November 24, 2024
Christ the King Sunday
Rev. Mary Erickson
Hope Lutheran Church
John 18:33-37
Remember Who You Are
Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Today is Christ the King Sunday. It marks the end of our liturgical calendar, the final Sunday of this church year.
Here in the United States, we’ve always kind of bristled against the notion of kings. We fought a war to gain independence from a king! And even though nearly 250 years have passed since we declared independence, we’re still suspect, aren’t we, of kings and a king’s utter sovereignty over us. Our forebears took pains to set up a government with built-in checks and balances so that one branch should never gain too much power.
But Christ the King Sunday is here to remind us of a kingdom not from his world. It speaks of a kingdom and a king to whom we gladly submit. It acknowledges a king like no other, our servant king, Jesus Christ.
Where did this Sunday come from? Christ the King Sunday is the newest holy day on our liturgical calendar. Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of Christ the King Sunday. It’s that new! We’ve only been observing it for 99 years.
So why did it originate? We have to go back to the year 1925. The pope was Pius XI. And to understand what prompted Pius to institute this new observance, we need to reflect on what was going on in the world, and especially in Europe.
Pope Pius resided in Vatican City. And the Vatican, as you know, is completely surrounded by Rome, the capital city of Italy. In 1922 Benito Mussolini marched on Rome. That move was a hostile takeover. He became the prime minister of Italy. And then in 1925, he upped the ante. He changed his title. Now he ruled as Il Duce, “The Duke.” It was a sign of his authoritarian power. He ruled over Italy at the head of a fascist regime. His power was backed by the volunteer militia known as the Blackshirts.
Meanwhile, in Germany, the Nazi party was growing in power. A young Adolph Hitler was rising in power and influence. His fascist party was backed by his own group of thugs, the Brownshirt Storm Troopers.
And finally, in Russia, the country had been rocked by the Russian Revolution in 1917. Lenin was in control of the young communist country. Ant then in 1922, he expanded his reach. He absorbed the neighboring independent countries, such as Ukraine and Belarus. He was greedy for power, greedy for land.
So this was the political context in the year 1925. Fascist states were flexing their muscles in Italy and Germany. A hostile Soviet Union was gobbling up neighboring states. A brooding sense of violence and danger was on the horizon. It was a dark time.
When I think about this backdrop, I realize just what tremendous courage of faith Pius demonstrated. Here he was, completely surrounded by the fascist state of Italy, and without any military power! Surrounded by Titans, and with only his authority as the Pope of the Catholic church, he institutes this new feast day. It was a response to the ultra-nationalism rearing its ugly head in the world. Christ the King Sunday was founded as a faith response to the aggressive, totalitarian claims of nationalistic ideologies. There is another king, a king of peace who will overcome all things.
So here we are, 99 years later. Our global context is not what it was in 1925. We are in our own time and place. But whatever the year and whatever political landscape we find ourselves in, this holiday, Christ the King: it speaks to us as we maneuver in the world as people of faith. It’s a day meant to give us perspective. It sheds light on this intersection of our faith lives within the political activities of the world we live in. It helps us to keep first things first.
This feast day is here to remind us who we are. We are people of faith in the triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We look to Jesus Christ as our savior, who is seated at the right hand of God. Christ is our king. To him we look with our highest allegiance.
Our gospel reading today depicts Jesus’ encounter with Pilate. Pilate was the Roman governor over the province of Judea. He held the power of life and death over everyone living there, including Jesus. He asks Jesus if he’s a king. Is he the king of the Jews?
And Jesus gives a reply that, surely, Pilate was not expecting. “My kingdom,” he said, “is not from this world.”
Jesus is a king, but he dwells in a land not his own. For a king to be outside of his own territory, he’s without jurisdiction. He has no authority in this foreign land.
“My kingdom is not from this world.” Jesus’ terse statement sums up everything we need to know. He is a king incognito. Nothing about Jesus is king-like. He was born into an unassuming, common family. He grew up in ordinary ways, not in a palace, but to a family that had to budget and scrimp, who had to work hard at physical labor.
But in his ministry, he was all about his kingdom. His first proclamation was, “The kingdom of God has come near.” He told parables explaining the nature of this kingdom. They run contrary to the notions of our world:
• About a shepherd who leaves 99 sheep to find the lost one?
• About a vineyard owner who pays workers who labored for one hour the same amount as those who worked all day?
• About a tiny, unassuming kingdom, as puny as a mustard seed?
• About wheat growing co-mingled with weeds?
This heavenly kingdom seems upside down and backwards to us. It’s a kingdom where the meek shall inherit the earth. The first are last and the last are first. The poor in spirit are blessed. To be the greatest of all you must be servant of all.
No, Jesus’ kingdom is definitely not from this world! It’s completely alien to our reasonings.
Jesus is not of this world, but he is most certainly a lover of this world. He has come into this world, and it’s in the confines of this world that he realizes the goals of his own heavenly realm. In a most unexpected way, his crown was comprised of twisted thorns. His cross became his unlikely throne. And it was through dying that he vanquished his foes: sin and death.
Christ the King Sunday reminds us who we are and whose we are. We are people of faith in Christ, who is our Lord and King. As citizens of his kingdom, we are no more from this world than Jesus is.
And yet, here is where we find ourselves. Like our King and Savior, we live out our faith within the very historical and political landscape we happen to find ourselves in. But in this earthly world, we remember who we are. Christ is our King. He is our North Star. We look to him for direction and purpose.
In the daily devotion I receive from the Henri Nouwen Society, Nouwen’s reflection recently said that the main question we have to ask ourselves is “Are we interiorly at peace?”
Nouwen remarked that Jesus knew who he was and where he was from. His thoughts and his actions flowed from his interior communion with God. And thus, his very presence was peace. He exuded healing. We can sense his inner peace as he speaks to Pilate.
That peace is our peace. When we center ourselves upon Christ our King, his peace will come to us. And in his peace, our lives will exude the grace and truth of his kingdom. Jesus said, “In this world you will have troubles. But be brave. I have overcome the world." Christ the King Sunday reminds us of Jes’s' victory over this world. It invites us to ground ourselves in the peace that comes from him.
We set our bearings and remember who we are. We are people of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. The kingship of Jesus has everything to do with how we live within this world. In whatever circumstances and place we might find ourselves, we remember who we are. We align our minds and actions with the kingdom to which we belong. We pin our hopes to the intentions of this kingdom, not to these temporary earthly ones. For we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
As we end this church year, we mark that Christ is our king. His peace is our peace. We live and move within this tired and broken world as agents of his kingdom. We respond with his grace. We testify to his truth. Remember who you are, and whose you are. May the peace of Christ fill you.
