Subjects of a Different King
Proper 29: Christ the King Sunday
Revelation 1:4b-8; John 18:33-37
By Timothy W. Ross
This is the last Sunday of the church calendar, and the focus of the day is “Christ is King!” What does it mean that Christ is our King? Most of us don’t think of ourselves as citizens of a Kingdom. Most of us see our primary identity as citizens of the country where we were born. But some among us were born in other countries; some hold dual citizenship. I am a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and a citizen of the United States. I try to be a good citizen of both nations…but sometimes it gets sticky.
Most of us from the US have been raised to pledge allegiance to this nation state in which we live, to see our primary identity as citizens of the US. That’s understandable, this country has given a lot to its citizens. Some who gather to worship this Sunday will lift up prayers of thanksgiving for the results of the last election. Others who gather on Sunday will be in a deep funk, and may worry about what the coming year will bring. Maybe this is a good Sunday to encourage our people to consider what it means to proclaim that we believers in Christ are citizens of another kingdom…subjects of a different King. We realize that most Americans don’t really believe that…don’t get that, down in our gut. Yet Jesus says that for his followers it is absolutely true. We are, dear friends, dual citizens.
Jesus referred to the Kingdom of God over 100 times in the gospels. It was his way of describing God’s interaction in transforming this world. In Jesus’ day, talk of the kingdom made people nervous. A new kingdom meant that there was a new King in town. That kind of talk got people killed. Indeed, our appointed scripture from John finds Jesus dragged before the very uptight ruler of Palestine who is anxiously sniffing around for hints of political disloyalty. John writes:
“Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’”
Is Jesus King in your life...really? Do you belong to Jesus? Do you listen for Jesus’ voice? Pilate weighed Jesus’ words about the Kingdom, searching for a hint of treason. The religious leaders sneered at Jesus’ words and tightened the screws. The soldiers tried to beat the crazy talk out of Jesus and nailed him to the tree to show what happens to competitors with kingly ambitions. The thief crucified on one side of Jesus joined in the abuse. The lynch mob screamed “We have no King but Caesar!” And one miserable criminal, without a hope in the world, believed in this King. “Jesus,” he cried, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
On this final Sunday of the church’s calendar, is Christ really King? Is He King in your home? Does his rule extend to the decisions you make on a daily basis? Does the Kingdom make a difference in the way you live, the decisions you make, the principles you live by, the way you spend your resources, the way you build your life?
For Jesus’ Kingship to be real...not just true in the theoretical sense, but lived out in our space and time—we have to get serious about living as good citizens of Jesus’ Kingdom. Life is not about us, our little lives. Life in the Kingdom of God is about Christ. He is the Head. He is the Master, Teacher, Savior and Lord. Christ the King is the One who is up to something big in the world.
For those of you whose candidates rose to the top in this last election, please remember that Christ is your king. Don’t mistake an earthly agenda for a heavenly one. Don’t gloat as the screws are turned on your political enemies. Don’t mistake political power for divine approval.
For those of you whose candidates went down on defeat, please remember that Christ is your King. If it helps, remember that the prophet Jeremiah lived most of his life under the long reign of King Manasseh, surely one of the worst human beings to ever rule as king. Yet somehow Jeremiah figured out a way to stay faithful, to say “yes” to God, to proclaim "Your mercies are new every morning."
Go forth this week as a citizen of heaven, as a servant of “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead…the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Tim is a minister of the gospel of Jesus, a missionary, a teacher. He is the Director of Pastoral Care for Christian Missionary Fellowship International.