November 24, 2024 Christ The King Sunday The text is John 18:33-37.
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33Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” 35Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” 36Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” 37Pilate 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.”
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May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, El Adonai, my rock and my Redeemer.
Grace, mercy, and peace are yours from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today is Christ the King Sunday, and serves as the last day of the church’s liturgical calendar year. Thus ends Church Year B, and Year C begins next Sunday, as we enter into Advent. But how and when did the celebration of Christ The King, also called the Reign of Christ, Sunday begin? On this day we specifically set aside a worship service to proclaim Jesus Christ as the ruler of all creation and profess our faith in, and allegiance to the Son of God as our sovereign king. And, I’m certain that everyone here this morning has celebrated this Christian festival day for as long as any of us remember. So, we can assume that Lutherans have been observing Christ the King Sunday for hundreds of years, right? Actually, after some research it turns out that Martin Luther himself never preached a sermon on Christ The King Sunday, for this liturgical celebration isn’t nearly as ancient as we might think.
Compared to other Christian celebrations, this festival day in the church calendar is quite new; we have celebrated Christ The King Sunday only since 1925, when it was instituted fewer than 100 years ago, by Pope Pius XI. He had noted that a shift toward secularism was on the increase in the early 1920’s, specifically in Europe, when the world was still attempting to recover from the devastation of WWI. Some time after it's institution the Lutheran church came to adopt this festival day into our church calendar and liturgy.
Pope Pius established Christ the King Sunday in an attempt to counteract a declining respect and reverence for the Christian church, the increase in power of emerging dictatorships in Europe, and a movement that suggested that faithful Christians should profess their allegiance first to their government, and not to Jesus. And, as time passed the celebration of Christ the King Sunday came to fall on the last day of the liturgical year, as Christians proclaim Jesus as our king; this is the very last pronouncement we make as our church year comes to a close. It is a most fitting, most appropriate acknowledgement of who we worship, who we willingly accept as our Sovereign. Next week we begin the new church year celebrating the First Sunday in Advent, when we await the birth of Jesus once again. And on Christmas we welcome Christ as the ruler of all, the One who has come into the world as its true king. So, it’s only fitting that after a year of witnessing Jesus’ miracles and hearing his teaching, that the end of the church calendar should be set aside to proclaim Jesus’ sovereignty.
What made this special worship day so appropriate in the 1920’s, and not quite as applicable today is that we in America don’t really have a great understanding of what life under a king is like. We may look to Great Britain, where Charles has assumed the role of king, but his duties are more symbolic than governmental. He doesn’t really rule over his subjects in the same ways that prompted Pope Pius to react with the institution of Christ The King Sunday. Things were rather different in the early 20th century in Europe. In 1925 Italy was declared a dictatorship under Benito Mussolini and Adolph Hitler published Mein Kampf, a treatise which was to serve as the basis for the rise of Nazism. And we all know the horror that emerged from Hitler’s twisted ideology.
The writing was on the wall in other parts of the world too, and just a few years after Christ The King Sunday was established, Joseph Stalin took over control of Communist Russia from Lenin; again, this didn’t end well for the Russian people. And fascism and other authoritarian systems were on the rise in several other countries. In many parts of the world, people were living under the despotic rule of quite a few so-called “kings”. And none of these could be considered as being benevolent toward those they governed; their rule was based on their own power and there was little regard for the wants or needs of those they suppressed.
So what did it mean when Pontius Pilate, who by the power of Rome was essentially a king, asked Jesus if he were a king, and what does Jesus’ response to Pilate tell us about Jesus’ kingship? Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not from this world”. Well, if not from this world, then, where does Jesus’ reign exist, and from where does his kingship arise? We could opt for the easy answer, and just say, “from heaven”. After all, Jesus spent the majority of his ministry explaining to people what the “kingdom of heaven” was like. You know them; “a pearl in a field”, “good seed versus weeds”, “a tiny mustard seed”, etc. And while all this is true, the truth of Jesus’ kingship we celebrate today, is that although it is “not from this world”, his reign on earth in fact began as soon as he lay in the manger. Jesus’ sovereignty as king of all creation was manifest into this world at his incarnation. While Jesus’ sovereignty over all creation began in heaven when he was with God when the cosmos was brought into being, his rule as Christ The King, with dominion over all the earth began when he descended to walk among mortals. Through his sacrifice and by the grace of God we are promised life enteral in the heavenly realm where Jesus is king. We also pray “thy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven”. We acknowledge that Jesus is our earthy king, even though Pilate didn’t grasp what Jesus proclaimed about his sovereignty. And we declare that Jesus is king of all in spite of the perceived threat he posed to the power of the religious authorities of his day.
Jesus may have answered Pilate with the proclamation that his kingdom didn’t originate by earthly means, but he also didn’t deny his sovereignty over the earth; “for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth”, Jesus declares to Pilate.
Whether Pilate, or the Pharisees, or some of the common people at the time liked it or not, Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the king of all. This we declare and this we celebrate on this day, this day of Christ The King. But this pronouncement of ours necessarily compels us to clarify two crucial questions that arise regarding our acknowledgement of Jesus as our sovereign ruler. What kind of king is Jesus, and what kind of subjects are we?
Earthly rulers of many countries demand that their subjects bow down to them, to swear allegiance to the ruler even if that results in the loss of their personal self-determination, and their well-being. Many times, a refusal to bend to the will of the ruler in charge has resulted in those being ruled over to lose their freedom and often, their lives. Worldly kings have often ruled with the fear that they might soon be overthrown; heavy-handed, oppressive rule often results in the popular uprising of those who have been oppressed. Many tyrannical leaders have lived opulent lifestyles while their people have experienced poverty, hunger, fear, and oppression. The iron grip of power over others has been the driving force behind the reigns of many kings, tyrants, and despots. In complete opposition to this type of kingship Jesus is the king who is willing to lay down his life for the salvation of his people. Jesus’ mission as our king is to restore a righteous relationship with God for all God’s people. Jesus’ ministry declares the worth and value of all people, and his earthly rule is his ministry; he is the One who calls out to, restores, and secures God’s grace for those who earthly rulers have subjugated. We shouldn’t be surprised that Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not from this world”; Jesus’ teaching and his will for God’s people are certainly not those of a worldly ruler. Only the king of heaven and earth is able to rule as Jesus does. And as our king, Jesus doesn’t force us to obey him; we are invited by the Holy Spirit to follow the Son of God and to be heirs of the promises he has secured from the Father. And if we decide to disobey, if we commit sin, and we do, and we will; we are forgiven through the sacrifice that Jesus, our king made on the cross on our behalf.
So, we know what kind of king Jesus is; the question remains, “how then do we respond as subjects of Christ The King?” What are we called to do in thanksgiving that God has provided for us a divine, benevolent, loving ruler?
Simply by our very presence here this day we proclaim Christ as our king through our voices; in prayer, in song, by affirming the Creeds. But do we consistently reinforce our voices with our actions, by how we live our lives? Do we faithfully and willingly accept Christ’s authority over all that we do? And do we respond to Jesus’ sovereignty over us with words and actions that emulate those of our king; do we bestow grace, love, and mercy to others in the same way Jesus showers us with these blessings? Do we offer outreach to the needy, the ignored, the hungry, and the oppressed and offer of ourselves in service to them? Christ The King did, willingly and without care for what it would cost him. Do we proclaim the Good News of the Gospel to those who have not yet come to acknowledge Christ as their king? By our voices and actions might others be inspired to come to Jesus?
If we were forced to live under the heel of a despotic, tyrannical king, we would have no choice but to be under the domination of such a ruler. But as beloved children of God our lives are not dictated by the whim of tyranny. We are free to live and act out of thanksgiving for the blessings our heavenly king bestows upon us. We know that our king departed heaven, the kingdom that is “not from this world” to bring his reign of love, mercy, and grace to us, here in our world. It is out of thankfulness for these blessings that we proclaim Jesus as Christ The King, our king; this day and always. And with gratitude we faithfully embrace his rule and acknowledge this by living lives devoted to reflect his life of sacrifice and servanthood.
Will you pray with me? Good, and gracious, and Holy God, we thank you that the king of heaven has come to earth to proclaim his reign over all. We confess that Jesus is the divine ruler over all creation, and we ask that you help and guide us to maintain willing obedience to his rule. And we pray these things in the name of Christ the King, the One whose reign will never end. Amen.
God is Good, all the time. All the time, God is Good. Amen.