Last Sunday before Advent

Christ the King Sunday B, Sullivan Park Care Center, November 25, 2012 by Annette Fricke

When looking up resources for this particular Sunday, which goes by the names of Christ the King, the Reign of Christ, and the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, a number of images as well as thoughts pop into my mind.  I picked up the old Service Book and Hymnal of my childhood which I stole from my sister’s house to see what the Introit, Collect, and lessons might have been.  I soon discovered that it really had no title then.  It was simply the Last Sunday after the Trinity: still another way in which to designate the last Sunday before the beginning of Advent.  When looking on the computer for a take on this feast, one preacher actually decided to go with the Thanksgiving texts and preach on Thanksgiving instead.  Liturgically speaking, the term ‘King of the Universe’ comes from the Jewish prayer: “Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, for in your wisdom you have formed us. The ancient liturgy provides a rich array of concepts that are based on scriptures and actual liturgical practice. More fully, in the Evening Prayer liturgy, we read or sing, “Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who led your people Israel by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night: Enlighten our darkness by the light of our Christ; may your Word be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path; for you are merciful, and you love your whole creation, and we, your creatures glorify you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Another rich resource that goes back several centuries is from the so-called Church Fathers. From Tractates on the Gospel by St Augustine: Come to the kingdom that is not of this world. Do not be enraged by fear, but come by faith…. What in fact is Christ’s kingdom? It is simply those who believe in him…. Indeed, his kingdom is here until the end of time–and until the harvest, it will contain weeds.

My mind also goes back to Thanksgiving.  We sit around at the table to give thanks to God, one of the most intentional places we do that as a family gathering outside of church. And then, many of our country participate the very next day in what is termed “Black Friday.”  On Black Friday, an activity that I also participated in once a few years ago, I experienced the aggressiveness that sometimes becomes quite physically violent as people paw over each other to get that last item left on the shelf they desire for a loved one, that you would think it was a matter of life and death.  How quickly thankfulness for what we have turns into the coveting of what we think we need.  I like a good bargain like anyone else: I just can’t see how participating in the frenzy of fanatically going after dazzling deals in the marketplace can be at all healthy.  I could be wrong.  Maybe someday in the distant future, the virtues of such hunting for and obtaining treasures for Christmas in such a manner will be revealed.  In the meantime, I remain unconvinced.

The passage we are given in II Samuel is King David’s final speech.  It tells us what the king of the universe is as well as what the king of the universe is not.  The king of the universe is “One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God, is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.” II Samuel paints a picture for us the ideal image of a king as well as the realities of all earthly kings missing the mark.  For all his greatness, King David also fails miserably.  He has another king killed by sending him to the front lines of battle, in order to sleep with his wife, gets her pregnant, and has a son. It displeases God and the son dies.

And now back to our day and time when we hear about former president Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern and General Petraeus and his relationship with his biographer.  “Television evangelist and ultraconservative Pat Robertson doesn't think General David Petraeus should be condemned for his affair with writer Paula Broadwell. After all, she is "an extremely good looking woman" and "he's a man."  Most people of conscience would see both of these as an extreme lapse of conscience and morals as well as the Bathsheba and David coupling. As much as we might like to see the divine in the human, we are often disappointed in our leaders.  Perhaps, before Jesus, God also had that vision, that kingly rule by the best of the people would actually work to govern the peoples of the earth.  God saw the constant wavering of the people of Israel, but mostly their unfaithfulness and going after other gods.  People seem to be much the same as in the days of King David, perhaps a bit less violent and a bit less into an outright monarchical type of government.

But God’s covenant with the people, who are God’s, is an everlasting covenant.  Even David, despite his life of murder, adultery, and a divided house realizes this.  Despite David’s faults, he had a vision of the peacefulness that his house should be and God promises David an eternal throne.  As it says in Psalm 132, the appointed Psalm beginning at verse 11 for today, “The Lord has sworn an oath to David; in truth, he will not break it: A son, the fruit of your body will I set upon your throne. If your children keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their children will sit upon your throne forevermore.”

And so Pilate asks Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?”  And we also, when we are unfaithful, ask the same question.  Have we also behaved as those people in the past with their indiscretions and going after other gods?  Is it just the people at the top, so the rest of us have an easy target?  Do we behave in certain ways just to fit in, to live under the radar, so to speak?  What are our motives and our reasons for doing what we do?  Does it matter what we do?  Do we allow the Word of God to transform our lives or simply live day to day, the same routine, as always?  A resident recently confessed to me that she used to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, but she stopped once she started living there, because she didn’t fit in.  Saying the word that contradicts or challenges does not make us popular and indeed, there are times when we may, in fact, be walking on thin ice.

Jesus’ challenge for us is to live into that kingdom, the everlasting covenant with God.  Jesus says in this gospel text that he came to testify to the truth.  It is more than a simple assent that what Jesus tells us is the truth.  It is something that is done.  We must seek to know God and live as active witnesses on this journey into God.  Jesus’ life and mission is a model of this for us.  In Jesus, we learn that truth is a stimulant for faithful living and witness, rather than only a matter for contemplation.  It is something we do.  We are not called to imitate the culture around us.  We are not called to fit in.  We are to not only accept responsibility for the world around us, but seek to be a part of God’s transformation of the world.

And so we read in Revelation: “to him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.”  You are free to serve and honor the Lord. Go in that peace.  Amen.