Ride on KIng Jesus!

Ride on King Jesus! 

The Feast Day of Christ the King

November 21, 2021

Christ the King

What kind of king is Jesus? The image I have in mind for this Sunday is of the Triumphal entry of our King into Jerusalem. We hailed him as our King. But this particular king is not like an Emperor, a Dictator, a Tzar, a Kaiser or even a President. There is no security force, no retinue of dignitaries, no armed soldiers, just Jesus riding on a donkey, a rather modest means of conveyance. And the folks around Jesus are common folk very much like you and me. 

You see, we are the ones Jesus exalts; ordinary folks, the sick and the dying, the hungry and the poor, the dispossessed, the rejected and the marginalized. You know how he went about the countryside on foot, to seek us out. Even if we were blind, lame or lepers, folks of questionable moral rectitude. It was important for Jesus to heal us, to feed us, to forgive us and then to raise us up triumphant. For this he came into the world that the sins of the whole world might be forgiven and that and he might give us eternal life beginning here and now.

Can you imagine such love as this! Totally unmerited, pure grace upon grace. It was of the essence of who he was and is that we should be reconciled to God and to one another. He then handed the work of love, forgiveness and reconciliation over to us and you can see what we have done with that.

But no mind, this is how we Crown the Christian Year. Look at the imagery we have before us in today’s Scripture. From Daniel;

“As I watched,
an Ancient One took his throne;
his clothing was white as snow,
   and the hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames,
   and its wheels were burning fire.”

Then further on in reference to the coming of Jesus, Daniel proclaims;

“As I watched in the night visions,
I saw one like a human being
   coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient One
   and was presented before him.
To him was given dominion
   and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
   should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
   that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one
   that shall never be destroyed.”

You can see how the Church came to understand Jesus as co-eternal with God the Creator. Jesus is the Savior King and both proceed from the Throne Room of God, and they are one. 

The Psalmist also exults in the Kingship of God and says;

“The Lord is King;
   he has put on splendid apparel; *
Ever since the world began, your throne has been established; *
       you are from everlasting.
Your testimonies are very sure, *
       and holiness adorns your house, O Lord,
       for ever and for evermore.”

I remember like yesterday the day my grandmother died. I was about 15 years old and in those days children were not allowed at funerals because supposedly we couldn’t understand the enormity of it all. Truth be told neither can adults. But no matter, all that mattered to me was that she would be all right with God. I prayed and I prayed for her and you know how that goes with the tears and all. Then in the night visions I saw her on a throne and as dream humor would have it she held a plumbers plunger in her hand where a scepter would be. She looked at me, smiled and said; “I’m okay Buddy.” That’s what they called me in those days.

I was thrilled to the core of my being at the fullness of God’s love, the completeness of that Compassion, the unconditional nature of God’s embrace. There was room in God’s heart for my grandmother too and my life could go on as it has since. My resolve to be a priest was strengthened. After all, God wanted me to proclaim this wondrous love for the rest of my life. Here I am, I haven’t given up yet. 

I continue to ply my trade proclaiming the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. As the Book of Revelation states today;

“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 for ever and ever. Amen”.

Yes, Jesus gave my grandma a throne, you see. That’s all I ask. All of us a kingdom of priests. Just look at you; kings and queens, rulers of heaven and earth.

But not like the Emperors, Dictators, Tzars, Kaisers or even the Presidents of this world. You and I are kings and queens in the tradition of Jesus. We are servants of one another. We see ordinary folk, the sick and dying, the hungry and the poor, the marginalized and the dispossessed and we minister to them just like Jesus did.

And, like Jesus we make sure no one is left behind. Bishop Stephen Charleston, member of the Choctaw tribe writes

“I will not turn for home until I know we leave no one behind. I will go and search again, seeking any straggler who might not have kept the pace, any elder who moves a little more slowly, any person with a burden that weighs them down. I will seek some sign of them in the shadows. I will wait beside the road with a light to guide them to me. I will not care who they are, where they are from, or how they believe: I will wait to make certain they are safely home before the darkness can overtake them. I will do this because I remember, long ago, when I struggled to keep up, someone waited for me. Compassion begins in a memory."

God is like that. By the way, I’ve already told Jesus that I will not go into heaven until each of you goes in first. I flatly refuse. I’m writing this down in black and white so there can be no confusion. Got that, Jesus? So please, wouldya, behave yourselves!

Which brings me to today’s Gospel passage. In it we have this exchange between Pilate and Jesus.

Pilate summoned Jesus, and asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. And then, when pressed Jesus clarifies what it means to be king. 

Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?” Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’

Truth-telling as Jesus told it, is essential to discipleship. Telling the truth to ourselves and to others requires courage. The greatest weapon that the Evil One has is lies. 

Thankfully, God’s kingdom is not from this world, and when we are baptized into God’s kingdom it is a realm where God’s truth reigns supreme. That truth is built on the love of God made flesh and blood in Jesus. It is a truth where forgiveness and reconciliation are paramount and are of the highest order in our relationships with one another. It is a truth on which our eternal life begins in the here and now. It begins and ends in Jesus as the. Scripture says; “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’ the beginning and the ending, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

King Jesus, we gather today at your table and you bless the bread and the wine and as we eat and drink it you bless us. You wash our feet and remind us of the one new commandment; “Love one another”. 

Ride on, ride on king Jesus, on a donkey ride on as our king.

In the Name of God, the Most Holy, Undivided and Everlasting Trinity, 

Amen.

Fr Paul

Old Testament: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14

As I watched,
thrones were set in place,
   and an Ancient One took his throne;
his clothing was white as snow,
   and the hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames,
   and its wheels were burning fire.
A stream of fire issued
   and flowed out from his presence.
A thousand thousand served him,
   and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him.
The court sat in judgement,
   and the books were opened. 

As I watched in the night visions,
I saw one like a human being
   coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient One
   and was presented before him.
To him was given dominion
   and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
   should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
   that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one
   that shall never be destroyed.

Psalm 93

The Lord is King;
   he has put on splendid apparel; *
       the Lord has put on his apparel
       and girded himself with strength.
He has made the whole world so sure *
       that it cannot be moved;
Ever since the world began, your throne has been established; *
       you are from everlasting.
The waters have lifted up, O Lord,
   the waters have lifted up their voice; *
       the waters have lifted up their pounding waves.
Mightier than the sound of many waters,
   mightier than the breakers of the sea, *
       mightier is the Lord who dwells on high.
Your testimonies are very sure, *
       and holiness adorns your house, O Lord,
       for ever and for evermore.

Epistle: Revelation 1:4b-8

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

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 for ever and ever. Amen.
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.

‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Gospel: John 18:33-37

Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?’ Pilate replied, ‘I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?’ Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’ Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’