Proper
29 :: Daniel 7: 9–10, 13–14 ; Psalm 93; Revelation 1: 4b–8; John 18: 33–37
This
is the homily given at St. John’s Church, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania by Fr. Gene
R. Tucker on Sunday, November 25, 2018.
“WHAT KIND OF KING”
We
come on this, the last Sunday after Pentecost, to what is commonly known as
“Christ the King Sunday”. We celebrate our Lord Jesus Christ as “King of kings
and Lord of lords”. (Can’t you hear the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah in that phrase?)
(By
the way, the old Church Year ends where the new one begins: We honor Christ as
King of kings, even as we enter the season of Advent, where we will focus on
Christ in His birth as a baby in Bethlehem, but also on His eventual return in
glory to sit as judge of the world, He who will be universally acknowledged as
King of kings.)
Back
to the matter of kings and such….we Americans aren’t comfortable with the idea
of monarchies. Not really, anyway. We remain fascinated by the British royal
family, even as we wouldn’t want a king or queen of our own. We Americans are
proud of our heritage, which did away with all the European royal titles and
perquisites.
As
we think about Christ as King, it might be good for us to engage in a brief
survey of kings (and queens) down through the ages. (The list which appears
below isn’t intended to be an exhaustive study of monarchs and monarchies.)
There have been, down through history, quite a wide variety of kings, queens
and royalty.
As
we go, let’s keep in mind the question, “What kind of king would we want?”
Looking
into the pages of history, here are some of the kinds of kings people have
lived under:
Some
have lived under kings who were despots. Kings
like that were, for all intents and purposes, dictators. Their way was the only
way. There was no give-and-take, no seeking a royal audience in which
grievances or petitions might be aired. The king’s word was the only, and
usually, the final one. One thinks of the wicked King Ahab in the Old Testament
as an example. And often, especially in medieval times, kings like that ruled
by what is called the “Divine Right of Kings”.
At
other times, some kings have been powerless, impotent. Some of these ineffective monarchs were simply
functioning as fronts for a behind-the-scenes power structure that was actually
calling the shots. Sometimes in history, such an ineffective monarch has been
one who was very young when they ascended to the throne, so that some sort of
another ruling mechanism was needed. King Edward VI in England is such an
example: He was a child when he became king.
Another
example is one of a king who was simply a puppet
for another authority. The Herodian dynasty before Jesus’ time and afterward is
an example: The various Herods were
simply puppet monarchs who had been installed and maintained by the Romans.
Some
kings and queens are figureheads,
those who serve as a symbol of the unity and focus of the nation. The British
monarchs fall into this category, for they are what is called “Constitutional
Monarchs”,[1]
a royalty which has certain powers, but which functions within a governmental
system that is representative and democratic. (Hope I understand the British
system correctly!)
And,
last of all, there is the king or the queen who is a servant-leader. That is to say, this sort of a monarch has the best
wishes of his/her people at heart, seeking to know what their
needs/challenges/desires are, even as they provide leadership and direction for
the nation. With this sort of monarch, the servant side of their role informs
the leadership side, and vice versa. King James II of England (for whom the
King James Version of the Bible is named) might be a good example of this sort
of a king.
This
last example leads us to Jesus Christ.
In
Christ, we see the servant side of His leadership. For He came among us as one
of us, taking on to the full our humanity, yes – even to the point of death on
the cross[2]
– immersing Himself fully in our human experience. And yet, on Easter Sunday
morning, we see His leadership. As He rose from the grave, declaring victory
over death and the grave, we see His godly power at work.
The
resurrection is the proof-positive of the Lord’s kingship, the Lord’s power.
Essentially, the power to rise from the dead on Easter Sunday is the power over
life and death. It is the power to create and to re-create. That power belongs
to God alone, made manifest in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Therefore,
He is King of kings, and Lord of lords, the one who possesses all power and the
final authority. In the midst of His divine power, He cares for you and for me,
seeking to know what are our needs/challenges/desires are, seeking to walk with
us in the journey of life.
AMEN.
[1] The European monarchies that still exist are
“Constitutional Monarchies”.
[2] See Philippians 2: 5 – 11.
