Christ the King (B) + 11.22.15

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(stmaryny.org)
M.Campbell-Langdell
All Santos, Oxnard
(2 Samuel 23:1–7; Psalm 132:1–13, (14–19); Revelation 1:4b–8; John 18:33–37)

You're my friend and You are my brother
Even though You are a king
I love You more than any other
So much more than anything   (From: “As the Deer”)

This Sunday we mark the feast of Christ the King, the end of the liturgical year.
In our seminary chapel we had a stained glass window of a Christ the King image and I must admit that at times I found it relatively uninspiring. I mean, it just seemed so distant, the image of a distant King on a throne. Not my Jesus. Not my friend. Not my brother.
Although the image of Jesus as King goes way back, the truth is that the celebration of Christ the King is a relatively new phenomenon. In 1925 Pope Pius XI instated it,[1] in part as a response to the totalitarian regimes that were starting to come up around the world. Our church accepted this feast shortly thereafter.  A reminder was needed that Christ’s authority was absolute, and that no regime on the face of the earth could match that power. He was the alpha and the omega, when it comes to real power.[2] In truth.
But Jesus, Lord of Love, is shy of that power in the way that the world would thrust it on him. Even in today’s interchange with Pontius Pilate, he is wary of being called a king, because he knows the way that Pilate means it. He is fast to say that his kingdom is not of this world, but is about the truth.
And yet, as I meditate on the idea of Christ as King, a beautiful thing to do in the context of today’s reading from Revelation, some truths emerge.
One is that Christ is a king who shares power. In Revelation, we hear:  “To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen (Rev. 1:5-6).” Jesus’ rule is democratizing. We are all made a royal priesthood of believers in his kingdom. Unlike earthly rulers, who might only wield power in order to have power over others, Jesus Christ shares that power so that we can all serve.[3] We are given dignity and worth. Though in his absolute power we could be slaves, we are made brothers and sisters and friends in the love of our Lord.
A second aspect to Jesus Christ’s kingship is that Jesus is always here with us in the form of his Spirit. Notice that the Revelation passage says “is and was and is to come,” not “was and is and is to come.” The emphasis is on the now, not just for Christians under persecution that first heard the Revelation of John, but for us now.[4] For us in the pain and loss of Paris, Beirut, Baghdad and Mali. Jesus’ Spirit, the Advocate is here with us, loving us through, even when we cannot hear or see it. We can feel it. And sometimes we see it in others’ actions. We see it in words of truth and love shared in the midst of pain. In the French peoples’ decision to take in Syrian refugees because they will not let ISIS win. In the video I saw of a small child speaking with his Dad about how the candles and the flowers spread around Paris are combatting the guns and the violence.[5] Praise God for Jesus’ loving Spirit, enveloping us, even now, every moment.
A third aspect to Jesus’ kingship is in Jesus’ aim. Jesus, Prince of Peace, wants us to learn Love. Ultimately, that is what the justice of God will be. Some of the truest words I read this week were from Richard Rohr’s book Everything Belongs, reflecting on the words of Julian of Norwich, the mystic. Here they are, beginning with Julian’s words:
“In fear and trembling,” she asked of Jesus, “O good Lord, how can all be well when great harm has come to your creatures through sin? And here I wanted, if I dared, to have some clever explanation to put my mind to rest.” And he said, “Since I have brought good out of the worst ever evil, I want you to know by this, that I shall bring good out of all lesser evils, too.” [And Rohr says:] Could God’s love really be that great and that universal? Is life just a great school of love? I believe it is. Love is the lesson, and God’s love is so great that God will finally teach it to all of us. We’ll finally surrender, and God will finally win. That will be God’s “justice,” which will swallow up all lesser versions.[6]
God’s justice. Can we believe it? That it is about each and every one of us being gathered up into Christ’s bosom of love? Into the arms of the one who is our friend and our brother, even though he is a king? Perhaps it is almost impossible for us to grasp this, unless we dream.


[3] Rolf Jacobson, Karoline Lewis, Matt Skinner, “Sermon Brainwave Podcast #447 – Christ the King,” http://www.workingpreacher.org/brainwave.aspx?podcast_id=684.
[4] Ibid.
[6] Richard Rohr, Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer (New York: A Crossroad Book, 2003), 132-133.

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