Christ the King Sunday. This comes on the ending Sunday of the church year. Next Sunday is the beginning of Advent.
I am currently reading in the Bible 1 and 2 Kings, as a member of the intimate A Year of Contemplating the Word Facebook group devoted to for a year to read from Genesis to Revelation. The accounts in Kings do not paint a flattering picture of kings. Beside Christ the King Sunday, today's Gospel is full of language around kings as well. We were also indirectly reminded during our this morning's worship service that our American president currently acts as if he wants to be king. When describing this Sunday, Creator's Worship Bulletin reads:
I am currently reading in the Bible 1 and 2 Kings, as a member of the intimate A Year of Contemplating the Word Facebook group devoted to for a year to read from Genesis to Revelation. The accounts in Kings do not paint a flattering picture of kings. Beside Christ the King Sunday, today's Gospel is full of language around kings as well. We were also indirectly reminded during our this morning's worship service that our American president currently acts as if he wants to be king. When describing this Sunday, Creator's Worship Bulletin reads:
"Even after Israel had experienced the vagaries of kings, they still longed for a true king to set things right. He would have the king’s title of Anointed One (Messiah); he would be the “one like a human being” (Son of Man) given dominion in Daniel’s vision. Jesus is given these titles, even though he is nothing like an earthly king. His authority comes from the truth to which he bears witness, and those who recognize the truth voluntarily listen to him. We look forward to the day he is given dominion, knowing his victory will be the nonviolent victory of love."
Last year's Christ the King Sunday's Gospel was the Parable of the Sheep and Goats. In today's Gospel text is John's account of the Trial of Jesus which is all about Pilate putting questions to Jesus about being a king: “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.”
One benefit of this blog is being able to look back on what you found important and learned. I wanted to be clear-eyed about was writing here so I thought I would review the blog posts to remind myself of what I had learned over this past year. I will quote the first post I came to:
"Today every time we sang about God's rule and glory there was a more complex and complicated reaction to the words describing God coming into the world. To me, this morning, proclamations with kingly adjectives came from our human grammar not God's. When we sang "join the triumph of the skies" in Hark! The Herald Angels sing. it felt like an attempt to push God up and back into heaven instead of celebrating Emmanuel, God with us.
Our God is a God of surprise and reversal. Perhaps our God claims something more than dutiful, routine love while cherishing that kind of love that we can give as well."
Pastor Ray preached about God being a God of surprise. Words that well describe how I feel about what could be, but more often is not, the proper use of the word king as a title for Jesus today. Historically giving Jesus this title was a reversal. It surprised non-Christians because everyone thought of Cesar as king. Now we simply say "Jesus is given these titles, even though he is nothing like an earthly king "
Jesus did not want to be called king. John 6:15 "Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself." We say he was not like an earthly king. Calling him king her and now makes as much sense as saying Jesus is a like rooster but not like any rooster that has ever been seen on earth. The question being if Jesus is not associated with any quality we associate with a king, why call him a King?
If the title "king" no longer surprises or reverses our perspective on the world I see no reason to use that word. This insistence on calling him king is as strange as Lutherans not following Martin Luther's request when he said "I ask that my name be left silent and people not call themselves Lutheran, but rather Christians. " I say this to show I am not above this kind of adulatory behavior and I also need to recognize it for what it is.
If the title "king" no longer surprises or reverses our perspective on the world I see no reason to use that word. This insistence on calling him king is as strange as Lutherans not following Martin Luther's request when he said "I ask that my name be left silent and people not call themselves Lutheran, but rather Christians. " I say this to show I am not above this kind of adulatory behavior and I also need to recognize it for what it is.
Neither am I alone in wanting another metaphor to use with Jesus besides calling him king. Another member in the above Facebook group wrote, "Times of grief and repentance tend to draw me closer to God. God gave the people kings like they wanted. The kings argued over power, land, and borders, not much has changed today. Our current situation brings me closer to God in lament and prayer."
Another issue with the word king relates back to last week's Gospel text about marveling at spectacle. "King" is a spectacle word. Kings are about earthly riches, power and splendor. This unfortunately carries over to the stories of Jesus as well. Think of the Holy Grail which our minds and dreams make into a golden chalice. Initially this was where God's surprise and reversal came for those who were not Christians and who were encountering the Gospel for the first time. Yet there are better words that the followers of Jesus can use to show how they acknowledge the power of Jesus in their lives.
Lord or messiah spring to mind. The Old Testament never speaks of a divine eschatological messiah. The “messianic” passages that contain prophecies of a future golden age under an ideal king never use the term messiah. Nevertheless, many modern scholars believe that Israelite messianism grew out of beliefs that were connected with their nation’s kingship. When the actual reality and the careers of particular Israelite kings proved more and more disappointing, the “messianic” kingship ideology was projected on the future. Is this a tradition we want to continue or can it be outgrown?
There is also something inherently linked to self-interest in the word king. James Baldwin, the writer, touched on this reward when he talked about why he left his early call to ministry. "I felt that I was committing a crime in talking about the gentle Jesus, in telling them to reconcile themselves to their misery on earth in order to gain the crown of eternal life......If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving. If God cannot do this, then it is time we got rid of Him." Our desire for the "crown of eternal life" does not make us larger and freer in this life like Jesus. Serving under a king in this world does not lead to the freedom Baldwin is speaking about.
There is also something inherently linked to self-interest in the word king. James Baldwin, the writer, touched on this reward when he talked about why he left his early call to ministry. "I felt that I was committing a crime in talking about the gentle Jesus, in telling them to reconcile themselves to their misery on earth in order to gain the crown of eternal life......If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving. If God cannot do this, then it is time we got rid of Him." Our desire for the "crown of eternal life" does not make us larger and freer in this life like Jesus. Serving under a king in this world does not lead to the freedom Baldwin is speaking about.
So why continue this "king" tradition? God granted kings to Israel despite it not being in their best interest. Kings did not and do not serve God. At least in this place, at this time, I'm filled with only negative connotations when linking God to the earthly power structures around property accumulation that God never wanted in place.
My wife said the first thing she thought of when listening to the sermon was King Arthur, so I must admit Jesus could be considered as a "good" king but I was obviously influenced by my Kings reading from the Bible. These kings were distant, judgmental and not doing God's will. I think of them as male rulers of independent states. "King" also emphasizes a man who is, by right of birth in his family, better than his fellow man. This is not the Jesus in my heart. The image in my mind of Jesus is not the crown of a king but a crown of thorns. There is an irreconcilable difference between them.
My wife said the first thing she thought of when listening to the sermon was King Arthur, so I must admit Jesus could be considered as a "good" king but I was obviously influenced by my Kings reading from the Bible. These kings were distant, judgmental and not doing God's will. I think of them as male rulers of independent states. "King" also emphasizes a man who is, by right of birth in his family, better than his fellow man. This is not the Jesus in my heart. The image in my mind of Jesus is not the crown of a king but a crown of thorns. There is an irreconcilable difference between them.
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| Pastor Ray, Roy and Valerie |
Speaking of the body of Christ, we also had a Thanksgiving for Baptism during the service today and welcomed two members. Roy and Valerie. It feels like there was intentionality in including more responses from the congregation that we read out loud. The bulletin has changed now to say after Pastor: Rev. Ray McKechnie "Ministers: All the people". The New Member Welcome felt like the passages the congregation read were directly given to Roy and Valerie.
The choir is practicing for A Concert of Lessons and Carols coming up in December. It is fun to see the excitement for choir returning to the rehearsals.
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OS - Do the words need changing?
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