Upside Down Kingdom

Readings Psalm 93 and John 18: 33-37

In the Christian year, today is Christ the King or the Reign of Christ Sunday. It is the final Sunday in the Church Year. Next week we will be in Advent, as we think about the coming of Jesus, as the baby in Bethlehem, and in the One who is yet to come and bring the Kingdom of God to fulfillment. 

On Reign of Christ Sunday, we celebrate that God’s reign in the entire universe has already been accomplished. At the same time, we anticipate the day when that reign will be accomplished in every human heart. On Reign of Christ Sunday, we remind ourselves of the already/not-yet tension of God’s reign over all creation. https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/1955/reign-of-christ-sunday

The Psalm speaks of God as King, the ruler of the earth, more majestic than the seas, the One in whom we ground ourselves. The images in the Psalm are of the power of nature, and that God is more amazing and powerful than creation.

Then we come to the idea of Jesus being King.

Christ the King Sunday has always seemed ridiculous to me – partly because we don’t have Kings in the way people did in previous eras, but also because Jesus doesn’t look like the fairy tale king many of us grew up with.

Jesus doesn’t have a throne with velvet cushions,
There is no crown of Gold or fur lined robe
He didn’t have servants waiting on him hand and foot.
The disciples questioned his activities – you didn’t do that to the Roman Emperor, or you didn’t last long.

The image we have of a king is nothing like what we know about Jesus, so this Sunday always seems an oddity to me. Last week we read the song of Hannah and in a few weeks we will read the Song of Mary, both of which speak of a world renewed, transformed, turned upside down, or maybe right-side -up. In the same way Jesus turns the idea of kingship on its head. He isn’t like an earthy king, ruling in absolute power, controlling the lives of nations with armies conquering foreign lands.

Jesus has no castle or wealth or army to command. He doesn’t have the right to kill or imprison people.

“The truth of his kingship is that he rules not with political power, but with humility, not with physical might, but with mercy, not with violence, but surrender, even surrender unto death.” Michaela Bruzzese

From the time of his Baptism by John in the Jordan River, Jesus travels, sleeping where he can, living off the generosity of people and the fruits of the earth and sea. Jesus is then killed, not in a coup by a rival, but put to death for upsetting the religious leaders with the assistance of the Roman Governor. Jesus does not look like any other king we have seen; I wonder if he really can be called a King?

Except as Christians we say Jesus does rule our lives, that Jesus is King, but of a kingdom unlike any other.

Maybe that is the difference, we choose Jesus to be Lord of our lives, we choose to follow his example and teaching.

In the reading from John’s Gospel, we have part of the encounter between Jesus and Pilate. Pilate holds the fate of Jesus in his hands, Pilate is not sure why Jesus has been brought before him, he is curious about the person he has heard about. And Pilate asks: Are you the king of the Jews?

From the birth story of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, we read how King Herod is concerned at the news that a child has been born who will be King. Herod’s plan was not for some child from small town Galilee to become King, but like most monarchies that his son would be the next ruler.

From his birth to his death Jesus upset leaders by his existence; and Jesus will likely upset our lives as he transforms our lives if we are serious about Jesus being our King.

Our lives will be transformed when Jesus is King of our lives, and in this case, Jesus isn’t a team player; he doesn’t want to share lordship in our lives. If we name Jesus as Lord or King, he is the only Lord or King.  I wonder what else we allow to control our lives, maybe it is money, or friends; maybe our lives are controlled by fear or shame or guilt; maybe our lives are controlled by our desire for perfection. I wonder what it is that prevents you from allowing the Kingdom of God to be more fully present in our life?

Last weekend I met with a student so he could interview me for a school assignment. He asked me about some areas of ethics, including Voluntary Assisted Dying, Abortion, and organ donation. He then asked me what was the guiding idea that was behind my thinking on these and other issues. It was obvious my responses were motivated by pastoral concern more than a doctrinal statement. The verse, or part of a verse that has been in my mind a lot the past year is from John’s gospel: I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest. [John 10:10b Contemporary English Version]

Life in its fullest, abundant life, comes from living with Christ as our King. And allowing that to transform our hearts, our minds, and our lives.

Jesus said: My kingdom is not from this world. This is a King without a Royal Yacht, without a palace, without a golden throne; a king who respects and loves and dies for his people; a king who chooses the least, the unlovely, the powerless and offers welcome, inclusion and liberation. This Kingdom is not one we are familiar with. We live in a world where politics is littered with stories of corruption; where business leaders argue for less tax, lower wages, and higher profits, where people are homeless, hungry, lonely. We live in a world that needs the love of Jesus, the grace of Jesus and the hope and peace that comes from lives transformed by this most unkinglike king.

This Kingdom is not one we are familiar with, but it is real, for those with ears to hear and eyes to see. 

I wonder where we see the Kingdom of God;

Where do you see the Reign of Christ around you?

How do you respond to Jesus the King calling you?

This morning in baptising E, we acknowledged that she is a precious child of God, known and loved by God. Each time we baptise I am also reminded that God also loves me, and I hope each of you are reminded that you are also loved, that you are also precious to God.  All people are loved by God, warts and all.

This passage from the letter of John, not only tells us that we love because God first loved us, but that we are to love one another and that whoever loves God must also love others, because if we don’t love others, we can’t love God.

Compare this to the behaviour of the leaders in the reading from the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah spoke the word of God to the people of Judah. He spoke God’s words of judgement, and God’s words of hope. The section we heard this morning records the judgement of the bad shepherds.

Kings in that part of the world were often called shepherds, they were to care for the people as a shepherd cared for his sheep. But these were not good shepherds, they did not care for the people, they did not keep the people safe.

God saw that the people were lost, they were being taken to Babylon by force, the leaders were not taking notice of God.

About 300 years before Jeremiah, the people of God did not have kings, and they asked the prophet Samuel for a king. God told Samuel to warn the people what life would be like with a king:

If you have a king, this is how he will treat you.
He will force your sons to join his army.
Your daughters will be forced to make perfume or do his cooking.

The king will take your best fields and your slaves and your donkeys
He will also take a tenth of your grain and grapes
and a tenth of your sheep and goats.

 … and you will finally cry out for the Lord to save you from the king you wanted. But the Lord won’t answer your prayers.

And the people said: “We want to be like other nations. We want a king to rule us and lead us in battle.”[i]

Thinking about these two passages this morning, I thought about the different kinds of leaders we have in the world and in our lives.

There are leaders who care for people and leaders who care only for themselves

There are leaders who unite and leaders who divide

There are leaders who take for themselves and leaders who share resources.

Today is the last Sunday in the church year, Christ the King Sunday. Next Sunday we begin Advent, 4 weeks of preparing for the birth of Jesus.

Christ the King Sunday celebrates the all-embracing authority of Christ as King and Lord of all things. It is a relatively new celebration in the life of the church, first being celebrated in 1925. [ii]

Proclaiming Christ as King means that nothing else and no one else can claim our ultimate loyalty and devotion. ^[iii]  

Remember the picture book, Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare discussing how much they love each other. [iv]

Do you think God loves you to the river, or the moon?

Remember the words I spoke to E just before the water was poured on her head?

E,
for you Jesus Christ has come,
has lived, has suffered;
for you he endured the agony of Gethsemane
and the darkness of Calvary;
for you he uttered the cry, ‘It is accomplished!’
For you he triumphed over death;
for you he prays at God’s right hand;
for you,
even before you were born.
In baptism, the word of the apostle is confirmed:
‘We love, because God first loved us’

We love because God first loved us. and God showed that love in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Jesus, the one who is named King today,
not a King who enjoys displaying his power,
but a king of love,
of compassion,
of generosity.

A good Shepherd,
one who keeps the flock together,
who protects,
who nurtures
who forgives.

God is love,
and those who live in love
live in union with God
and God lives in union with them.
There is no fear in love;
perfect love drives out all fear.

We love because God first loved us.
The command that Christ has given us is this:
whoever loves God must love others also.

I wonder what the love of God looks like in your life?

Who or what do you fear?

How do you love others as God loves you?

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[i] 1 Samuel 8

[ii] http://www.churchyear.net/ctksunday.html

[iii] Monica https://revgalblogpals.org/2016/11/15/revised-common-lectionary-who-reigns-edition/#comments

[iv] Guess How Much I love You by Sam McBratney

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The Illusion of Peace

Reading the paper and watching the news on TV can lead to despair and anxiety.

What is the world coming to?

How can people be so cruel?

The events in Paris over the past week, then yesterday in Mali, and terror type attacks that are regular events in Nigeria and Syria and other places. We think it will never happen to us, yet we also fear that it will.

What if the wrong kind of person is allowed into the country?

Well, Jesus was the wrong kind of person.

Jesus,

the country hick from Galilee

The pain in the neck of the religious leaders

The one who was followed by unpredictable crowds

Jesus was a threat to national security

Unauthorised groups gathered to listen to him

And a week before the gospel reading we heard read this morning, a parade. How dare he!

Jesus was a threat to Jerusalem and Rome – not because he might bomb them, or destroy the buildings, or kill people.  

Jesus was threat to Jerusalem because he was a threat to the religious elite. The leaders of the Temple were collaborators with the Roman leaders. The Jewish people were allowed to follow their religion, as long as it did not interfere with the Roman law. It was in the interest of the Temple leaders for the people of Israel to stay calm, peaceful and law abiding citizens.

The Roman Empire has been described at times as a peaceful period in world history – Pax Romana. This isn’t Shalom, peace that comes from harmony, this was peace in the midst of fear. Peace by dictatorship.

 And I think it is the Pax Romana that we try and turn to in our current time. Peace that is surface, peace that seems secure, peace founded on power.

But deep down we know that isn’t peace or security.

Having more complex screening at airports, more surveillance, tighter controls on the movement of people, doesn’t make for peace.

This is a false peace, peace founded on fear and power. The people with power do more and more to maintain their position and power.   

And often fear is used as the motivator for people to be obedient to increase in the use of force.

So much of what we see on TV, feeds into our insecurities –

Is our house up to the standard of Better Homes and Gardens?

Are our meals as well presented as on Master Chef?

Are we failing our children by not buying a house for them when they finish school?

We see the latest trends in fashion, house decoration and food

We see people living perfect ‘adverting world’ lives, and we wonder when did we get left behind.

We see images of death and destruction and we are fed the lie that this could be prevented by more police power

We live in an illusion.

We live in a world that sells us a lie

A lie that peace comes from fear and force

A lie that more stuff will make us happy

A lie that we are not good enough

Jesus is dangerous because he comes to break that illusion.

Jesus is dangerous because he says peace comes from love not from fear

Jesus is dangerous because he is willing to die rather than live the lie.

Christ the King Sunday has always seemed ridiculous to me – partly because we don’t have Kings in the way people did in previous eras, but also because Jesus doesn’t look like the fairy tale king many of us grew up with.

Jesus doesn’t have a throne with velvet cushions,

There is no crown of Gold or fur lined robe

He didn’t have servants waiting on him hand and foot.

The disciples questioned his activities – you didn’t do that to the Roman Emperor or you didn’t last long.

“The truth of his kingship is that he rules not with political power, but with humility, not with physical might, but with mercy, not with violence, but surrender, even surrender unto death.” Michaela Bruzzese

Do we hear the voice of Jesus calling us to a new way of living; or is his voice drowned out by the noise of fear and insecurity?

Story: You are Special by Max Lucado

What would your life look life if we no longer lived the illusion we are being sold?

How different would our lives be?

if instead of the lie that we are not enough, we accepted Gods word that we are precious

if instead of the lie that peace comes from fear, we lived in the peace of the presence of God?

A Quote by Martin Luther King Jr.

"There is a little tree planted on a little hill, and on that tree hangs the most influential character that ever came into this world.  Never feel that that tree is a meaningless drama that took place on the stages of history, oh no it is a telescope through which we look out into the long vista of eternity, to see the love of God breaking forth into time.

It is an eternal reminder to this power drunk generation that love is the only way.  It is an eternal reminder to a generation depending on nuclear and atomic energy, to those who depend on physical violence that love is the only creative, redemptive and transforming power!"  ~ MLK

Martin Luther King Jr. http://blog.gaiam.com/quotes/authors/martin-luther-king-jr-1/55806

Time for reflection:

What would be different in your life:

if instead of the lie that you are not enough, you accepted Gods word that you are precious?

if instead of the lie that peace comes from fear, you lived in the peace of the presence of God?