Sermon-Year B-Proper 29 25 Pentecost-Christ the King November 22 The Cloud of Unknowing, "O God, our great companion, lead us ever more deeply into the mystery of your life and ours, that we may be faithful interpreters of Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Today is Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of the church year. It This is from preacher Bruce Modahl about today: Christ the King is a Johnny-come-lately to the schedule of festivals and observances on the church calendar. It has neither the biblical warrant of Easter nor the antiquity of the forty days of Lent. Christ the King Sunday is the invention of a twentieth-century pope, Pius XI. Yet Christ the King Sunday is on the calendars of all the Protestant churches that keep a church calendar. No doubt the appeal of the day is rooted in the need Pius XI saw in 1925. Europe was still reeling from World War I, and economic uncertainty abounded. People were bending the knee and doing obeisance to human savior and political parties that promised to rescue them. Religion was increasingly relegated to the private sphere. In response to this, Pius XI called for an annual Sunday feast day to assert the "Kingship of our Savior." He called for a day on which people would gather to bend their knees to Christ and witness to the day when every knee in heaven and on earth and under the earth will bend to Christ and confess him as Lord. In 1925 the observance of Christ the King proclaimed that no earthly ruler is lord. The day proclaimed Jesus is king not only of our hearts and our private moments and personal salvation but of all time and space. It was also the 1600th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. Any of you students of history, did the world change after 1925? What kind of impact did Pius XI s papal bull have on the rulers and nations of the world? Zip, zilch, nada. NOTHING CHANGED. Not in the nations and countries of the world. This gospel reading is taken from Jesus encounter with Pilate late in the gospel of John. Pilate has heard about Jesus, but when he finally meets him, he is disappointed. Jesus is just so, so ordinary. So, unkinglike. When people think of royalty, kings and queens, a lot of the time we think of Queen Elizabeth-who s been queen for over
60 years. Do you realize that throughout history the average length of time a monarch served was between 3 and 4 years before they were killed or overthrown? Here is Jesus in front of the king of Palestine, Pontius Pilate, a man known for his ruthlessness and violence, and you can almost hear Pilate laughing. You re a king? And here is Jesus standing before Pilate. Jesus was a man with a rapidly shrinking number of friends. A man with only the clothes on his back. No 401K. No perks. A man who would shortly after this conversation be tortured and killed. A man whose ministry lasted just about as long as most kingship-3 years. This is the contrast with royalty-the kingship of Christ. Kings have servants. Jesus called people to serve. Kings have wealth. Jesus called people to sacrifice. Kings tell others what to do. Jesus invited people to follow. This is from an anonymous teacher at a seminary: :One of my students is an Anglican priest from South Africa. Not long ago he shared a story about what it was like to believe Jesus was King during the days of apartheid. "Our whole congregation was arrested," he said, "for refusing to obey the government." I thought I misheard him, but he went on to say that all 240 members of the congregation were arrested and put in jail -- from babies to a 90-year-old man. "At least babies and mothers were kept together," he added. The pastor himself was imprisoned for a year. To claim that Jesus is King can be dangerous. Kings demand loyalty. Jesus asked people to have faith Kings try to conquer. Jesus came to help. Kings dominate. Jesus encouraged. An Amish man was once asked by an enthusiastic young evangelist whether he had been saved, and whether he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior? The gentleman replied, "Why do you ask me such a thing? I could tell you anything. Here are the names of my banker, my grocer, and my farm hands. Ask them if I've been saved." Kings require obedience. Jesus offered freedom.
Kings call for people to wait on them. Jesus washed peoples feet. Kings rely on strength. Jesus advocated going the extra mile. Over and over in my life I see this great struggle between the values of the world, and the values of Christ. It is challenging. The world paints the king s life as pretty appealing. Possessions, security, the adoration of others, a certain amount of wealth, a life of ease. Isn t that attractive? Jesus tells Pilate, My kingdom is not of this world. He didn t mean his kingdom is in heaven. He meant that it was different than the world s kingdoms. Jesus died the way he lived, as a suffering servant. He brought healing, hope, and freedom to those who followed. It wasn t the kind of kingship Pilate was familiar with. Charles Colson, former legal counsel to Richard Nixon and later founder of the Christian Prison Fellowship, says it like this: "All the kings and queens I have known in history sent their people out to die for them. I only know one king who decided to die for his people." Kings demand. Jesus turned his cheek. Kings curse. Jesus blessed. Kings wear crowns of jewels. Jesus wore a crown of thorns. Finally, My friend Mark loves this story. A little girl was visiting her grandmother in a small country town. They went to a very emotional church service together. People were jumping and shouting, "Praise the Lord!", and "AMEN!", and lifting their arms in the air. Some might call it a holy roller service. The little girl asked her grandmother if all that jumping meant that God was really there. Her grandma said, "Honey, it don't matter how high they jump up. It's what they do when they come down that will tell you if it's the real thing." It s Christ the King Sunday. Which kingdom claims you? Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took his throne, his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and flowed out from his presence. A thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him. The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed. Psalm 93 God is ruler, God is robed in majesty; the Sovereign is robed, and is girded with strength. God has established the world; it shall never be moved; your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O God, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring. More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters, more majestic than the waves of the sea, majestic on high is God!
Your decrees are very sure; holiness befits your house, O God, forevermore. Revelation 1:4b-8 Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. 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. Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. John 18:33-37 Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "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." Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."