Sermons

Nov 26 - The Rev. Brian C. Taylor - The Feast of Christ the King

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November 26, 2006 The Feast of Christ the King
The Rev. Brian C. Taylor
Daniel 7:9-14, Psalm 93, Revelation 1:1-8, John 18:33-37

The Feast of Christ the King. Why does it give me the willies? I think it is all this business about Jesus as Lord of lords, King of kings, the Alpha and Omega, the one to whom all nations and peoples will bow down. Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his throne!

What’s wrong with that? Well, it supports a triumphalist Christianity, where everything is upside-down from Jesus himself: where instead of a crown of thorns we now have bejeweled miters and silk robes; where instead of self-denial we have a church that serves itself, seeking power, success, and privilege; where instead of a spiritual kingdom that is not of this world, we have an ecclesiastical kingdom that is very much of this world.

But the worst of it is how this kind of worldly triumphalism distorts the very purpose of Jesus’ life and our relationship to him. It ends up with a stern and exclusive Jesus – much like a worldly king, in fact. This Jesus demands that we believe specific things about him: that he is the only Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, and that he died on the cross to pay for our sins. If we believe these things about him, we are ransomed from the dungeon of eternal damnation.

And ah, but if only the whole world were to convert to these doctrines about Jesus, then we’d be a kingdom of true believers surrounding our powerful, world-conquering Lord on his heavenly throne. Meanwhile, let’s serve up another spectacular procession and wrap ourselves in glory in the hope that the people will be inspired to join our kingdom.

As I said, it gives me the willies. It is so out of touch with the Jesus of the gospels.

Recently our new Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, has been criticized for a comment she made in a very brief interview in Time Magazine. When asked Is belief in Jesus the only way to get to heaven? She responded We who practice the Christian tradition understand him as our vehicle to the divine. But for us to assume that God could not act in other ways is, I think, to put God in an awfully small box.

This was taken by some as an example of a tendency among Episcopal leaders to deny the exclusive uniqueness of Christ. Some, including our bishop, refused to attend her investiture as Presiding Bishop because they think she is not upholding traditional doctrine.

The God whom we try to put in an awfully small box is not the God that Jesus revealed. In fact, Jesus’ kingship, if you will – or, to use a more modern term, his style of leadership – was not characterized by sternness, exclusivity, and demands for orthodoxy. It was characterized by generosity.

For Jesus, God was the very spirit of love and abundance. If Christ was a king, he was one who opened the gates to the castle, invited everyone in, and gave it all away. In the gospels, we see Jesus as a leader who shows his leadership by being generous, down-to-earth, forgiving. He does not stand over anyone; he stands with everyone. His method of leadership is to invite all who are interested to become his friend.

Jesus says, in effect, come with us, eat and drink with us. Let’s tell stories about God, let’s heal the sick and comfort the broken-hearted, let’s shake up the powers that be. And I think if you stick with me, you’ll discover the joy and abundant life that these other disciples have found. Won’t you join us?

No threats, no condemnation of other teachers or other religions. Oh, you can find a few of these messages in the New Testament if you’re determined to find them, but I don’t think they’re really in the spirit of Jesus. His is the spirit of generosity.

The other night there was a story on the news about a man who has made it his life mission to give away cash to strangers on the street that look like they’re struggling in poverty. He just walks up to them, and gives them a handful of 100-dollar bills. They didn’t earn it, they didn’t even ask for it. He just saw that they needed it, and he gave it, no strings attached.

He filmed some of these encounters, and the amazing thing was the reactions from these people: shock, disbelief, and then their heart melting and their face dissolving into tears. They just couldn’t get their minds around what was happening. Nobody does this. This can’t be happening. It is happening.

We have a hard time accepting the freedom of God’s gracious gift of love. We can’t believe that we don’t have to earn it. That’s why some attach strings to Jesus and try to make him more like us, more worldly. That’s why some make threats against those who don’t take God’s free gift of Jesus. But that kind of approach isn’t a gift at all; it’s a transaction. It’s a deal where we believe the right things and behave the right way, and then God gives us eternal life.

Yes, God holds us accountable and does make demands of us, like any real friend would, but there is no transaction. There are no strings attached. For God’s many gifts are all free for the taking and for our enjoyment: multi-colored rainbows, iridescent beetles and bright green meadows; the miracle of our mind, the harmony of our bodies; the wonder of human love and the beauty of creativity; and for Christians, the life-changing friendship of Jesus.

Recently at a staff meeting we were talking about how pressured we all feel sometimes to do so much with what seems like inadequate time, money, and energy. It is tempting to get into what I call scarcity-thinking: there’s never enough to go around. It is hard to live out of a sense of abundance. I asked what it was that helped them to do this. One of our staff said simply Gratitude. It is gratitude that opens our heart to accept God’s abundant, gracious gifts that are all around us, and then to offer them to others.

And so this Sunday, the Feast of Christ the King, has an ironic symbolism at its core. This Sunday is not about a worldly king who will bring all people into dogmatic submission. It is not about the triumph of Christian orthodoxy over other inferior beliefs. It is not about a church that is consumed with the trappings of success and self-aggrandizement.

It is about a ridiculous king, one that the grand and powerful Pontius Pilate must have laughed at. Why, he had no money, no army, no worldly influence. His followers were a bunch of losers and rejects. Are you a king? he asked. He might have asked What kind of idiot king do you think you are? Are you kidding?

The kind of king Jesus is, is one who showed the unimaginable love of God by generously inviting everyone into his friendship, where they would learn about abundance and gratitude. There they would learn about a different kind of kingdom, a kingdom of heaven, where everything is given away, where there are many mansions, and many sheep that are not of this fold or any other fold that the righteous would be able to recognize.

You and I are citizens of this weird kingdom. We are a ragtag assembly whose main ambition is to live in gratitude, to be generous of spirit and action, and to draw into Jesus’ friendship everyone who wants to come along for the ride.