Luke 23:33-43

Christ the King / Year C

25 November 2007

Preached by the Rev. David Fredrickson

This morning we mark the beginning of the end, the beginning of the final week in the church year. It is the last Sunday in the season of Pentecost, a season that started way back on May 27^th. Next Sunday when you return, the colors will have changed to blue, the Advent wreath will be back in its familiar place and we will begin our annual countdown to the Feast of the Incarnation, better known as Christmas.

But we are not there yet. First we must celebrate another feast day, Christ the King, the feast that marks the end of Pentecost. As feast days go, the Feast of Christ the King is not very old. It does not bear the history of many long-held church traditions such as the Feast of All Saints or the Feast of the Annunciation. Christ the King Sunday was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925. It is interesting to read the encyclical entitled Quas Primas that brought this Feast of Christ the King into being. I want to read you a portion of this encyclical this morning. It not only offers insight into why this feast day came to be but is also hard to believe that it was written in back in 1925.

If We ordain that the whole Catholic world shall revere Christ as King, We shall minister to the need of the present day, and at the same time provide an excellent remedy for the plague which now infects society. We refer to the plague of anti-clericalism, its errors and impious activities. This evil spirit, as you are well aware, Venerable Brethren, has not come into being in one day; it has long lurked beneath the surface. The empire of Christ over all nations was rejected. The right which the Church has from Christ himself, to teach mankind, to make laws, to govern peoples in all that pertains to their eternal salvation, that right was denied. Then gradually the religion of Christ came to be likened to false religions and to be placed ignominiously on the same level with them. It was then put under the power of the state and tolerated more or less at the whim of princes and rulers. Some men went even further, and wished to set up in the place of God's religion a natural religion consisting in some instinctive affection of the heart. There were even some nations who thought they could dispense with God, and that their religion should consist in impiety and the neglect of God. The rebellion of individuals and states against the authority of Christ has produced deplorable consequences…. the seeds of discord sown far and wide; those bitter enmities and rivalries between nations, which still hinder so much the cause of peace; that insatiable greed which is so often hidden under a pretense of public spirit and patriotism, and gives rise to so many private quarrels; a blind and immoderate selfishness, making men seek nothing but their own comfort and advantage, and measure everything by these; no peace in the home, because men have forgotten or neglect their duty; the unity and stability of the family undermined; society in a word, shaken to its foundations and on the way to ruin. We firmly hope, however, that the feast of the Kingship of Christ, which in future will be yearly observed, may hasten the return of society to our loving Savior. It would be the duty of Catholics to do all they can to bring about this happy result. Many of these, however, have neither the station in society nor the authority which should belong to those who bear the torch of truth. This state of things may perhaps be attributed to a certain slowness and timidity in good people, who are reluctant to engage in conflict or oppose but a weak resistance; thus the enemies of the Church become bolder in their attacks. But if the faithful were generally to understand that it behooves them ever to fight courageously under the banner of Christ their King, then, fired with apostolic zeal, they would strive to win over to their Lord those hearts that are bitter and estranged from him, and would valiantly defend his rights.ⁱ

Interesting, isn't it? What is interesting to me is that this feast day came into being at a time much like our own, a time when war was fresh on people's minds, a time of affluence, a time when the church's clout was waning in the wider culture. In our own time, it has been the religious right that has flexed its muscle and challenged the secularism that has pervaded the culture. And yet I wonder, much like the soldiers that scoffed at Jesus as he hung on the cross, I wonder if Pope Pius XI and the rest of us have neglected to understand the real kingship that Jesus claimed for himself.

Throughout history, I would argue, that this kingship of Christ has become confused with religious imperialism. It began perhaps with Constantine I who marched his army behind the sign of the Chi Rho into battle against Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 to the become the ruler of the Western Roman Empire. It continued as the crusaders of the 12^th and 13^th centuries marched behind the cross on their way to annihilate the Muslims in the Middle East and subdue the Eastern Church. Even in our own Anglican Church the British carried the Anglican cross behind the British flag throughout the British Empire and enjoyed a privileged status, often reinforced by bullets and bayonets. So this begs some interesting questions, "If Christ is the king, then does his church occupy a privileged position? If Christ is the king, what kind of king is he, and how does he exercise his authority?"

First of all, if the gospels are to be believed, Jesus did in fact claim to be a king. But as this morning's gospel account of Good Friday reminds us, Jesus upended and undermined the whole concept of kingship. This world's kingdoms are about power and prestige; Jesus was about service and humility. The rulers of this world are about coercion and violence; Jesus' life was characterized by peace and reconciliation. Kings surround themselves with throngs of fawning toadies; Jesus chose the lowly and rejected as his companions. He crossed social, moral, and religious boundaries by accepting women as disciples. His critics charged that he ate and drank with thieves and prostitutes, indeed he did. Even on the cross, Jesus continued his habit of associating with the despised and disreputable. Poignantly, the second thief pleaded, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

As he hung on the cross, Jesus found a way to make forgiveness and reconciliation the center of his platform, the key to his kingdom. One of the powers of a king is to pardon those accused of crimes. The irony of the crucifixion is that Jesus was sentenced to die for claiming to be a king. However, even while being nailed to the cross, Jesus demonstrated that it was his executioners who were in need of pardon and he alone had the power to grant it. "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing."

Many, including the great Leo Tolstoy, have decried the confusion that has arisen over the centuries between Christ's kingdom and the religious imperialism that the church has so often set up in its place. If we are ever to understand the kingdom where Christ reigns and celebrate this feast day as we should, we must first be willing to go through Good Friday, to willingly lay aside our weapons and our ambitions and take the cross of Christ up as our very own; In Jesus Name. Amen.