Christ the King Sunday 2024

 Christ the King Sunday reminds us that Christ is the only King we can trust.  Christ the King Sunday was instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI in response to ultra-nationalism and totalitarianism at the end of World War I. Hitler had just written Mein Kampf and Musselini had just taken power in Italy.  The year before, Stalin had taken power in Russia. Nations were amassing power for themselves and casting suspicions on people on the margins in their communities, finding people to blame and scapegoat and persecute.  Christ the King Sunday proclaimed the kingship and reign of Christ stands in profound contrast to all earthly claims to lordship over human life.  Christ the King Sunday reminds us that, unlike tyrants and dictators, Jesus is the just and faithful one who brings order and peace to the world – and we can too, when we follow his command to love one another.

This is how Christ our King is different from the Kings of this world.  God is love and sent Jesus into the world to love the cosmos, the world.  Jesus our King is loving.  Love is not a feeling, it is an action for the well-being of the other person. We are charged with loving action for the sake of our neighbor and loving action for the sake of our enemy.  It’s a good thing Jesus believes in loving your enemy, because we all become the enemy of Christ when we ignore the poor, expel the immigrant, send arms shipments to kill innocent children in Gaza, and look the other way during a genocide.  Still Jesus loves us, and gives his life for us that we might have new life.  A Christian chooses love for others in the form of sharing food, clothing, water, shelter, care, and company for others.  Although there are consequences for being Christ’s enemy, in that we get in the way of his reign coming to people who really need it, we also have another chance tomorrow to try again to follow our loving God.

This is how Christ the King is different from the Kings and rulers of this world. God is nonviolent.  God repented of violence with the ark, placing the bow in the sky as a reminder that violence is not the way.  In today’s reading, Jesus stands before Pilate who asks if he is a king.  Jesus replies that his kingdom is not from this world, if it was, his followers would be fighting and warring.  Jesus’ reign is characterized by nonviolence.  Jesus does not defend himself.  He does not let his followers fight.  The reign of God is characterized by nonviolence, by not compelling anyone, forcing them.  Instead, Jesus’ shows the way by serving.  He entices people to follow him by making them curious, by listening and showing compassion, by including them.  The rulers of this world use violence and threats and shows of strength and instilling fear to control people.  The Christian way is not to take up arms or compel anyone, but convince them by a life lived in a compassionate caring way.

This is how Christ the King is different from the Kings and rulers of this world. The reign of Christ is characterized by the truth.  Jesus knows the truths of people’s lives, how much they are hurting.  He sees the little person that no one else notices.  He sees the powers and dominions that are hurting them.  He sees the kingdoms of this world that ignore them, who don’t see their value.  Jesus sees that the earth God created is hurting, that animals are going extinct and that people are affected by pollution and abuse of the earth.  Jesus sees the truth of what people do to each other and the consequences of those hurtful actions.  Jesus sees and promises that is temporary, because the powers and rulers of this world are temporary. It won’t always be this way.  There is a greater vision of peace, love, compassion, and truth.  The Christian way is characterized by truth.

This is how the Christ the King is different from earthly Kings and rulers.  The Christian way is characterized by diverse community.  Jesus went to the lepers, to those who were divorced 5 times, to people of different nationalities—he was descended from people of different nationalities.  Jesus gathered children, soldiers, tax collectors, the rich and the poor, fisher folk, doctors, and everyone else.  He sat them all down and fed them and taught them together.  He taught them to look out for each other’s well-being, not be suspicious of each other.  He taught them to give to anyone who asked.  He taught them to share their lunch.  He taught them to go the extra mile.  The kingdom of God is characterized by diverse community caring for each other.

This is how Christ the King is different from earthly kings and rulers.  The reign of God is characterized by giving power away.  Jesus gave up his place at God’s right hand and became a baby, helpless and shivering in a stable.  He became weak to make others strong, giving up his life, giving away his life for the life of the cosmos, the world.  Jesus gave his power away to widows and orphans and farmers and the sick and imprisoned.  He even joined the ranks of the imprisoned, turned himself in.  He gave his power away.  Jesus refused to take worldly kingly power when he was tempted in the wilderness, because he knew he would be corrupted as all earthly kings are, because he knew his mission was not to get more power but to give his power away.

So on Christ the King Sunday we may be tempted by the powers of this world to keep power for ourselves, to gather weapons, blame others, to divide ourselves on race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, and political party, to advocate for a Christian nation of dominance, to give in to suspicion of our neighbor, to believe a twisted truth.  These are ways of nations that have gone before, that have not ended well.  These are the ways of the world that Jesus asks us to let go of, for our own well-being and so the reign of Christ can come.  Jesus is asking to receive his love shown through neighbors and enemies, this beautiful world in all its diversity, and the laying down of even his own life. 

As Christians we live with a foot in each world, in the world but not of it.  We have a choice of how to live so that Christ’s reign can be known right here, right now for people in need. Since Christ is our King and not the kings of this world, we commit to community, to nonviolence, to the truth, to love, to the giving away of power.  We commit ourselves to Christ our King.