Celebrating Christ as King

The term “king” may feel antiquated to us living in the age of presidents and prime ministers. Many countries that still have royal families also have some form of democratic governance that does most of the work of running the country.  While I would hesitate to call Queen Elizabeth a “figure head,” her power lies more with tradition than tactics.
The examples of inherited nobility we see in Holy Scriptures leaves much to be desired. Even the great King David abused his authority to get what he wanted (Bathsheba) rather than what the people needed.  How, then, are we to reconcile our earthly understanding of the term “king” and claim it with any sort of integrity for Jesus, who we celebrate as “Christ the King” this Sunday?
First, we must recognize that our language is limited and it can only go so far in capturing the meaning in which it is endowed, yet, it is the best tool we have to express our understanding of the world.  We also acknowledge that God is wholly other, a mystery that we cannot fully understand, which should not abort our desire of being in relationship with God.  With these limitations, we seek to articulate how we know God, some of which we glean from Jesus’ own words.
From the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he talked about God’s “basileia” or “realm,” although it is usually translated as “kingdom.” “The kingdom of God has come near.” (Mark 1:15) We believe that Jesus was and is the herald of God’s kingdom.  However, rather than having a geographic location, God’s realm is always and everywhere, especially in the hearts and minds of God’s people.  Through this we begin to see how language can limit our understanding of what Jesus’ message of the Good News is.  This is not an earthly kingdom that needs defending but a holy realm that needs manifesting.
Proclaiming Christ as King at this time in the Church year is important to our understanding of God’s message of redemption, particularly as we live into an extended 7-week Advent. The season of Advent allows us to explore the meaning of Jesus’ coming again to proclaim the establishment of God’s realm forever, even as we acknowledge the miraculous occurrence of his first coming. We await the day of his coming in expectation of a new reality as we study how his first coming at Bethlehem also created a new reality 2000 years ago.
Since Pentecost, we have followed Jesus on his earthly ministry as he preaches, teaches and heals.  He continues to explain to his disciples that he will die at the hands of those who reject his message about God’s realm. Jesus tells the disciples he will be raised and be seated “at the right hand of the Father” and he will come again to judge the whole earth.  After his ascension, Jesus takes his rightful place with God the Father as ruler of all, which we inadequately offer the label “King” to explain his position.  It is the culmination of all that Jesus told his disciples and the beginning of Jesus’ continued mission of proclaiming the Good News from a place of ultimate authority and power – in our hearts and minds.
In fact, as we proclaim King Jesus, we recognize that through his death, he reclaims the throne he gave up in order to come to us in such meager estate of human flesh in order to share the Good News.  The movement of the story comes back around to the beginning once again, inviting us into a deeper understanding of all the Jesus does for us over and over again, giving up any sense of power and glory in order to show us how much God loves us – more than we can comprehend.
So we celebrate that Christ the King reigns in glory, in which we can take comfort, especially in time of trial – like terrorist attacks, health crises and financial concerns.  We have the opportunity today and every day to allow Christ to rule our hearts and minds, directing our actions through which God’s realm is established here on earth. 
In Christ,

Rev. Valerie+

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