By The Rev. Deacon Christine McCloudHow many of us are comfortable with the notion of kingships or kingdoms? As Americans and those of us have become "Americanized," the language of kingship is a little problematic for us. Our history as a nation was founded and shaped around the democratic principles of government and the idea of replicating a monarchal type of government was soundly renounced and rejected. Aside from our insatiable curiosity of the comings and goings of the British Royal Family, the idea of kingships and monarchies don't really matter much to us at all.
Today, the church sets aside this last Sunday of the church year to celebrate Christ as King. It is more than just a transition of the church seasons; it is also a time when we pause and stop to acknowledge the reign and kingship of Christ. Some find this day meaningless and unimportant – a colossal waste of time. Others find it odd that the Gospel focuses on the crucifixion story at a time when we're getting ready to prepare for the birth of Christ. I think quite the opposite. More than ever, in our war-torn, polarized and demoralized world, we need to take each and every moment we can to remember Christ as our King. It's a time for us to restore our spiritual wholeness in remembering that Jesus' death upon the cross was not some terrible accident or miscarriage of justice… it was the exclamation point of his ministry here on earth.
In Luke's Gospel, he shares with us his understanding of God's radical love and grace for us. It is in this Gospel that we have Jesus being crucified in the city garbage dump of Jerusalem where in his excruciating pain and final breaths of life, we still find Jesus reaching out to the despised and the rejected.
In moving towards restoring our spiritual wholeness we need to explore exactly who was this King of Kings hanging on a cross in the local city dump. When we take a little time to compare and contrast the Epistle and Gospel readings for today, we get a full picture of Jesus from two absolutely opposite views.
Paul in his letter to the Colossians shares with us a profound spiritual view of who Christ is. "…all things have been created through him and for him …in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…" Luke on the other hand gives us the gut wrenching picture of Jesus hanging on the cross in-between two convicted criminals. The religious leaders scoffed at him, the soldiers mocked him and the people stood by watching and jeering. Even one of the criminals being hanged along with Jesus takes some of his last breaths to insult him.
I imagine that back then, the long awaited Messiah was expected to have a kingdom and rule much like King David did. King David ruled by reclaiming the independence of his people through his mighty armies. Fast forward… here comes Jesus. He's dressed in garments that were more likely closer to pauper's clothing than clothing akin to royalty. He lived among the poorest of the poor… he didn't even have his own home… and he spent most of his days with the despised and least popular folks of his time. And to make matters worse, instead of making his entry into Jerusalem on the back of the "Cadillac" camel, he comes in riding on the back of a donkey. No wonder the crowds mocked him and felt vindicated and content to watch him suffer on the cross.
In some ways today, we still mock Jesus' kingship. The notion of Christ as King in a democratic society seems threatening. Even though many in this democratic society are forever calling for "Christian moral values" to take precedence, there are those of us who ask, whose Christian moral values are we embracing and pushing to the forefront? These so called moral values depicted by the religious right sound neither Christian nor moral to me when they are planted firmly in the language of intolerance and bigotry.
The kingship of Christ and the rule of God is not about earthly power or political authority, revenge or judgment. It is about restoring all of creation to the fullness of peace and justice and to the truth and love that God intended for us. It's about all lands and all people – not just a select few. It's about the interconnectedness of all humanity -- loving our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus' kingship is and always has been vastly different than the worldly kingship. When we celebrate and embrace Christ as King, we are holding up a king who is, first and foremost, a reconciler, a redeemer, a servant. This is a king who not only comes to show us how to live as a people of God in the kingdom of God, but who makes the ultimate sacrifice to save us from our own sins. This is why it is important that we end our church year not with a story of triumph and vindication, but one of humiliation, pain and vulnerability.
Christ's kingship, the love he offered and proclaimed was too radical, too inclusive and far too dangerous to the status quo, then and now. The battle he fought, and still fights, is that of fear and ignorance. He chose as his weapons, words of mass reconciliation, truth and justice, peace and love. How is it then that the very Jesus who gave his life for us to show us how to love one another has had his message of reconciliation co-opted and transformed into a way to polarize us? We need to understand that when we allow others to take Christ's kingship and turn it around to be a rule of law rather than the reign of love that God intended it to be, we grieve the heart of God and Christ's crucifixion becomes far removed from the reconciling act of love it was intended to be.
Why is Christ the King Sunday important? It is important because it is the day that we reclaim and proclaim the Good News of the Gospels for ourselves and the world. This is day that we stand, not in our own self-righteousness, but in Christ's righteousness and share his enduring, sacrificial love at all times, for all reasons. It is a time that we remember that Christ's kingdom wasn't about exercising dominion over people, but instead to transform our lives through his redeeming love and grace.
In spite of Christ's pain on the cross; he forgives. In spite of His suffering, he promises paradise. He gives us hope for better tomorrows when today looks so bleak and hopeless. If you still have problems with understanding or accepting the whole Christ the King idea, it doesn't matter. What we think about Jesus is not as nearly important as what He thinks about us. Be blessed to know that you and I are the objects of his complete, unconditional and sacrificial love at all times.
Amen.
© 2007 The Rev. Deacon Christine McCloud
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