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LINKS TO THE SERMONS |
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| “Christ the King!””
This is Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of the liturgical year. Next Sunday the calendar starts over again and we tell the story all over again: the events leading up to his birth, his ministry and life, his crucifixion and resurrection. Then we spend all summer and fall examining the implications of what it means to be a citizen of the kingdom of which he is the harbinger and Lord. Finally we arrive at this last day of the liturgical year and are faced with the question, now that you know the whole story and have some idea of what to expect and what is expected of you in this emerging kingdom, do you want to declare that Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords? The question is problematic for us Americans because we are the descendents of a people who defied a king and fought a war so they wouldn’t have to have one. We live in a time when American foreign policy is driven by the desire to plant and encourage democracies all over the world – not kingdoms. We have learned our lesson about the corrupting effect of power and we only bestow it on our leaders on a temporary and conditional basis. We don’t grant absolute sovereignty and rightly so because no human being who ever lived can be trusted with that kind of power – well, maybe one. What we are asked to declare on Christ the King Sunday is that this one man who lived and died and lives again, can be trusted with absolute authority over our world, our lives, our families, our church, our future, our eternal salvation. There once was a time when there was no middle ground, you were either in all the way or not at all. Christ was the Lord of life and we were his servants and that was how it was. But, the church is different now. We don’t have disciples of Christ only, we also have admirers of Christ – not so much disciples as groupies, loyal as long as he doesn’t demand too much and keeps the blessings coming. Some folks retain their tentative status for a life time. Christ is honored in name but never really becomes Lord of life. I was on a Methodist work project a few years ago. People from Methodist churches all over Southern California loaded into a school bus to go dig an irrigation ditch. There were two college aged young people with the team and they were sitting together in the seat just in front of me. I listened to their conversation as they got acquainted. They had both been born into Methodist families and were baptized in Methodist churches. They grew up in their respective Methodist Sunday schools and became active in their UMYF groups. They became officers and participated in conference youth events and camps. They speculated that they had probably been to some of the same events in the past. Now they were both sophomores at different universities and the conversation turned to university life; he had pledged a fraternity and she a sorority. Then they talked about the outrageous parties the ample quantities of alcohol available to be consumed and the proliferation of sexual activity as one of the side effects of the massive alcohol consumption. Now, at this point I’m expecting the information that began the conversation to inform this part of it; these kids were Methodist Christians after all – wouldn’t it be natural for that fact to inform their behavior in the context of the drunkenness and licentiousness they were encountering in college? Here’s what happened – the young man sat up straight in his seat preparing to make an ethical pronouncement. He said, “I would never have sex with a girl who was drunk.” I wondered if he learned that high moral principle at his youth group. Had he been taught that Jesus said “thou shalt not engage in sex with a drunken coed?” I was hoping that the girl would straighten him out, raise the ethical ante just a little. But, she congratulated him for his high ethical pronouncement. With young men like him on campus she would feel so much safer about going to Frat parties and getting drunk. She certainly only wanted to have sex with the partners of her choice. In all their years in the Methodist church, had they never attended Christ the King Sunday and had a preacher challenge them to make Christ King of kings and Lord of lords in their lives? Ethical and behavioral decisions will still be hard and muddy but at least the tenants of the faith would be given some primary role in the deciding process. They were part of the church for the first two decades of their lives but never figured out that it’s about a covenant lifestyle for the rest of life and not to be set aside when the agenda of the peer group changes. They bought into the Methodist Church thing but not into the Kingdom thing – the one where Christ is Lord of all things, most especially our behavior in the world. Thus we make the Lordship of Christ a mockery as they did in Pilot’s court: fake robe, crown of thorns and chanting that is in fact jeering. And so Paul pleads to Timothy, keep the commandments unstained until the time when he is revealed as King of kings and Lord of Lords. There is a reason why they aren’t called the “Ten Suggestions.” There is a reason why today is not called “Christ our Friend” Sunday – the one who gives us good advice and sometimes, if it works for us, we accept it. So for you who are long term members of the Jesus fan club, I have bad news, this is Christ the King Sunday and the question is, is Christ King of kings and Lord of Lords in your life or not? But then, I also have some good news. With commitment comes the amazing assurance that the one we call Lord will be our constant companion in this life journey and will not only guide but empower us to live the life of a citizen of the Kingdom. An analogy - You never experience the joy of swimming walking around the edge of the pond dipping your toe in. Jumping in involves some risk but, if he can be trusted, he won’t let you sink. And just think of the adventure of that kind of commitment – a spiritual adrenalin rush – a mystic portal from average life into abundant life. On my flight coming back from Colorado Springs, the pilot announced that it was the flight attendant’s birthday. George said he was 29 and he said it in such a way as to suggest that he felt like the best part of life was over. I assured him that he hadn’t even got to the good part yet and he looked at me with dubious disbelief. This is what he said, (I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget) “when I was a kid I couldn’t wait to be 18 so I could buy cigarettes. Then I couldn’t wait to be 21 so I could buy alcohol. Now I’m 29 and I have nothing to look forward to but Social Security.” That young man needs to know about Christ the King and the kingdom he is establishing, he needs to know that we are all invited to be part of it, not as slaves but as partners and joint heirs and that in that kingdom there is abundant life for all ages and stages. You buy cigarettes, you buy alcohol, you get old and die, is the agenda the Kingdom of Christ has come to displace. He needs to hear about that on Christ the King Sunday. Robert Coles is a famous psychologist who deals primarily with children and teens. In one of his books he talks about a condition in youth he has dubbed, “radical futurelessness.” He said that parents often wonder why after repeated warnings about the risks of drugs and alcohol and driving fast that kids still take outrageous risks. Coles says it’s because they don’t believe there is anything up ahead worth living for anyhow. You buy cigarettes, you buy alcohol. You get old and die. They need to hear about the kingdom that is coming and the Christ whom we crown King of kings and Lord of lords on this day. And those of us who are the ambassadors of that kingdom need to make persistent witness that this one whom we crown is worthy to be trusted with all of life and, when so trusted, changes mundane life into abundant life. We need to declare loud and clear that as for us, Christ is the king of our lives, our church and our future. Our
church budget went up 10% again this year. It did that last year
and then in the spring it took a leap because we added new program
ministries. Some in the church leadership are beginning to wonder,
legitimately, if we can make it. They are asking salient questions.
What if people just can’t step up to that financial challenge
we are presenting? Are we asking too much in uncertain economic
times? That’s one set of questions with which to frame the
issue, but there is another set. Is Christ establishing his kingdom
in the hearts of people and thereby transforming the world? Has
Christ called us to be partners in the building of that kingdom?
Is this church and its ministries part of that thing that God is
doing in this community? If we have declared Christ to be King of
kings and Lord of Lords, what will we give to see to it that this
ministry thrives and does its part to bring in that kingdom of love,
peace and abundant life? Answer. What ever it takes – that’s
what! - because Christ is Lord of our hearts and lives and check
books. In a profit making corporation with a CEO and a board of
directors you have to be very sure your expenses are in line with
your projected income. But this isn’t about the bottom line;
it’s about life, abundant life for people who think all the
thrills are gone by 29. It’s about proclaiming the good news
of the adventure of spiritual life that is without end to a young
population afflicted with a condition called radical futurelessness.
And it’s not a corporation with a board of directors, it’s
a kingdom with one director – and on this day we declare that
in our hearts and in our church, Christ is King of kings and Lord
of lords. You buy cigarettes and alcohol then you get old and die
– the mantra of our times - erase that. Replace it with this.
You pass from average life to abundant life, you become a partner
with Christ in transforming the world and a citizen of an eternal
kingdom were death is no more and Christ, the Lord of Life, is King.
As always if you would like a DVD of a service please contact the church office. |
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