Is it Christ the King Sunday already? It’s a little hard to believe how quickly these things sneak up you. It has been about a year since the last time I was up here telling you about the Christ who is King. And in the intervening year a lot has happened, certainly in all our lives, but especially in our lives as folks that live in America. This is especially true in considering the past few weeks when we had our biennial civics lesson in the form of elections. Now, because I sense a theology lesson hidden behind every civics lesson (or any other lesson, really: I can’t help myself), I wanted to share some thoughts about the way this Jesus is King, what his Kingdom is like, and how we are and can be His subjects.
Paul tells in the second chapter of Phillippians us that God has:
“bestowed on him (that is, Jesus) the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
Now this is certainly regal language! Anyone who has any passing interest in medieval history, or in Lord of the Rings (or dare I say, Game of Thrones) can get a pretty good idea of what it is like to be a king of a nation: exalted, powerful, effective, perhaps brutal, or maybe capricious, and certainly someone who because they have the power of the sword…a force to be reckoned with. We understand this vision of rulers because literature is rife with examples, and history in all its forms: Ancient, modern and everything in between is a roll call of despots whose heads filled crowns and whose hands were thick with blood. Even the noble ruler among them has had to make decisions that made the crown a burden at times. Therefore, it might be uncomfortable for us to think of Jesus as King because all the powerful people our minds can conjure are so unimpressive, so…human. But looking at the back of the church in the balcony, I can see my favorite depiction of Jesus here in the parish. King Jesus in the Te Deum window in the balcony reminds me that Jesus sitting in exaltation is the same Jesus that sat with his disciples and served them dinner. He who is King of all serves all, suffered and died for all, and was raised up to sit at God’s right hand in the heavenly places. The one who reigns, as the letter to the Ephesians says, far above all rule and authority and power, and dominion, is known by his humility and not by his sword. The new heavens and the new earth will not be ruled by a chieftain astride a warhorse, but by the Prince of Peace who rules by gently shepherding souls to true life in God’s pasture.
But what of his Kingdom? Does it resemble the factions and parties of our country’s common life? What of the war torn and spiritually dim places of our world? What about the Church with her divisions and conflicts? How can we know the character of Christ’s Kingdom?
It can be hard to find. But for those looking for the right things, I promise it’s there, where Jesus’ Lordship is confessed, and through his shepherd-like rule, you can find kindness upon kindness and the courage to love. I meet people every day who go through all types of personal horrors who still, as the Psalmist, run to their God who was their help and comfort. And as citizens of Christ’s Kingdom and under his graceful rule, they show mercy and love towards their neighbor. When people come together in prayer and faithfulness to iron out slights and conflicts rather than leaving them to boil over into feuds or violence, this is Christ’s Kingdom in action. I guess what I’m really trying to say is that when Jesus said “Blessed are the Peacemakers,” he really meant it, even though it is really hard sometimes. And even in what seems to be the most inhospitable terrain for the Gospel, people find a way to follow after the Kingship of Jesus. To see something truly remarkable, I recommend the recent history of Canon Andrew White, the Vicar of Baghdad, who worked tirelessly to be an agent of Christ’s peaceable kingdom in an area of the world that hasn’t known true peace in decades.
But not all of us are called to super heroic acts of peacemaking. At the same time, we who call Jesus King are called to live in His Kingdom, and His is our primary allegiance. This calls to mind a thought I often have, a question that runs in my mind fairly routinely for better or worse: “what difference does it all make?” And I suppose to the skeptic, well, maybe none. But for those with eyes to see and ears to hear, the citizens of Heaven’s Kingdom are marked by a desire to be a part of God’s renewal of this world, so that it can be a beacon pointing to the next. “What difference does it all make?” Well, ask any penitent sinner what absolution feels like. Ask any heart warmed by the soft glow of the Spirit what God’s welcome feels like. Ask anyone whose memory only contains the knowledge of being hidden in the comfort of his wings. Ask anyone who has had their lives rearranged by a midlife encounter with the living God. God makes a difference with our lives, when we make Jesus our King. And our citizenship, our hope, is not necessarily marked by a document but by our love.
The Lord of Love is our King and his desires for his subjects are not to conquer and rule, but to love and serve: feeding the hungry, refreshing the thirsty, welcoming strangers, clothing folks, visiting folks as our Gospel lesson indicates.
This coming Advent, how will you, how will we as a parish show the world who our King is? It’s a question for us to take home. You might consider asking the King himself! For now, let us rejoice that He is among us today.
Hail King Jesus! Make our hearts glad!
Sermon preached by the Rev. David S. Bumsted
The Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota, Florida
The Last Sunday after Pentecost
23 November 2014