Of Cabbages and Kings???? Reign of Christ (Christ the King) November 24, 2019 Based upon Luke 23:33-43 York Pines United Church, Kettleby, ON
When they came to the place called
“The Skull”, they crucified Jesus there, along with the criminals - one on his
right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do
not know what they are doing.” And the soldiers divided up his clothes by
casting lots. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him.
They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the
Chosen One.” The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine
vinegar and said, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” There was a
written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. One of the
criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save
yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he
said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we
are getting what we deserve for the deeds we committed. But this man has done
nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.
******************************************************************
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To speak of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings–
and why the sea is boiling hot,
and whether pigs have wings."
In the story of Alice, in “Through the Looking Glass”, Lewis Carroll provides a wonderful little poem about a walrus, who goes out for a walk with some very cheery little oysters. In the end, the power of the walrus supersedes the lives of the little oysters, and they are no more. The power of the largest wins, and the most naive and gullible seem to lose.
Back in 2010, there was a news item about a huge statue of Christ the King - literally - which has been raised in the village of Swiebodzin, Poland. It is a gigantic statue of Jesus that Poles claim is the world's largest, and is the dream of a local priest which has been fulfilled. The white statue stands almost 170 feet, including the base and the crown on the head.
Not surprisingly, this statue divided the Poles, and underlined the deep cultural divide between a strongly Catholic population in some areas, and an increasingly confident secular society. Many perceive the statue as tacky. The statue was built with donations from all over the world. The priest of the town claims he was called by Jesus to build this statue, a statue complete with the golden crown of an earthly King, not a crown of thorns.
I have to confess I have some struggles with this Sunday, particularly when it is in the context of a King, and we begin dressing it up in the symbols of earthly power and politics. I tend away from the “Reign of Christ” language, and especially the “King” language. In fact, Christ the King Sunday is such a new observation in the church, that it has barely begun even to cut its teeth. It is only 94 years – not even a century - since the entire Christian church began to observe Christ the King Sunday. Pope Pius XI universally instituted the Feast of Christ the King in 1925 in his encyclical “Quas Primas”. 1925 was a time of the rise of great secularism, and great wealth. It came prior to the stock market crash and the First World War. Many Christians, even Catholics, were doubting not only Christ's authority, but beginning to question the authority of the Church. Pius XI, and the rest of the Christian world, witnessed the rise of dictatorships in Europe, and saw Catholics being taken in by these earthly leaders. Pius hoped the institution of the feast would have various effects. They were that nations would see that the Church has the right to freedom, and immunity from the state; that leaders and nations would see that they are bound to give respect to Christ; that the faithful would gain strength and courage from the celebration of the feast, as we are reminded that Christ must reign in our hearts, minds, wills, and bodies.
On the whole, I don’t think it was a bad idea. It was moved from its original date at the end of October, to the end of the liturgical year, with the idea that ending the church year with a time of reflection and repentance would make a good bridge to Advent. But as the hijacking of the term Christ continues into distortions – such as people literally being called the reincarnation of God on earth, or being chosen/appointed specifically by God for certain positions – those distortions in my opinion create a character which is no longer the model of Jesus we follow. So I tend to baulk at “Christ the King”.
But I have a problem with the whole “King” bit altogether. I can more or less handle “Reign of Christ”, because that speaks to me of the realm of God, to which Jesus referred. And in fact, the Jewish Scriptures are, at best, ambivalent about the usefulness of a king. Is it a good idea to search for a king at all? Deuteronomy 17 sets out an ideal king:
“The king must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself, or make the people return to
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.
******************************************************************
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To speak of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings–
and why the sea is boiling hot,
and whether pigs have wings."
In the story of Alice, in “Through the Looking Glass”, Lewis Carroll provides a wonderful little poem about a walrus, who goes out for a walk with some very cheery little oysters. In the end, the power of the walrus supersedes the lives of the little oysters, and they are no more. The power of the largest wins, and the most naive and gullible seem to lose.
Back in 2010, there was a news item about a huge statue of Christ the King - literally - which has been raised in the village of Swiebodzin, Poland. It is a gigantic statue of Jesus that Poles claim is the world's largest, and is the dream of a local priest which has been fulfilled. The white statue stands almost 170 feet, including the base and the crown on the head.
Not surprisingly, this statue divided the Poles, and underlined the deep cultural divide between a strongly Catholic population in some areas, and an increasingly confident secular society. Many perceive the statue as tacky. The statue was built with donations from all over the world. The priest of the town claims he was called by Jesus to build this statue, a statue complete with the golden crown of an earthly King, not a crown of thorns.
I have to confess I have some struggles with this Sunday, particularly when it is in the context of a King, and we begin dressing it up in the symbols of earthly power and politics. I tend away from the “Reign of Christ” language, and especially the “King” language. In fact, Christ the King Sunday is such a new observation in the church, that it has barely begun even to cut its teeth. It is only 94 years – not even a century - since the entire Christian church began to observe Christ the King Sunday. Pope Pius XI universally instituted the Feast of Christ the King in 1925 in his encyclical “Quas Primas”. 1925 was a time of the rise of great secularism, and great wealth. It came prior to the stock market crash and the First World War. Many Christians, even Catholics, were doubting not only Christ's authority, but beginning to question the authority of the Church. Pius XI, and the rest of the Christian world, witnessed the rise of dictatorships in Europe, and saw Catholics being taken in by these earthly leaders. Pius hoped the institution of the feast would have various effects. They were that nations would see that the Church has the right to freedom, and immunity from the state; that leaders and nations would see that they are bound to give respect to Christ; that the faithful would gain strength and courage from the celebration of the feast, as we are reminded that Christ must reign in our hearts, minds, wills, and bodies.
On the whole, I don’t think it was a bad idea. It was moved from its original date at the end of October, to the end of the liturgical year, with the idea that ending the church year with a time of reflection and repentance would make a good bridge to Advent. But as the hijacking of the term Christ continues into distortions – such as people literally being called the reincarnation of God on earth, or being chosen/appointed specifically by God for certain positions – those distortions in my opinion create a character which is no longer the model of Jesus we follow. So I tend to baulk at “Christ the King”.
But I have a problem with the whole “King” bit altogether. I can more or less handle “Reign of Christ”, because that speaks to me of the realm of God, to which Jesus referred. And in fact, the Jewish Scriptures are, at best, ambivalent about the usefulness of a king. Is it a good idea to search for a king at all? Deuteronomy 17 sets out an ideal king:
“The king must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself, or make the people return to
Egypt to get more of them...... he must not take many wives,
or his heart will be led astray.
He must not accumulate large amounts of
silver and gold. When he takes the throne of his
kingdom, he is to write for himself on a
scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the
Levitical priests. It is to be with him,
and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he
may learn to revere God and follow
carefully all the words of this law; and not consider
himself better than his fellow
Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then
he and his descendants will reign a long
time over his kingdom in Israel.”
Does such a king exist? Would such a
king ever exist? And what about turning Jesus into this kind of king? One who
stands towering above all the people, wearing a golden crown? Would Jesus have
wanted this? From my reading of scripture the answer would be no.
Today, the same distrust of authority exists. Individualism has been embraced to the extreme that for many, the only authority is the individual self. The idea of Jesus as ruler is rejected in such a strongly individualistic system. Many even don’t like the idea of literal, human kings and queens, believing them to be oppressive. Some reject the titles of "lord" and "king" for Christ because they believe that such titles are borrowed from oppressive systems of government. I will confess, that I often wince at the language of "lord", because the people who use that language use it to set themselves and their faith above all others.
Let’s listen to the words of Jesus: “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to become great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the servant of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:42-45).
When asked by Pilate, "Are you the King of the Jews?"... Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here." So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth (John 18:33b, 36-37).
Thus, Jesus knew the oppressive nature of secular kings, and in contrast to them, he identified his role as one of humble service, and commanded his followers to be servants as well. In other passages of Scripture, his kingdom is tied to his suffering and death.
Rev. Ginny McDaniel writes “Today’s text about Jesus offering forgiveness as his final act is resonating with me like never before. If the church needs a single message, a sound byte, if you will, for this impatient, multitasking generation, it's this: It's ALL about mercy. We don't need taller statues to proclaim our message. We don't need bigger buildings and fancier gadgetry. Mercy is what the world needs, now as never before, now as it always has.” Mercy, compassion, loving-kindness.
We talk often about judgment of the nations, without knowing that the translation of the word “judge” from Hebrew means “the one who makes right”. Jesus’ teachings spell out a kingdom of justice and judgment balanced with radical love, mercy, peace, and forgiveness. So I will use the phrase “Christ the King” today, because it celebrates a man willing to die for humanity, and whose "loving-kindness" is a cornerstone of faith. This king gives true freedom, and in his life and death radically redefined the concept of king, as one who walks *with* others, who serves, and who loves beyond himself.
And so, although this day in the church year is new, it is indeed a fitting place to stop and reflect on the meaning of a king, and to turn our faces now to the road to Bethlehem, where the new kind of King will be born.
Sources:
1. "The Walrus and the Carpenter", in Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
2. Swiebodzin - by VANESSA GERA, Associated Press Sat Nov 6, 6:13 pm ET
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_the_King
4. http://www.churchyear.net/ctksunday.html
5. “The Greatest Gift of All”, a sermon by the Rev. Ginny McDaniel
Today, the same distrust of authority exists. Individualism has been embraced to the extreme that for many, the only authority is the individual self. The idea of Jesus as ruler is rejected in such a strongly individualistic system. Many even don’t like the idea of literal, human kings and queens, believing them to be oppressive. Some reject the titles of "lord" and "king" for Christ because they believe that such titles are borrowed from oppressive systems of government. I will confess, that I often wince at the language of "lord", because the people who use that language use it to set themselves and their faith above all others.
Let’s listen to the words of Jesus: “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to become great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the servant of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:42-45).
When asked by Pilate, "Are you the King of the Jews?"... Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here." So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth (John 18:33b, 36-37).
Thus, Jesus knew the oppressive nature of secular kings, and in contrast to them, he identified his role as one of humble service, and commanded his followers to be servants as well. In other passages of Scripture, his kingdom is tied to his suffering and death.
Rev. Ginny McDaniel writes “Today’s text about Jesus offering forgiveness as his final act is resonating with me like never before. If the church needs a single message, a sound byte, if you will, for this impatient, multitasking generation, it's this: It's ALL about mercy. We don't need taller statues to proclaim our message. We don't need bigger buildings and fancier gadgetry. Mercy is what the world needs, now as never before, now as it always has.” Mercy, compassion, loving-kindness.
We talk often about judgment of the nations, without knowing that the translation of the word “judge” from Hebrew means “the one who makes right”. Jesus’ teachings spell out a kingdom of justice and judgment balanced with radical love, mercy, peace, and forgiveness. So I will use the phrase “Christ the King” today, because it celebrates a man willing to die for humanity, and whose "loving-kindness" is a cornerstone of faith. This king gives true freedom, and in his life and death radically redefined the concept of king, as one who walks *with* others, who serves, and who loves beyond himself.
And so, although this day in the church year is new, it is indeed a fitting place to stop and reflect on the meaning of a king, and to turn our faces now to the road to Bethlehem, where the new kind of King will be born.
Sources:
1. "The Walrus and the Carpenter", in Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
2. Swiebodzin - by VANESSA GERA, Associated Press Sat Nov 6, 6:13 pm ET
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_the_King
4. http://www.churchyear.net/ctksunday.html
5. “The Greatest Gift of All”, a sermon by the Rev. Ginny McDaniel
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