Our
readings this morning
Are
the readings for the last Sunday
Of
the Christian year, Christ the King Sunday,
the Sunday when any preacher with an associate
the Sunday when any preacher with an associate
makes them preach.
For
the life of me,
I
can’t understand why.
I can’t understand why any preacher
Would shy away from this Sunday
Or the readings for this Sunday –
Why any preacher would give up his or her pulpit with readings this good.
I can’t understand why any preacher
Would shy away from this Sunday
Or the readings for this Sunday –
Why any preacher would give up his or her pulpit with readings this good.
Because
this is the point,
This
is the end,
This is the goal:
This is the celebration we’ve been waiting for.
Christ the King:
This is the goal:
This is the celebration we’ve been waiting for.
Christ the King:
The
Vision that the prophets of old longed to see fulfilled;
The Dream that a people in
exile wanted to wake up to;
The Hope that sustained a people when God seemed
silent.
The Vindication of years of faithfulness under persecution.
The Day that the eighth chapter of Romans
Says all of creation waits to see.
The Vindication of years of faithfulness under persecution.
The Day that the eighth chapter of Romans
Says all of creation waits to see.
Christ.
The. King.
This
is the point.
This
is the end.
This is the goal.
This is the goal.
This is what
all creation presses toward.
The
great day when all creation will be folded in on
itself,
and given to Christ, who, in turn, will give it God.
and given to Christ, who, in turn, will give it God.
This is the
celebration we’ve been waiting for.
When
Christ is King – not just in faith, but in fact.
But
what a curious King He is.
See, here’s the thing.
Too
many times, people look at King So-and-So
And Queen What’s-Her-Name
And they see how they govern
and rule
And they
presume that that is what
Jesus
will be like when He is King.
No
wonder a good many people get a little queasy when we start talking about the
Kingdom of God.
Because if the Kingdom of God
is anything like
The Kingdom of King What’s-His-Name and Good Queen So-and-So
I’m not sure I want a part of it.
The Kingdom of King What’s-His-Name and Good Queen So-and-So
I’m not sure I want a part of it.
Because if the Kingdom of God
is a place
Where might
makes right,
Where
scepters are swayed by money and influence,
Where
the poor are discarded
And
the oppressed are forgotten,
If the Kingdom of God is a
place
Where
children go to bed hungry so that somebody else can build a bomb,
Where
women are left to cower from their abusers and somebody calls that justice,
Where the sick pass by hospitals but cannot be treated and somebody calls that healthcare, Where brothers and sisters are made to sit in the back of the bus
and told to stay in their place,
Where borders are protected more than people.
Where the sick pass by hospitals but cannot be treated and somebody calls that healthcare, Where brothers and sisters are made to sit in the back of the bus
and told to stay in their place,
Where borders are protected more than people.
If the Kingdom of God is a
place
That operates by the rules of King What’s-His-Name or Queen So-and-So,
That operates by the rules of King What’s-His-Name or Queen So-and-So,
I’m
not sure any of us really want a part.
But
if the Kingdom of God is a place
That belongs
to the poor and poor in spirit,
If the
Kingdom of God is a place where those that cry are comforted,
Where
the meek inherit the earth,
Where
those who seek righteousness find their fill,
Where
the pure in heart behold God,
Where
peacemakers are called children of God,
Where
the persecuted and the reviled
And
the rejected and the dejected rejoice.
If the Kingdom of God is a place like that.
Then I say Jesus is King. I bet you do, too.
This
is the point. This
is the end. This
is the goal of all creation.
Christ.
The. King.
There is a famous
mistranslation of Psalm 96 –
You remember
it? “Say among the nations, ‘The Lord is king!’”
(That’s
verse 10.)
At
some point along the way,
It
was mistranslated.
And
it was rendered this way:
“Say
among the nations, “The Lord reigns from a tree.”
You
remember this?
You know,
sometimes the mistranslations get it just about right.
Say
among the nations, “The Lord reigns from a tree.”
See,
this is the point.
This
is the goal.
This is the end.
Jesus
is not a King like King So-and-So or Queen What’s-Her-Name.
Jesus is not a Prince like
Harry or William or Charles.
Jesus does
not play by the rules
That
Raleigh or Richmond or Washington play by.
See,
this is the problem for Jesus.
We
said we wanted Him to be King.
We
said that this was the point.
That He was the goal.
That He was
the Dream.
That
He was our Day.
And our Vindication. And our Hope.
We said we wanted this Kingdom
of God.
We said we
wanted these values.
We
said we wanted that world and not this one.
But
when Jesus comes, and preaches the Kingdom
And
welcomes children and women,
And
feeds the hungry
And
loves the sinner
And
eats with the self-righteous
And
serves the outcast
And
dares to love the unlovable,
We
chose the other.
Jesus
comes. And reigns from a tree they hung Him on.
On a Friday in the springtime.
Between two
thieves.
on
the outside of town.
With
only his mother and a few friends keeping watch.
To
be clear,
Our
Jesus reigns from a tree to show us the Kingdom.
Our
Jesus reigns from a tree because He didn’t reign in our hearts.
Maybe that’s why most
preachers skip this Sunday.
