Sermons at St. John’s Presbyterian Church

Christ Is King! Isn't that Title a Little Outdated?

Transcribed from the sermon preached November 25, 2007

The Reverend Max Lynn, Pastor

St. John’s Presbyterian Church

2727 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705

Telephone 510-845-6830    Fax 510-845-6837
office@stjohns.presbychurch.net    http://www.stjohns.presbychurch.net 

Scripture Readings:  Colossians 1:11-20 Luke 22:25-31

Today in the liturgical calendar is called Christ the King Sunday.  A piece of me wants to avoid such archaic language.  Another part of me feels it is a little redundant, like having a Men’s History Month; we talk about Christ as King all year around.  But let’s take a look anyway, at our attitude, at reluctance toward monarchy in the Bible, at just who the Christ is we call King, and what He may lead us to be and do.

In one of my favorite movies, The Last of the Mohicans, the British officer tries to enlist homesteaders to defend the fort. A colonial asks, what if the French attack our homes?  The officer replies, "For King! For country! That is why men are to join this fighting."  The hero, Daniel Day Lewis, retorts, "You do what you want with your own scalp and do not tell us what we ought to do with ours." The officer gets upset, "You call yourself a patriot, a loyal subject to the crown? Lewis replies "I do not call myself subject to much at all."

 There is something deep within the American psyche that tells us, we don’t need no stinking King.  This American individualism may be a little less rugged here in Berkeley, but it is alive and well.

Feminists have added to the mix by pointing out the oppressive nature of patriarchy.  Even a good king is still a male king with power over, and in a land, which holds the ideal of equality, power over is not good.

Opposition to a king is not new to America, or even Protestantism.  Before the institution of the monarchy, early Israel was ruled by charismatic clan chieftains (Harper Collins Bible Dictionary. Paul J. Achtemeier General Editor).  Kingship developed in response to both internal pressure and external threats, the principal of which came from the Philistines (I Sam. 13:19-21).  They needed unity.

Kingship was not instituted without reservations however.  According to Samuel, even God was reluctant.

I Sam. 8

[10] So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking a king from him.
[11] He said, "These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots;
[12] and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.
[13] He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
[14] He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants.
[15] He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.
[16] He will take your menservants and maidservants, and the best of your cattle and your asses, and put them to his work.
[17] He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.
[18] And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD will not answer you in that day."
[19] But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; and they said, "No! but we will have a king over us, “

Jotham’s fable (Judges 9:7-15) is another good example of reluctance to accept a monarch.  It goes like this: 

[8] The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive tree, `Reign over us.'
[9] But the olive tree said to them, `Shall I leave my fatness, by which gods and men are honored, and go to sway over the trees?'
[10] And the trees said to the fig tree, `Come you, and reign over us.'
[11] But the fig tree said to them, `Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to sway over the trees?'
[12] And the trees said to the vine, `Come you, and reign over us.'
[13] But the vine said to them, `Shall I leave my wine which cheers gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?'
[14] Then all the trees said to the bramble, `Come you, and reign over us.'
[15] And the bramble said to the trees, `If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.'

Jotham seems to be implying that only the one with little use would take the job and he may quickly burn others.

But even as the objection to monarchy waned in Israel and the spirit anointed many, we see that excesses in monarchical power were among the main things to call for prophetic rebuke.  No doubt these biblical prophets were a heavy influence on protestant and American political criticism: Jesus doesn't just jump into the job. After Jesus is baptized by John he heads out into the wilderness where he is tempted by the devil.  In Mt. 4:8-10:

[8] the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them;
[9] and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."
[10] Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, `You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'"

Perhaps like the olive, fig and vine, Jesus had better things to do.  He refuses to worship Satan, and in the process refuses to take power over. He refuses to burn.  He will worship God, and power, real power, comes in another form.

In this morning's passage, Jesus is talking about a Kingdom, but the nature of it is quite different than that spoken of by Samuel or the devil.  Jesus will rule from below, as servant.  The disciples likewise are to be servants.  This is the sign that Christ is our King, a sign that we are confident that Christ rules the world and our heart…that we are servants to all, servants to the good.  We serve not out of low self-esteem or because we have no other choice, no power to do otherwise, but because, as Paul says in Colossians, Christ has conferred on us a kingdom.

The self-esteem thing is important.  For the world tells us that those who are confident and competent gain power and others have to serve them.  The ones who don’t have it follow, take orders and serve.  The lowly serve.

But Jesus is talking about serving from power, no matter who you are.  Think about all those reasons you don’t think you are good enough to rule, to share in the royal inheritance.  What voices bring you down?  What voices from the past echo in your head and heart?  You are not quite smart enough.  You inherited a big nose and crooked teeth!  Your Dad isn’t macho enough.  You are a fake.  Don’t pick him.  Don’t pick her; she’s a girl.  He’s a nerd.  He’s just a dumb jock. You’re just a dumb blond. Was that you singing!  My goodness gracious!  You will never measure up to your brother!  I never should have had you!  If you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all.  She doesn’t quite get the math thing.  Whatever you do, don’t tell anyone, they wouldn’t understand.  You are too young.  You are too old.  You will always do that, it is just who you are.  You’re just an Indian. You're illegal. You’re just an old farmer's boy.  You are a sinner.  Maybe like Peter, when the chips were down, you turned away from the good, you failed to stand up for a friend or family member.  Maybe you denied Christ.

Whatever! There must be a thousand reasons why we look down on ourselves and settle for something less than royalty, a thousand reasons and ways we are taught to look down upon others.

Yet there is a force in the universe, a power that is not given nor taken away.  It just is.  Ancient people sought a way to describe this power and used words and symbols they could understand, and they called it god and King.  The only reason we associate this power with the masculine is because in patriarchal culture only the male could be King.  It doesn’t quite work to call it Queen when in our patriarchal thought a Queen is not ultimate and her power can be over ruled or taken from her.  But there is nothing exclusively male about this power.  To the degree it is personal it is as much female as male. And it does seem to be personal. Life force and love don't just float; they have intentions; they seem to burst from feeling, heart and reason. Mother and Father work well.

Goddess works just as well as long as we are talking about and experiencing the one life giving, saving, uniting and freeing creative force.  Or to paraphrase Paul in Colossians, "In her all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers – all things have been created through her.  She herself is before all things, and in her all things hold together.”  Whether they acknowledge it or not, men, parents, mean girls and school bullies, Kings and Queens, presidents, CEOs and the devil are penultimate to this power, this one true God and King. 

And we believe Jesus tapped into the source of this power, became one with it. And Paul in Colossians says this to his followers and to us:  “May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.  He, (this personal power of the universe) has rescued us from the power of darkness and conferred to us the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

Whatever it is that holds our self-esteem down, those bad things we have done or been, they have been released, so that we may find dwelling within us the full power and light of God. 

And what then does this power that we have inherited, this power that we find indwelling in us cause us to be and do? To be exclusive and judgmental? To see ourselves as better than others? No! To serve, to be servants, to follow in the way of Jesus Christ. 

This is good news.  As Rob Bell points out, “The Gospel is good news, especially for those who don’t believe it.  Imagine an average street in an average city in an average country, if there is such a place.  Let’s imagine Person X lives in a house on this street.  Next door is a Hindu, and on the other side is a Muslim.  Across the street is an atheist, next door to them an agnostic, and next door on the other side, someone from Ohio.

“Imagine person X becomes a Christian.  Maybe she read something or had friends, who inspired her to learn more, or maybe she had an addiction and through a recovery movement she surrendered her life to God.  However it came to be, she became a follower of Jesus,” and really started to believe through him she had inherited spiritual royalty.  Let’s say she starts living out Jesus teachings, actually taking him seriously that she can become a compelling force for good in the world.  She is becoming more generous, more compassionate, more forgiving, more loving.” Is she becoming a better or worse neighbor?  We find ourselves more and more grateful for a neighbor like this.

“…Let’s make some observations about this street.  The good news of Jesus is good news for Person X.  It’s good news for Person X’s neighbors.  It’s good news for the whole street.  It’s good news for people who don’t believe in Jesus…The good news for Person X is good news for the whole world.”  (Bell, Rob.  The Velvet Elvis p.167)

If Person X happens to be a man, and the man truly follows the way of Jesus, the way of the cross, the way of service and love and justice, then it is good news to the women on the block as well, including the woman in the same house, and the pagan woman on the corner.  For if he is about Jesus he will be about empowering women, about letting women live out their divine natures with power and freedom.

As faith in Christ the King confers royalty upon us, it doesn’t separate us from others, put us above others, draw us in and leave them out.  As perhaps the first person in literature to argue that all human beings are equal, Paul puts it this way in Galatians: There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female.  We are all one in Christ Jesus.

So it is not about the title, King or Queen, Son or Prince Jesus.  It is about the ultimate power and presence of the love and grace, which rules our lives even in the face of death, even death on a cross.  It is about real love and peace uniting us even beyond our own weakness, beyond verbal or physical abuse, coercion or exploitation from the kings of this world.  Christ the King is about hope without end.  As we join together as equals to share a meal, let us give thanks and praise to Christ, the God of love, for being the ruler of our hearts.  Then let us go and serve and love our neighbors as Christ serves and loves us.