Today is the Feast of Christ the King. Throughout history kings and kingdoms have at some level been associated with power. So today seems like a good day to reflect on power in our lives and world.

Last week a woman came to my office seeking assistance. With tears in her eyes she said, “It’s always something. It’s one thing after another. I can’t catch up and I never get ahead.” I heard in her a sense of powerlessness. Her bills and life’s circumstances have power over her. 

What about you? When have you felt powerless? What brought it about? Who or what had the power in your life at that time?

Recently, I saw a police car with flashing lights come up behind another car. The driver of the other car slowly moved through the intersection and into a parking lot and waited for the police officer to come over. It made me think about the many different people and systems that often exercise power over us.   

Who and what come to mind when you think of those people and systems in your life today? If you’ve ever felt more like a number than a person or if you’ve been in a situation in which the ends were more important than the means you might have been experiencing power over. We’ve all probably had power exercised over us by police, teachers, bankers, the IRS, clergy, or bosses, and the various systems they are a part of. 

A few days ago someone asked me, “Should I call you Fr. Mike, Dr. Marsh, Reverend, or Mister?” I said, “It doesn’t matter, any of those are fine.” But it mattered to her and she persisted in wanting an answer. I realized that for whatever reason she experienced me as having some power over her and I said, “Why don’t you just call me Mike?” 

Even our individual and personal relationships have power dynamics at play; parent and child, spouses or partners, friends, store owner and customer, government officials and individuals, doctor and patient. Every one of you could probably tell a story about power in a personal relationship. I often think about our relationship of parishioner and priest.

Every Sunday I stand before you, wearing a church uniform, as your priest and preacher. I don’t ever want to think or suggest that I have power over you but that I have power with you and you with me. It’s an important distinction. 

So I hope you will think with me today about whether you and I are living from a position of power over or power with. I think that’s a primary issue in our lives today and one that is at the center of today’s gospel. (John 18:33-37) 

Power over tends to negate, diminish, and take life while power with affirms, nourishes, and gives life. That’s the difference between Pilate and Jesus. Pilate is the image and representation of power over and Jesus is the image and representation of power with. Here’s why I say that.

In the verses before today’s gospel Jesus is arrested by soldiers and police carrying weapons. (John 18:3, 12) He is tied up, taken to various authorities, questioned, and struck on the face. (John 18:12-13, 23) In today’s gospel Jesus is “summoned” and questioned by Pilate. He wants Jesus to explain, defend, and justify himself. “Who are you and what have you done?” And in the verses after today’s gospel Pilate has Jesus flogged and crucified. (John 19:1, 16)

So what do you think? Does that sound more like power over or power with?

Pilate operates by and understands power to mean power over. He even says that to Jesus. “Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” (John 19:10) He could just as well have said, “You body, my choice.”

Power over –

• attempts to coerce, intimidate, bully, and dominate;
• is violent and oppressive;
• uses fear as a weapon;
• separates, isolates, and excludes;
• name calls, scapegoats, shames, and dehumanizes;
• neglects or refuses to meet basic needs for another’s safety, belonging, and dignity;
• becomes increasingly cruel; and
• values ideology over people.

Where do you see Pilate today in your life and the world? In what ways are you experiencing someone else’s power over you? When have you had power over another? Listen to someone who has been hurt and you’ll probably hear a story about power over. Just as it was in Jesus’ day power over is the default understanding and expression of power today.

Jesus is clear, however, that his power is not from this world. He does not desire, support, or exercise power over another. To the contrary, he lives and demonstrates a power with kind of life. 

Power with – 

• makes love the first commandment;
• offers peace;
• is welcoming and inclusive;
• feeds the hungry, gives water to the thirsty, clothes the naked;
• means serving others rather than expecting to be served;
• refuses to take revenge, puts away the sword, and turns the other cheek;
• is merciful and forgives;
• seeks equity, mutuality, and interdependence;
• hears and testifies to the truth;
• strives for justice; and
• respects the dignity of every human being.

Jesus demonstrates power with when he reaches out and touches the lepers who power over had isolated and excluded. And when the power over authorities want to stone the woman caught in adultery it is through power with that Jesus refuses to condemn her and instead lets her go in peace. 

Isn’t power with what Jesus is using when he tells Peter to put away his sword and then heals the man whose ear Peter had cut off? The disciples are using power over when they want to send the crowds away hungry but Jesus uses power with to feed five thousand. Isn’t power with what Jesus is demonstrating when he calls to Lazarus, “Come out,” and tells the others, “Unbind him, and let him go?” 

Jesus’ death on the cross is his ultimate denial and repudiation of the power over system. What about you and me?

Where is power over in your life these days? And where is power with? Which predominates? How do you want to live with power? How do you want others to live with power?

In a few minutes we will pray, as Jesus taught us, for the kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. Do you hear what we’re asking? 

We’re asking to live power differently. The kingdom we’re praying for is a power with kingdom. It’s what this world would look like if we really gave existence to what God is asking and insisting. (Caputo, Hoping Against Hope, 119) If we really want a power with kingdom then our power over kingdom has to go.

Are you willing to live power differently today? If so, how? What would you do to deepen your commitment to a power with life? What would that look like and mean for you, your marriage, children, friendships? What difference would it make in your work, politics, priorities, and concerns for others? 

That prayer is asking us to take an honest look at ourselves and make a choice; Pilate or Jesus.

Do you really want Jesus’ power with kingdom for everyone? No exceptions. Are you aligning your life, words, and actions in a power with kind of way as best you can? Are you resisting the power over ways of Pilate in your life and world? 

“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Can I get an “Amen”?

One last thing. Don’t let your “Amen” be just an ending to the prayer. Let it be the beginning of your commitment to live power differently.

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Image Credit:
1. Christ Enthroned by unknown author – https://en.orthodoxe-heilige.ch/die-ikone, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
2. “Crucifixion” by bobosh_t is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.