight of God is OK, then we are not listening to Jesus.
Those who are strangers to his truth fail to see the evil of sin. They think that God’s moral absolutes are negotiable when in fact they are not.
In the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius, there is a meditation entitled the Two Banners. On one side is the banner of pride, self-indulgence, and comfort. Does that sound familiar? It is the banner of Satan. On the other side is the banner of humility, sacrifice, and self-denial, the standard of Christ the King. When all is said and done, there is only one banner we can march under: Satan or Christ the King. As I said earlier, by the way we live, we declare where our loyalties lie. So, which banner are you marching under?
If Jesus Christ is your king, then for your sake, listen to him!