2 Samuel 23:1-7
Psalm 132:1-12
Revelation 1:4b-8
John 18:33-37
May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
This month on facebook, many of my pastor friends have participated in something called “Thirty Days of Thankfulness.” Some of your friends may have been doing this too. Beginning on Reformation Day and continuing throughout November, people have been sharing what they are thankful for.
People are thankful for family and friends. People are thankful for the roof over their heads. People are thankful for the jobs that help provide the roof over their family’s heads. People are thankful for sun and snow. People are thankful for first responders and the Red Cross because nobody is thankful for Superstorm Sandy. Many of my friends are of course thankful for the one who makes all of this, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I have thought about this constantly. I have decided I am thankful for words. I love the written word. I love a good novel. I love good magazine articles. I love getting letters and cards, especially with notes written inside. I love messages sent and received on facebook and Twitter. I love sharing through email. I even love composing and sending the pastoral letter every month, though some months are better than others. I love the Word of God. Above all, I am thankful for the word of God. I love the word who was God. I love the word who was with God. I love God who is the Alpha and the Omega. The one who was, is, and is to come.
There are some words that end up changing. It has to do with the way words are used than it has to do with the words themselves. Slang has a lot to do with that. So does emerging technology.
There’s a word that is almost missing completely from our vocabulary, King. All royal terms are now almost missing from our vocabulary. Unless you read a British scandal rag or an American tabloid there’s no reason for us to even consider the words and titles or royalty anymore.
Those of you who are around my age may remember this: In 1972, a man named David McCall noticed that his sons could remember the lyrics to songs on the radio, but could not remember their multiplication tables. So he wrote a song about multiplying by threes called “Three Is a Magic Number.” It tested well with kids and ended up on a children’s album. At the same time, a man named Tom Yohe heard the song and began making doodles that fit the music.[1] This is how Multiplication Rock! began. With the addition of Grammar Rock! in 1974 they evolved into Schoolhouse Rock! In 1975 America
One of the songs from America
They wanted no more Mother England.
They knew the time had come
For them to take command.
They knew the time had come
For them to take command.
It's very clear you're being unfair, King,
No matter what you say, we won't obey.
Gonna hold a revolution now, King,
No matter what you say, we won't obey.
Gonna hold a revolution now, King,
And we're gonna run it all our way
With no more kings...
With no more kings...
We're gonna elect a president! (No more kings)
He's gonna do what the people want! (No more kings)
We're gonna run things our way! (No more kings)
Nobody's gonna tell us what to do![2]
He's gonna do what the people want! (No more kings)
We're gonna run things our way! (No more kings)
Nobody's gonna tell us what to do![2]
No more kings has been our clarion call for nearly 240 years. No more kings! We are very serious about this, and we should be. We don’t want a government that doesn’t respond to the people. As the song says, “[The President]'s gonna do what the people want!” With nearly 240 years without a king, monarchy is little more than a weak concept to us. This doesn’t upset me, but it doesn’t leave us with much context for what a king or kingdom is. And that is important in today’s gospel reading. It is important on this, Christ the King Sunday.
Today we enter the drama between Pilate and Jesus. It begins as the Sanhedrin, the temple leadership, has finally been able to bring Jesus before the Roman Governor Pilate. The Scribes and the Pharisees accuse Jesus of calling himself a King. In the Roman Empire this is a treasonous offence; because there is no other King aside from Caesar. Debate raged between the leaders of the temple and the governor of the state. “Why do you bring him to me?” Pilate asks. “Because he’s guilty!” they answer. Realizing that the temple leaders would see Jesus killed, Pilate goes to Jesus himself and asks “Are you the King of the Jews?”
Pilate asks Jesus a political question, “Are you the King of the Jews? Are you their King,” It is the question Pilate needs answered if he is going to execute Jesus. If Jesus is a rival king, then he is guilty of treason and subject to execution by the hand of the empire he rebels against. It’s the law of the land. If Jesus is of no earthly political threat, there is no reason that he should be held by Rome . If he is a threat to the temple, that is a matter for the Sanhedrin, not Pilate. Oh and how I imagine Pilate hoped this would be their matter instead of his.
Pilate asks, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
As with most tests, Jesus does not answer directly. He answers by asking, “Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about me?” Pilate confirms that no Roman authority delivers Jesus to Roman law; it is his own nation and the chief priests. Then Pilate asks the question of all questions: “What is it that you have done?”
What have you done? What have you done to deserve this fate? What have you done to cause such an uproar? What have you done that the chief priests of your own people will bring you to me to be executed?
So Jesus answers, “My kingdom is not of this world.”
A word that gets a lot of attention is “extra.” It has many different nuances, but in general it means “more.” This is how Taco Bell gives us the XXL Steak Nachos; extra, extra large. This is how teachers came up with “extra credit” to give more points to students for more work.
Sometimes though, it means “beyond.” We’re all familiar with the old movie “ET: The Extraterrestrial.” It’s a film about a little guy from outer space. Extraterrestrial means “beyond our world.” To us, we can say that Jesus’ kingdom is extraterrestrial; from beyond our world, from another place. Jesus says, “My kingdom is not of this world.”
Marie recently gave me a copy of Mitch Albom’s new book, “The Time Keeper.”[3] One of the main characters is the first man who measured time. Measured time was such a novel concept that it took the people from pagan religions where gods of dark and light fought over the skies to the Timex, Swatch, and Rolex. Measuring time moved us from a broad concept of seasons to a concrete understanding of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Albom’s understanding of time, which is nothing new, allows us say that the kingdom of God
So we have a king, a great king whose kingdom exists outside of anything we have ever experienced; not really of this world, not really of this time. In that way, this king’s reign doesn’t threaten us because of how it exists and how it doesn’t exist. This is a time when we run into our American mindset. Again from Bicentennial Rock!
We're gonna elect a president! (No more kings)
He's gonna do what the people want! (No more kings)
We're gonna run things our way! (No more kings)
Nobody's gonna tell us what to do![4]
He's gonna do what the people want! (No more kings)
We're gonna run things our way! (No more kings)
Nobody's gonna tell us what to do![4]
I believe that Americans, as a people, have no concept of kings, kingship, and kingdoms. In the Old Testament, it represented the national or civil monarchy.[5] The books of Kings and Chronicles show the varying success of these earthly kingdoms. The word is also used for the Redeemer King.[6] These are the kings of the Psalms. To the Greeks, the king was the lawful and usually priestly ruler of the people, in a good sense[7] (whatever that means). While this king points to the civil kings, it is also the fertile soil of the Messiah to come. This is the king we speak of when we speak of Christ the King.
As Americans, democracy, the voice of the people, and self governance are ingrained upon us. This kingship is foreign to us, and a little frightening. Kings call us to give up control of our and that doesn’t always set well. Giving up our right to control our own lives is positively undemocratic. Yet, that is how we are to live in the Reign of Christ under his kingship.
We know the slogan “God is my co-pilot.” While this keeps our personal sense of control in order, it is a poor substitute for the kingdom to come. It affirms self control and denies the Kingship of Christ. Honestly, if God is not our pilot we are going the wrong way. God is sovereign, God is in control, and this is the way of the kingdom to come.
Our call, our vocation is not to live in the turmoil of our daily lives, but in the reign of Christ. On this Christ the King Sunday we are called to remember this: Our lives are different, but not so different. There are now and have always been kings and governments and commitments that have made a play for our attention, our devotion, our honor. Our call; here and beyond, now and forever, is to be citizens in Christ’s kingdom.
So for me, I am thankful for words. I am thankful for words, like love, and peace, and grace, and hope. I am thankful for the Reign of Christ that makes these words more than words. I am thankful for the Reign of Christ that makes these words more than just words; yesterday, today and tomorrow; now and forever and always; on earth as it is in heaven.
[1] Schoolhouse Rock, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoolhouse_Rock
[2] Ahern, Lynn , “No More Kings.” Lyrics found at http://www.schoolhouserock.tv/No.html
[3] Albom, Mitch, “The Time Keeper.” New York : Hyperion, 2012.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Kittel, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. I, page 565.
[6] Ibid. page 566.
[7] Ibid. page 564.
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