Proper 29 -- Ezekiel 34: 11-17; Psalm 95: 1-7; I Corinthians 15: 20-28; Matthew 25: 31-46
A homily by Fr. Gene
Tucker, given at The
Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Springfield, Illinois, on Sunday, November 23, 2014.
“KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”
(Homily texts: I Corinthians 15: 20–28 & Matthew 25: 31-46)
We will
hear this wonderful text as it was set by the great composer George Frederick
Handel in the “Hallelujah Chorus” to his most famous work, “Messiah” in a
wonderful performance at the end of this coming week. (I hope you have your tickets already!)
This
morning, we come to the end of the Church Year.
Today is the “Last Sunday after Pentecost," or as it is more commonly
known, “Christ the King Sunday.”
This Sunday
asks us to look at the big picture, to see God’s great, enormous and wonderful
plan for the world He created, and for the people He loves. This Sunday’s themes also look forward into
the coming season of Advent, as we remarked a few Sundays ago … these two great
themes of the Advent season dwell on Christ’s first coming as He was born as a
baby in a manger in Bethlehem, and in His coming in power, great might and
majesty at some future time.
We
Americans struggle with the notion of kingship, queenship, and royalty in
general. We are fascinated by the
British royal family (just look at any of the magazines that line the checkout
counters at the supermarket for proof!).
And yet, early in our history, some in this country wanted to make
George Washington a king. Wisely, he
declined the offer, knowing that many of his countrymen had had quite enough of
another guy named George who was a king in Great Britain.
Nor do the
ways in which we see kings, queens, princes and princesses in the world today
help us to understand the notion of royalty in all its implications in former
times. For today, most monarchies are
actually “constitutional monarchies,” a system in which the king or queen is
mostly a figurehead of government, and a symbol of national unity.
On the
contrary, when we talk about Jesus Christ being the “King of kings,” we are
talking about royalty in the old fashioned sense of the term, in the sense of
what a king was in the Middle Ages, a king who ruled by what is known as the
“Divine Right of Kings.”
Such a
king’s word was law. There was no need
to dispute that word, to contradict it, or to question it. What the king said went. In the ancient sense of kingship, the king
was the one who set the tone for the entire kingdom.
In this
former sense of kings and kingdoms, the king not only judged, but
protected. Allegiance to the king helped
to ensure one’s safety. (Of course,
ensuring that safety might also involve an involuntary call to serve in the
king’s army, but we’ll get to that aspect of being the subject of a king in a
moment.)
So today,
we celebrate and remember that Jesus Christ is the King. In fact, as the Book of Revelation puts it,
He is “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
His is the highest and most absolute form of rule, authority and power.
Notice how
St. Paul describes the coming of the Lord, as this King “delivers the kingdom
to God the Father after destroying every rule and authority and power.”
But if
ancient kings ruled by divine right, then we must take notice of an important
fact that makes the kingdom of God radically different from those ancient,
human kingdoms: This king, Jesus Christ,
not only possesses all power, might and majesty, but also emptied Himself,
taking on our humanity, and leading by example.
Ancient
kingdoms often ruled by military might and conquest of weaker nations. This
kingdom comes as its king willingly lays down His life, stooping even to a
death on a cross, in order to bring into being the kingdom of God.
The kingdom
of God comes not with the march of soldier’s feet, but with acts of generosity
and kindness, with visits to those in prison, with the giving of food to the
hungry, with caring for the sick, and with the provision of clothing to the
naked.
In this
way, you and I are soldiers in service to the King of kings. We wear the uniform of love, and our weapons
are the simple, everyday acts of love which reflect the love that has been
given to us by the King of kings. As we
have been loved by Christ, so we, in turn, love others and show that love in
tangible, observable ways.
May the
kingdom of God come in all its fullness.
May the King of kings and Lord of lords be known, worshiped, loved and
honored in the hearts of His faithful people and in every place. May we, his soldiers, exercise the weapons of
kindness and love which are at the heart of the rule of our heavenly king.
AMEN.
