This week at St. Peter Lutheran Church we celebrated Christ the King Sunday and welcomed 18 new members to our congregation. I also had a fun new member Sunday children’s message where I cut a picture of our church building into puzzle pieces. Each kid took a puzzle piece and wrote their name on the back of it, then we talked about how all our pieces together make up the church.
The scripture readings for this week are John 18:33-37, Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14, Revelation 1:4b-9, and Psalm 92. I found Lucy Hogan’s commentary on the John passage at Working Preacher helpful in my preparation this week. Here’s the sermon:
93 years ago, Pope Pius the 11th was concerned about the state of the world. He was worried the world was luring Christians away from the church, that too many people were paying more attention to the kingdom of the world than the kingdom of God.
So, he added a new festival to the church year, “The Feast of Christ the King.” The idea was for this day to be a time to acknowledge Jesus as Lord, as king of kings, as the alpha and the omega, the ruler of the world. The intent was that this holy day (this “holiday”) would help us to see Jesus’ dominion is not just Sunday morning, but our whole lives.
The idea caught on, so here we are as Lutheran Christians, marking Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of the church year. We start a new year next week with the first Sunday of Advent.
Now, I appreciate Pope Pius’ intentions. I know I could use some reminding that Jesus wants all of my life, not just the part at church. I’m not sure whether having a church festival day to try to get more people to care about church versus the world is the answer or if it’s just preaching to the choir, but the idea is good.
I wonder, though, about the language of Christ as “King.” What’s your picture of a king? My picture of a king comes mostly from books and movies. I picture a muscular man on a horse, wearing a crown, waving a sword, charging at the enemy army. Or a man with a beard sitting on a really big chair, wearing velvet robes, judging between people in court cases. And of course, wearing a big golden crown.
My other picture of a king in real life comes from the one time I was in the same room as a king. When I was a student at Luther College, King Harald the Fifth and his wife Queen Sonja of Norway came and gave a speech. He wore a suit and tie, not an ermine robe. No sword or crown either – I was very disappointed!
Neither of those images really fits Jesus. In fact, looking at today’s Gospel reading from John, the character who seems closest to an earthly king is Pontius Pilate. Pilate is the one giving the orders, running the headquarters, doing the judging.
The problem with Christ the King Sunday is what Jesus says in response to Pilate. Verse 36: 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.”
Jesus’ kingdom is different than earthly kingdoms. It’s not defined by lines on a map. Living in Jesus’ kingdom does not mean living in a specific place; it means having Jesus as king. Living in Jesus’ kingdom is a way of being in the world. We will live in Jesus’ kingdom for all eternity, and that starts in this life. It starts at baptism, and continues forever. As Dr. Karoline Lewis puts it, “Jesus’ kingdom is not a place, but a perspective.”
Living in Jesus kingdom is about seeing the world differently, through the lens of faith. As citizens of Jesus’ kingdom, we see the world through the lens of the cross. We see the world Jesus loves enough to give up his life for it. We see that the poor, and the disaster victims, and the refugees, and the starving children, and the abandoned elderly, and the sick, and the outcasts are all welcome in Jesus’ kingdom. We see that we are welcome and included.
We see all the ways that Jesus’ kingdom is different than any other realm, so different than our world. Our world says you’re great if you are strong, or rich, or good at sports, or sexy, or hard-working, or beautiful, or the right age, or the right skin color, or the right weight, or have the right job or buy the right things on sale.
Our world says if you work hard enough you’ll climb the ladder to success and if you don’t make it up the ladder, it must be your fault and you’re not good enough. Our world says if you get enough followers and views online, or if you win enough games, or if you have enough friends, then you’ve made it.
Our Wednesday morning men’s Bible study group started reading the book of Ecclesiastes this week. The first chapter of Ecclesiastes declares that all these earthly goals are meaningless. They’re all vanity, to use the King James language. Everything we work for and honor is just chasing after wind. All our earthly accomplishments are meaningless.
Living in Jesus’ kingdom shows how pointless all the world’s judgments are. When you look through the lens of the cross, you see that Jesus loves you as you are. Jesus thinks you’re worth dying for. Jesus’ kingdom is about relationship, about accepting the reality that God made you and loves you and wants to be the Lord of your life.
Jesus is far more demanding than any earthly king. An earthly king might demand taxes, or even draft you into an army and send you off to war, but for the most part, earthly kings and governments leave you alone to live your own life. Jesus demands more of his people. Jesus doesn’t just want our money, he wants our whole lives. He doesn’t just want us a few times per year, or once a week for an hour or two, he wants our hearts full time, 24/7/365.
We have some new members joining our congregation today, making the public declaration that Jesus is Lord. In becoming an active member of this church, you’re affirming the claim Jesus made on you at baptism.
You’re publicly acknowledging that you are a citizen of God’s kingdom, that your allegiance is to God first.
One of my favorite images is that the church is an embassy of God’s kingdom on earth. We are ambassadors for Jesus. We represent Jesus, and Jesus is at work through us. This place, or more accurately these people, the body of Christ, bring glimpses of God’s kingdom to the world.
The point of church is that our lives as followers of Jesus show Jesus’ kingdom to our neighbors. God’s kingdom is breaking into the world, through us. As the reading we heard from Revelation says, Jesus is forming us into God’s kingdom.
In this life we all remain citizens of this world. I have a piece of paper at home that says I’m a citizen of the United States of America. There are privileges and duties that go with that, and being an American is important to me. We live in a world with kings and presidents and laws. We have many loyalties, and that’s ok. But as Christians, we need to keep our loyalties straight.
That means understanding that Christ the King’s claim on you is higher than your family’s claim, higher than your nation’s claim, higher than any claim of a sports team, or school, or political party or philosophy, or company, or any of the other things and institutions trying to claim our allegiance.
The most important symbol in this room is not the American flag. The most important symbol is the cross. We need to remember who we belong to, whose people we are. And sometimes, that has consequences. This world does not react well to being put in its proper place. The claim Jesus makes leads to his death.
Are you willing to follow a king who demands ultimate loyalty from you? Are you willing to follow this king whose reign extends beyond this world into eternity?
The one who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords wants to be the Lord of your life. The one whose kingdom is not of this world has come into this world out of love for you, and for me, and for the world.
Our Lord is also our Savior, the one who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. Praise the Lord. Amen