University Christian Church

This week, I like so many was drawn to the hearing for Supreme Court nominee Ketanja Brown Jackson, who if confirmed will be the first black woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice.

And unfortunately, what was intended perhaps to be a time for the Senate to advise and consent in this process, the two day hearing felt more like an interrogation, a cross-examination, as a few Senators used their time to cast aspersions of character against the nominee.

They asked questions that they asked no other Supreme Court nominee - criticizing her for the choice of school that her daughter attends, suggesting that she is soft on certain crimes, and suggesting that she is unqualified despite her bevy of qualifications.

Certainly, the interrogation reflected the partisan divide - now feeling like a Grand Canyon size rift - as well as a confirmation of the long history of doubting qualified, experienced people of color.

And yet I, along with many others, was encouraged and wowed by Judge Jackson’s demeanor, her grace, her firm pushback, and her poise.

As I remarked to a colleague, would I have been able to endure such cross-examination without walking out, without offering some choice words in response, without losing my cool? I would have folded like one of our chairs in the Narthex.

Judge Jackson endured the accusations and revealed more about herself at times in the silence - her courage and her values.

Jesus in our scripture today is being cross-examined, not to be offered a seat on some kind of Supreme Court… but to be put to death.

After his interrogation and assault at the hands of some Jewish leaders, he is brought to Pilate.

In Roman-occupied Israel, the Jewish leaders were given some authority of their own to conduct their religious practices, but Rome wielded the ultimate power politically. So while some of the Jewish leaders might have thought that Jesus in his words and actions, claiming to be God, healing on the Sabbath, talking with the wrong kinds of people, causing the people to get excited on Palm Sunday, had already done enough to be executed, they had to rely on Pilate.

Pilate had come into the city during Passover to watch over things - to make sure the crowds didn't push their luck or foment against Rome.

Pilate receives Jesus with borderline curiosity. It's hard to read much into his words or character. Is he genuinely curious about Jesus? Or more likely, does he feel like this is a waste of his time? He knows these Jewish leaders want this man dead. Is there a way to use this situation for his own power, for Rome's glory? To keep the crowds from causing problems? To enjoy a quiet week?

The interrogation that unfolds drips, I think, with contempt for Jesus.

"Are you the king of the jews?" This is an incendiary question to answer in front of a Roman authority. If Jesus says, yes, then Jesus has admitted to being a rebel and likely will face immediate death to dare usurp Rome's power. If he says no, then Jesus’ testimony is pitted against a group of Jewish leaders. Who would Pilate believe? Either way, Jesus would lose.

And what unfolds is so fascinating. Pilate is the one in charge - the one interrogating Jesus - and by the end of the exchange, it seems that Jesus is the one interrogating Pilate, forcing Pilate to reveal how little he understands.

Jesus tells him, “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.”

One of the repeated themes throughout the Gospels is how often Jesus’ own followers didn’t understand the big picture. Jesus was not simply a King in a political sense, come to restore the fortunes of Israel. Rather, he had come to usher in a new community, a vision for life together with God, a community that would extend beyond his own Jewish people and include the fullness of humanity.

Jesus’ answer escapes the danger of Pilate’s question.

Jesus is a King - but not the kind of King that Pilate’s limited imagination would grasp.

Jesus doesn’t crack under pressure - in fact, he reveals once again who he is, and it is Pilate in the end who is unsure. He asks Jesus, “What is truth?” Jesus does not answer, but we hear, if we listen closely, the echo of Jesus’ words to his disciples resound - “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

Pilate tells the Jewish leaders, “I found no case against him.”

Pilate, who has immense authority, though is bound by the laws of his own broken and corrupt and brutal empire - even though this man is innocent, Rome’s broken and corrupt morality are revealed in how quickly Pilate acquiesces and sentences Jesus to a grisly death.

The gathered crowd, in their anger and short-sightedness, would rather release a bandit, one who causes chaos, than let the one who healed, who raised the dead, who loved, who ate with sinners.

In our world, daily we are being interrogated by the choices we make, by the actions we take, by the values we exhibit.

We are being cross-examined. Will we wilt under the pressure? Or will we stand firm in who we are?

The truth is - sometimes we do wilt. Sometimes we crumple and we fail. Sometimes, we struggle mightily. And in those moments, when we face consequences or must confront how ugly we have made our lives, Jesus stands as our guide to return, a reminder of what is possible. A reminder that we are not alone in our struggles - a reminder that even in our worst case situation, we are loved.

"The universal Christ, who is not a colonizer, who does not seek after profit or create empires to rule over the poor or to oppress people, is constantly asking us to see ourselves as we fit in this sacredly created world." - Kaitlin Curtice, Native

Each day then becomes an invitation for us to usher a part of the kingdom, the beloved community, that Jesus spoke to Pilate about. To expose the Pilate’s of our day that would so readily condemn others to death to keep the peace.

When Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson endured her two days of hearings, always behind her were her husband, her daughter, her parents. They were there in prayer and love.

And likewise, for us, as we follow Jesus, as we endure our daily grilling, our daily interrogation, Jesus roots for us. Jesus stands with us. Jesus’ truth - that there are possibilities in this life beyond death - does not waver.

Where are you wavering? Where are you hurting? Where do you feel exposed and weakened by the powers of this world?

Know Jesus is there for you. Know Jesus’ courage and love are available to you. Know you are not alone.