God's Eternal Reign

This final Sunday in the Christian year, also known as Christ the King, invites us to reflect on the amazing character of Christ’s kingly rule. When Pilate asked if Jesus was the king of the Jews, he replied, “My kingdom is not from this world.” Today we explore what this has meant for the people of Israel, for the earliest Christians, and for Christians everywhere in the 21st Century.

A problem for us who live in the United States is that obedience and fidelity to a king or a monarch of any kind is unheard of. Our ideal is one of liberty, freedom and equality for all people. We fought for independence in 1776, and although freedom, liberty and equality remain allusive for those on the margins of society, we do not live in a country with a king or a monarch. The stage is set for us by our readings about the true ruler of the world. Throughout the history of Israel there were good kings and bad kings, rulers who were just and those who were unjust.

In our reading from the Book of Samuel we are told about the last words of David. David was a king who embodied the hopes of Israel. He had been anointed by Samuel; he had slain Goliath; and he befriended Jonathan. The people sang his praises because he fought for justice and against evil. He was a king with hope and dreams for the future. However, by the end of his reign David was king of a divided and disorganized realm.

As stated by a commentator, “His reign was a series of tragedies: David’s sin with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah, the rape of his daughter Tamar by his son Amnon, the rebellion and murder of Absalom, continuous fighting between the tribes of Israel, and wars with the Philistines. Finally David was judged too old to go into battle. … The shining moments are brief. The glimpses of glory fade. The kingdoms of this world are destined for collapse.”

In John’s Gospel we are told that Jesus entered this historical stage and said with true biblical authority that his kingdom is not from this world. His kingdom belongs to God. Had it belonged to this world his followers would fight to keep him from being handed over to Pilate and the Jewish authorities who were charged with following the Emperor’s rule. Instead he came into the world to testify to the truth. One belongs to the truth by being in relationship with God: by loving God with heart, mind and soul; and by loving your neighbor as yourself. Jesus appeared before Pilate defenseless and vulnerable. He was a poor, tired rabbi, and his friends had all but deserted him. He had asked the disciples to watch while he prayed, but they fell asleep instead. Peter even denied knowing him.

Following Jesus, the first century Christians lived with violence, persecution, and fear for their lives. Their world was out of control, not unlike the present-day situation for many people in our world today. The early Christians faced hardship, poverty, hunger, persecution and the threat of death because they were followers of Christ. In first-century Rome the state ruled over the temple authorities and set the values for all to live by. The concept of a Christian government did not exist. Followers of Jesus had no choice but to submit to the authority of the Roman emperor. If they confessed the lordship or kingship of Jesus they were persecuted. Jesus was executed as an enemy of the state to show that the emperor was the real divine ruler. For Christians however, the God of scripture was the true ruler and the subject of loyalty. Jesus alone is king, sovereign of all creation, and he reigned over all kings.

Then, a visionary named John, writing to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia, proclaimed “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” John went on to say, “Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen.”

Now, today, as we bring this Christian year to a close we focus our attention on all that Christ means to us in his life and ministry, and through his death and resurrection. It is a time for reflecting on the divine power and reign of God that draws all faithful people to a life of worship, fellowship and service. We have come full circle and next week we shall begin a new Christian year with the season of Advent.

Where is God to be found in our lives? God is present not only in the gathered community of those who come to worship, but God is present beyond these walls in the lives of those who work tirelessly to serve him. Those who provide food for the hungry, who visit the sick and shut-ins, who minister in prisons and hospitals, who stand alongside the poor and those who live in the shadow of the cross. The good news is that Christ does not bring us God’s kingly reign just once each year, but God’s reign is eternal, today and every day and in every place. Let us always remember this and give thanks for the hope we have received in ministering to those in need as well as in our hope for a better future for all people. Amen.