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Who is Your Favorite King?
Joe Killian • November 20, 2015
As I read this week’s Gospel I couldn’t help but notice Pilate’s struggle to label Jesus. One sure thing is that semantics played a part in this conversation.
Pilate said to Jesus, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?" Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here." So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say 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."
The back and forth between Pilate and Jesus revolves around the question of whether or not Jesus is a king. In Jesus’ time people all had different notions of who Jesus was, particularly with regards to Him being a king. Jesus’ true identity was at the core of the controversy that led to His crucifixion. Ironically, Pilate labeled Jesus’ cross accurately, King of the Jews.
In our “pop based” culture the concept of a king is even more blurred by the many different ways we label kings. Google “The King” and you will find everyone from Aslan the King of Narnia, to Elvis, to Lebron James, to Yul Brenner in the King and I. Of course there is the king of pop, Michael Jackson, and then the creepiest of all kings:
One of my favorite depictions of a king is Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings series:
Aragorn descends to the dead in what proves to be the turning point that saves Middle Earth in the movie The Return of the King.
However, as kings go, I have always looked to one line in the Book of Revelation to clarify everything for me. Revelation 19:16 says, “He has a name written on his cloak and on his thigh, “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Await with great joy and anticipation the return of the one true king!
The story continues...I'm still working on the pondless waterfall in our front yard. I shared this project with you two weeks ago in Playin' In the Dirt. Since then I've had to rework sections of the stream three different times because we were losing too much water. I am now an expert on evaporation rates and excessive splash, two causes of water loss. This morning I tore the whole thing apart and I'm starting over.
Have you ever watched DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda? I stumbled across it recently and thoroughly enjoyed Jack Black's performance as a bumbling, noodle selling, kung fu enthusiast, giant panda named P o. Set in ancient China, it is more than a humorous slapstick comedy. The core message of the story jumped out at me as I have been focusing recently on the concept of being. Po is shockingly identified as the Dragon Warrior and he reluctantly enters training. The goal of the training is to receive the Dragon Scroll, which is believed to hold the secret to limitless power. Now I don't want to spoil the big reveal but I will say that what Po realizes is the same as what I speak to in the concept of being and authentic identity. So, where do we find the secret to our "power?" I praise You, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works! My very self You know. Psalm 139:14 God knows it; and we must seek Him with all of our hearts in order to find it. As it was in the movie, the answer is stunningly simple. Our authentic identity is already within us. The challenge for Po in the movie was in seeing himself accurately and not the way others saw him. Even his teacher scoffed at the idea that Po was anything more than an underachieving dreamer who overate when he was anxious. Po's problems are rooted in the fact that he believes the lie of his false identity much more than he does his authentic one. Is it possible that you do the same? Who could have imagined that beneath all of Po's girth lived the Dragon Warrior? What's hidden from view in you? Seek God for understanding as to who He created you to be. Spoiler Alert: the secret of your limitless power is already in you. God placed it there and He wants you to be who He authentically created you to be.
Maria and I have been playing in the dirt a lot recently. First we replaced our French drain and then we embarked on a creative project intended to change the entire look of our front yard. My brother Jeffrey and I installed a new front step.
