Proper 29 :: Daniel 7: 9–10, 13-14; Psalm
93; Revelation
1: 4b-8; John
18: 33-37
This is a homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given
at St. John’s Church, in Huntingdon,
Pennsylvania on Sunday, November 22, 2015.
“THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PRESIDENT AND A KING”
(Homily texts:
Revelation 1: 4b–8, John 18: 33–37 & the Collect of the Day)
Today is Christ the King Sunday, the
last Sunday in the Church Year. Our
readings, especially that which is appointed from the Book of Revelation, frame
the theme for this day, which not only wraps up the entire year which has gone
before us, but it also sets the stage for the new year, which begins with the
season of Advent…during Advent, we prepare for Christ’s first coming, born as a
babe in Bethlehem, and we also concentrate on the second coming of the Lord, a
time when everyone will acknowledge Him as “King of kings and Lord of lords”,
as our Collect of the Day today acknowledges.
We ought to be honest with ourselves
and admit that we Americans aren’t entirely comfortable with the idea of having
a king. To be sure, we are
overwhelmingly interested in the British royal family, but while that sort of
royalty interests us, it does so mainly as an academic exercise, for we here in
this country don’t have – or want – a king or a royal family to be the head of
state. We are firmly committed to the
ideals of a democratic republic, even though we ought to be fair to our
brothers and sisters in the United Kingdom and say that theirs is also a
democratic state with a royal head-of-state who serves as a symbol of national
unity.
Perhaps it might be best for us to
learn something about kings (and queens) by contrasting what a king (or queen)
is with what a president is. Perhaps we
can learn to appreciate our Lord Jesus Christ more fully by engaging in this
exercise.
So, let’s begin.
A president is elected by the
people. A king (or queen) inherits his
(her) position.
A president arises from among the
people….it’s often been said that just about anyone could, conceivably, become
president. A king is set apart from the
people by virtue of having been born into a royal family.
A president serves for a certain,
set length of time. A king (or queen)
serves as long as they live, generally speaking.
A president’s powers are enumerated
by a Constitution or a set of laws. A
king – at least in former times – exercised near total control over his
subjects….Especially in a former time, the king’s word was law. (This sort of kingly power is known as the
“Divine Right of Kings”, the idea that a king was divinely chosen to rule over
his people.)
So these are some of the ways in
which a king (or queen) differs from a president.
Now, let’s apply these contrasts to
Jesus Christ:
First of all, our Lord is appointed
to be king by God the Father. The Letter
to the Hebrews seeks to confirm this understanding by saying that Jesus Christ
was appointed to be the righteous priest “after the order of Melchizedek”.[1] This ancient king-priest. Melchizedek, was
both a king and a priest.
Secondly, the Lord’s kingship is
derived from the fact that He came from the Father….So the Lord Jesus Christ
shares God’s divinity in all its fullness.
But here, an important distinction with merely human kings arises: The Lord also arises from among us by virtue
of His having come in the flesh, to be born of the Virgin Mary, to take upon
Himself our flesh and blood.
The third distinction has to do with
the Lord’s tenure as king: He is a king
forever, a kingdom which will have no end.
Revelation casts this reality in terms of identifying the Lord as “King
of kings and lord of lords,” [2]adding
that “He shall reign for ever and ever.”[3]
The last distinction has to do with
the limits of power of this heavenly king.
Essentially, there is no limit to the power of this king, this divine
king, for He will conquer all opposition and will do away with all the forces
of evil in the world. And yet, we are
bound to admit that this king, our Lord Jesus Christ, conquers through the
power of the cross, that emblem of suffering, shame and defeat. It is this distinction that Pilate could not
understand, for in our gospel reading this morning, we hear of the interchange
between Jesus and Pilate….Pilate asks, “So, you are a king?” Jesus essentially affirms Pilate’s question,
but then adds “My kingdom is not of this world….” Pilate understood royalty in terms of raw
power. He could not understand the sort
of royalty that would be willing to serve, as well as to be served. In the cross, we see both aspects of Jesus’
royalty, for He allowed Himself to be subject to the depths of a death on a
cross, and yet, He conquered its power and the resulting power of death by
rising to new life again on Easter Sunday morning.
So in this King of kings and Lord of
lords, our Lord Jesus Christ, we have the almighty one who has emptied Himself
to take upon Him the form of a servant, so that, being found in human form, He
humbled Himself, even to the point of death on a cross. As a result, God has highly exalted Him, and
has given Him the name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. (I am paraphrasing St. Paul’s letter to the
Philippians, chapter two, verses five through eleven.)
As we contemplate what it means to be
in a personal, ongoing relationship with this King of kings and Lord of lords,
we come to realize the depth of love that the Lord Jesus Christ has for each of
us, for His invitation to an ever-deeper relationship rests not on a command to
love, but on an invitation – borne out of servanthood – to enter into a deep
and abiding love relationship.
What an awesome king! A king who rules over all by virtue of His
willingness to serve us all.
Thanks
be to God!
