Reflection: "Christ the King"This Sunday, we bring this current Christian year to a conclusion.
Just as we are also approaching the finales of many sporting series for 2021, this Sunday is everything that the church has been moving toward during this year - and what a strange year it’s been for our church with CIOVID 19. In the Christian calendar, the new year begins with Advent (next Sunday), as we prepare for the birth of Jesus. Then we follow with the celebration of his birth on Christmas Day, his appearances - to the wise men, at the wedding feast in Cana, in the transfiguration at Epiphany - and then he sets his face toward Jerusalem and we are plunged into the days of Lent, suffering, sacrifice and self-denial, the betrayal and death of holy week, the silence of Holy Saturday, but then the miracle of resurrection on Easter Sunday, and the prayer, over 50 days, for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Christ the King Sunday is all about the Lordship of Christ. In the words of the Revelation to John, Jesus is the “ruler of the kings of the earth” and yet there is a clear distinction, in the passage from the Gospel of John, between the rule, or reign of the leaders, and God’s vision. “My kingdom is not of this world,” Jesus says. Yes, Jesus did come to earth to establish a kingdom, but it’s just not the one that people were expecting. To understand the kingdom language of Jesus, we need to know something about his context and the leadership structure of that day. This had everything to do with another leader, King Herod, also known as Herod the Great. We know that Herod died soon after Jesus was born and that he was buried about three miles east of Bethlehem in a massive mountain fort, called Herodium. In contrast, historians tell us that Jesus was probably born in a cavern, the stable under the house of one of Joseph’s relatives, in a tiny, out of the way town named Bethlehem. The birth of Jesus, despite the significance we attach to it, was a very quiet, low key, affair. Herod’s burial was just the opposite; he literally had a mountain constructed in the flat desert, as he wanted people to think of him and revere him long after he had died - in fact, you can still see the Herodium all the way from Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. Whilst the Herodium is quite impressive, and some tourists visit there each year, it’s nothing compared to the crowds that flow into the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, which is reputed to have been built over the site where Jesus was born. In the same year as the birth of Jesus, King Herod hears from the Magi that a messiah has been born - so he orders the massacre of all male children under the age of 2. Herod, as we see, appeared to be a very powerful leader and his architectural influence is still present in Israel: the city of Caesarea on the coast, near Tel Aviv; Masada and, most curiously, the rebuilt Temple of Solomon. Herod ruled 34 years and although he wasn’t a particularly religious man, he used religion for his own political ends. Everything - sports, art, architecture, shrines, palaces, etc. - all of it was for the purpose of consolidating Herod’s power and leadership and establishing his legacy. Jesus was born into the kingdom of Herod - and we’ve heard that Herod was a very effective leader. But Jesus knew that his way of leadership wouldn’t be like Herod’s. “My kingdom,” he says to Pilate, “is not of this world.” One option for Jesus was to model his techniques and his methods on those of Herod. You may remember the temptations outlined in Matthew 4 and Luke 4, where the devil takes Jesus to a high mountain and shows him “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour, saying to Jesus “All this I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” On Christ the King Sunday we think about Jesus and his kingdom. At the close of Matthew’s gospel it says: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him” and in writing to the Philippians, Paul says: “Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”. To follow Jesus is to profess him as Lord - this is the basic Christian conviction and creed. To believe that he is Lord of all, is to honour and glorify him, above all other rulers and authorities. He came upon this earth to establish the Kingdom of God, an alternative to the kingdom of Herod. He spoke not of the love of power, but the power of love. And he clearly gave his presence, his spirit, his authority, to his disciples, to spread his influence, his teachings, his goodness upon this earth until he comes again. And so, on Christ the King Sunday, the readings from Scripture and the songs associated with this day, not only magnify the Lord, but call upon us to be a part of establishing the kingdom of God here on earth. If we’re to do the work of Jesus, here on earth, then we must do it in the way of Jesus. Thus leadership, in the way of Jesus, is always servant leadership, as any power that comes to us is a gift from God. Jesus lays down his life, and the power of this action comes to us as a gift – where he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant and therefore, Paul writes, God has highly exalted him. The self-emptying life of Jesus is a life given for others. So, how do we, in a practical way, connect Jesus and our own personal leadership? All of us are, in some way, in a sphere of influence, or a position of leadership. We may not recognise it immediately, but if we think about it, we’ll realise it’s our actions that influence others. Two comments that come to my mind regarding leadership: Herod used his power for his own personal gain, but Jesus used his power for the common good and In a leadership role, you’ll have a lot of power, and you’ll find that, the less you use it, the more you’ll actually have. Thus, the whole Christian story moves toward a climax, just as our lives do. It’s not about being great, it’s about serving. Winston Churchill is reputed to have said: “We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” On Christ the King Sunday we discover our Lord - not enthroned in the heavens but, as it says in Matthew 25, by welcoming the stranger, visiting the imprisoned and the sick and by feeding the hungry. Christ the King is the moment toward which the whole Christian story has been moving - the adoration of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. And yet our end is also our beginning. Next Sunday we’ll begin the journey of waiting and preparing for the fulfilment of God’s promise, the miraculous gift at Bethlehem y=that came to us at this time. And with the seekers who went to find him, we discover that the kingdom is surely coming, in ways that may surely startle and surprise us. I encourage you to start your preparations now, for the King is surely coming. Pastor Rick “Grace to you and peace from God, who is and who was and who is to come. Go gently into this day. Go softly into this night. Go into the great world of God filled with joy. Grace to you and peace from God, who is and who was and who is to come. Amen”
1 Comment
Peter Andrews
19/11/2021 06:39:53 pm
Five stars Pastor Rick
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Pastor
|