"KING?" - Jeremiah 23: 1-6; Luke 23: 33-43
A Sermon by Alex Evans, Pastor
Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA
Sunday – November 24, 2019 – Christ the King
Texts: Jeremiah 23:1-6; Luke 23:33-43
“KING?”
If you have not seen the new movie, “Harriet,” – about the inspiring life and amazing accomplishments of Harriet Tubman - I hope you will see it soon. Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in eastern Maryland; but she determined as a young woman that she would either live free or die.
In one most memorable scene in the movie, as she is running for her freedom, Harriet’s father told her to stop by the church; the preacher could help her. The preacher tried hard to dissuade Harriet from running away – she could not read, she was so young, it was too dangerous, and she would be caught, and maybe killed. Harriet insisted that she was not turning back. She would, as she says numerous times, “either live free, or die.”
Then the preacher said, “Ok, Harriet. I have two things you must know, and never forget.” He said, “First, fear is your enemy.” If you give into fear, he said, you have no chance. Then, second, he told her which way to go and the name and address of a person in Philadelphia. And off she went – going 100 miles to Philadelphia, going not just to freedom, but to a life committed to freeing so many slaves, serving in the Union army, giving all her energy to destroy the horrific institution of slavery.
In these days, we are still daily threatened by fear. Bible scholar and theologian Walter Brueggemann says “we live in a culture of fear fueled by our anxiety.” But this is God's world and we need to live, not in fear but faith - serving God and trusting God. (Mandate to Difference)
We are not running for our life and freedom like Harriet, but fear remains always the enemy. Perhaps it is fear of what is happening in our nation – with impeachment hearings and partisan bickering threatening our Constitution, our democracy, our sense of what is real and true.
Perhaps we feel intense fear with the crisis in the environment, and increasing toxins, and the growing global population, and diminishing resources, and climate change.
Perhaps the fear emerges close to our hearts and lives – with deep concerns about our children who may be in peril, . . . and many of us have fears about our aging parents, . . . and some of us carry fear from a diagnosis that alters how we see the world and think about our future.
Confusion, . . . anxiety, . . . . fear – these are real issues for our lives.
Today, we kick off the week of Thanksgiving. Many of us are focused on company coming to town, or traveling to be with family. That may bring its own anxiety and fear. We might be afraid that current politics and the impeachment hearings will hijack any hope of a peaceful family gathering. What if Adam Schiff and Devin Nunes had to eat Thanksgiving together?
Others of us may feel real loss and loneliness this Thanksgiving.
And, . . . all of us are being pushed from turkey to tinsel – with Christmas decorations all around already, and Christmas music already playing, with the constant urge for us to spend, to boost the economy.
But as you can see from the heading on the Bulletin, the church across the world has staked a certain claim on this Sunday. It is not about fear, not about Thanksgiving, not about the coming of Christmas. This day is known as Christ the King Sunday – the last Sunday of the liturgical year before we get going next week with Advent – and the coming of God.
Christ the King Sunday was established fairly recently – about 100 years ago – by Pope Pius XI – in response to significant and growing threats from secularism and fascism in that era. The pope said this: When (people) recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony." (from J. Duffield, Presbyterian Outlook)
Clearly, we are still praying for the great blessings of peace and harmony. Clearly, we are still working hard against growing secularism and even fascism in our society. We are still striving for public and private life that knows Christ reigns over all things. Clearly, we have a long way to go, when the intentions of God – free from fear, free from poverty and oppression, free with pervasive justice – emerge in fullness.
Our first passage from Jeremiah reminds us how bad things can get – people frantic and scattered, and power abused. But Jeremiah also points to another reign – God’s reign – where all things are made right, and the shepherd cares for God’s people. We keep looking for and anticipating that! We remember the line from Psalm 23 – “I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and staff comfort me.” That is how we are meant to live – in God’s reign, under God’s care, all our days.
Our second lesson feels a long way from turkeys and tinsel; but this lesson – the text for today on Christ the King - wants to remind us how we live under the reign of God, always. Listen to Luke 23:
3When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.34Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing. 35And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!”36The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine,37and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” 39One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
So, it certainly does not look like Christ is King. We have our minds on turkey and tinsel this week. Or we remain filled with fear – letting that enemy dictate how we function, what we think about, how we live. Anxiety, . . . . confusion, . . . . uncertainty, . . . . fear. Lot of things weigh heavy on us.
It certainly does not look like Christ is King in this story from Luke – Christ the King looks like “fake news.” Christ is hanging on a cross. People scoff: “he saved others, let him save himself.” The inscription also mocks him: “the King of the Jews.” Jesus is hanging next to criminals.
Here is the truth from one commentator: Jesus, the king, remains passive, acted upon through most of these verses, hardly like any earthly monarch. And that is the point. Jesus is like no earthly ruler. Jesus is the antithesis of dictators, bullies and power brokers. King Jesus does not coerce or intimidate, use violence or bribery to get his way. The One who rules heaven and earth hangs powerless on the cross for the sake of the ones hanging beside him, both the criminal who recognizes him and the one who blasphemes him. He takes on the sin of the spectators and the scoffers, the mockers and the deniers. Jesus' reign of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony comes by way of the cross, ushered in through solidarity with the helpless and those who suffer unspeakable cruelty and pain. Christ the King is like no other. He came not to be served, but to serve. He came not to stand apart from the least of these, but to take their place. He came not to puff himself up but to pour himself out. (See J. Duffield, Pres-Outlook, “Looking into Lectionary”)
And here is what we also know and affirm today, and every Sunday. God raised Jesus from the dead. That means that the scoffers, the mockers, the deniers, the dictators, the cruelty, the arrogant and rude, do not rule the day – God rules the day. Christ reigns. Christ wins. And that changes everything.
Everything about Jesus points to the reign of God. Christ the King – wants to lead us to a new realm – God’s realm. Jesus comes on the scene and announces that the time has come – time to move from the beat up, discouraging, selfish ways of the world – time to move into God’s full reign. The blind see, the lame walk, the sick are healed, the prisoners are set free, love rules over hates, life rules over death. Christ the King.
Could it be true? It does not look true: “he saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God.” King? Really?
Yes. Really! The harshness of the cross, the mocking and scoffing and ridicule do not have the final say. As Roger Gench reminded us this past week in one of his “daily reflections,” “the cross, for first century followers of Jesus, became both the signature in history of the forces that killed Jesus, AND the symbol of hope for freedom from the forces of domination. God raised Jesus from the dead.” (“Daily Reflections,” Nov 19, 2019) Evil and death do not have the last word. Christ is King.
Here is what we know: Jesus reigns in cellblocks of convicted criminals, calling for repentance and offering forgiveness. Jesus, refugee and asylum seeker himself, reigns for those who have no home, promising that none other than God prepares a place for them. Jesus rules in government offices and on the streets with protestors, urging all to see in one another the image of God, to know of God's desire for justice and to participate in the inevitability of its coming. Jesus is Lord in those places of great abundance and those of soul crushing scarcity, calling on people to work to make sure everyone has enough. Jesus reigns in us when we seek his kingdom first, that kingdom of light where darkness no longer rules. Jesus reigns! It is the truth - for us in these fearful and frenetic days, no matter what you may be dealing with, no matter how uncertain or chaotic the world. Jesus reigns. That is the message all through Scripture. (see J. Duffield, ibid)
Here is the real question: Do our lives reflect that message?
Does our church life reflect that message – Christ is King – really!
Dorothy Day – the great spiritual writer and social justice advocate of a previous generation – said that we should all live in such a way that only makes sense because we believe in God, the God who reigns.
With whatever is most challenging – we are bold to trust God’s presence and promises.
With whatever is threatening us – especially threatening our sense of love and wholeness – we are bold to live as God’s committed people – with our time, talent, and money.
With whatever is going in our community, our nation, our world, we strive to love God and love what God loves.
Do our lives reflect really that Christ is King? They should!
Some of you know the name of Peter Gomes. Peter Gomes served for many years the preacher and a professor at Harvard. Gomes often preached about what it means to be Christian. He said, “to be Christian means to be a changed man or woman in an unchanged world. Anyone can be a Christian in a Christian world. This is a pagan world, a fallen world, a secular world, a sordid world, a shabby world, and it happens to be the only world that you and I have. . . . To be Christian means to be changed in the middle of that which is unchanged.” (Gomes, Strength for the Journey, p. 297)
Gomes’ point: It takes energy, it takes commitment, faith and courage, to live by faith when the world encourages us to live by fear. It takes attentiveness to God’s Spirit, to do the right thing when the world says do the selfish thing. It takes commitment and trust to forgive in a world that prefers grudges, to love in a world that prefers to walk over others and win. It takes courage, and attentiveness to God’s Spirit, to be quiet, be still, be open to God in a world that mostly says go for it, spend, consume, race here and there. It takes grace and faith – an openness to God – to look beyond all that threatens us, pushes us down, wants to destroy life for us and especially the less fortunate. We are called to be changed people in an unchanged world. We are called to be spiritual and faithful people – who hold to God’s promises and seek to promote God’s purposes in all times and places.
Or put another way – we are called to know, to trust, to live into the reality – Christ IS KING! We seek to live with courage, with commitment, with compassion all our days.
May it be so. Alleluia. Amen
Prayer of Commitment: Holy God, we believe; help our unbelief. And, by your Spirit, strengthen us with faith, increase our love and devotion, and show us the way to discipleship. AMEN
Alex Evans, Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA preached this sermon during Sunday morning worship on November 24, 2019. This is a rough manuscript.