Real Power
Fr. George Smiga
November 21-22, 2009
John 18:33-37
Today’s gospel is about power. By calling Jesus a king, the Gospel associates Jesus with power. The gospel calls us to reflect on what kind of power does Jesus have? What kind of power does Jesus exercise? In one sense that question is easy to answer. Jesus has absolute power, because he exercises the power of God. But God’s power is unique. Although it is absolute, it is not coercive. Think of it. God does not force any of us here to do anything. God gives us life, gives us free will and asks us to follow. Although God’s power is absolute, God makes room for our free will and our response. So God’s power, although absolute, does not use force. This makes the power of Jesus very different than the power we usually experience in our lives.
You see the power in our world is usually coercive power. It is the ability to bend someone to our will, to achieve whatever we desire. When Joseph Stalin was told by his staff that the Pope objected to his invasion of Poland, Stalin is said to have quipped, “The Pope! How many military divisions does the Pope have?” You see for Stalin, power was to be equated with coercion, with military force. Jesus’ power is different. Jesus says, “My kingdom (and therefore my power) are not of this world.” Now this does not mean that Jesus’ power is only exercised in heaven. Jesus’ power is different from the normal coercive way that we experience power in our lives.
It is because of this truth that Pilot cannot figure out Jesus at all. You see Pilot thinks that he, Pilot, has the power. He knows that he has the power to crucify Jesus and to get rid of this peculiar Jew. Pilot exercises that power and Jesus dies on the cross. But despite the brutal force of Pilot, the crucifixion was not the end of Jesus. Jesus possesses the power of God.
So the challenge of today’s Gospel is for us to believe that Jesus’ power of love and service is stronger than the power of brutal force. That is what we are faced with today. We must decide whose power is greater, the power of Pilot or the power of Jesus? You and I know well that the power of this world, when it is exercised by such men as Joseph Stalin has the power to crush thousands. Dare we believe that the power of Christ is greater? Perhaps an example will help us decide.
A couple of weeks ago at 95 years of age, Norman Borlaug died. Now most of you don’t know Norman Borlaug. But he was a man with real power. He was a botanist and he dedicated his life to developing new strains of wheat, wheat that could grow in the most inclement areas of the world. Living in poverty and under great stress in many third world countries, Borlaug worked until he was able to develop a high yield grain that allowed the poorest people of the world to feed their families. It is estimated today that half of the world’s population is fed by grains that Norman Borlaug developed. So here is what we must decide. Who had the greater power, Joseph Stalin or Norman Borlaug? Whose power should we adopt in our own lives, the power of Pilot or the power of Jesus? What the Gospel challenges us to believe is that the power of non-coercive service is greater than the power of brutal force. We are challenged to believe that we will be more successful in our families, at our jobs and in our lives when we opt for sacrifice rather than manipulation, when we opt for service rather than control.
Now I know that the power of Jesus can often look weak. It can look like we are giving in, even like we are dying. But our faith tells us that this is the only power that can truly change people’s hearts and build the kingdom of God.
Dare to believe that Jesus’ power is real. Dare to make his way your way. Dare to trust him, to claim him as your king.
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