Park Avenue Presbyterian Church; Des Moines, Iowa
Texts: 2 Samuel 23: 1-7
Psalm 132: 1-12 (13-18)
Revelation 1: 4b-8
John 18: 33-37 *
“ The Art of ‘We Belong to God’ ”
--} Today is Christ the King Sunday—a liturgical observance that many people today know very little about. Unlike many of our religious traditions and celebrations, Christ the King Sunday isn’t an observance that goes way back—in fact, it’s not even 100 years old. A 20th Century creation, Christ the King Sunday has its roots in the papal encyclical of Pope Pius the 11th, who wrote that Jesus’ Kingship is not obtained by violence: “Christ,” he says, “has dominion over all creatures, a dominion not seized by violence nor usurped, but his by essence and by nature.” Instituted in 1925, the feast of Christ the King was intended to remind Christians that our allegiance is to our spiritual ruler in heaven as opposed to earthly supremacy, which at the time was being claimed by Benito Mussolini. Perhaps also wondering about the expanse of Christ’s dominion—like Pilate—Pope Pius thought it worthy to remind Christians that there is clearly a “Christ-way” and a “worldly-way” in living our lives.
So what a day—what an opportunity, a moment—to celebrate a Baptism! Baptism, of course, is God’s claim upon our lives. As our Presbyterian Brief Statement of Faith begins: “In life and in death, we belong to God.” Baptism is God’s promise of “our belonging.” But all too often, we treat “baptism” as if it were God belonging to us, not our “belonging” to God’s intentions. And sometimes, we treat baptism as our “safekeeping” in God with a ticket to heaven, not as the demonstration of God’s authority over our lives.
The writer of Revelation begins with familiar language of God’s authority and kingship:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
And for Presbyterians, the language of Jesus’ authority is also captured in the first sentences of our constitution:
“All power in heaven and earth is given to Jesus Christ by Almighty God, who raised Christ from the dead and set him above all rule and authority, all power and dominion, and every name that is named. …God has put all things under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.”
So for members of the Christian church who entrust our lives to Christ, what should his authority over us and his Kingship look like? What if Pope Pious is right, and that we often just give “lip service” to our tradition and Christ’s Kingdom and its “dominion” and “authority” over our lives?
As uncomfortable as it may seem to us, Pope Pious was suggesting that things like nationalism or national allegiances are things to guard AGAINST—for Christians, at least. And perhaps we don’t feel as much “pressured” because of our national identity, but “American culture” often pits us AGAINST the authority of God in Christ. We harbor our own “nationalistic impulses,” believing we can solve all the world’s problems if we could just get people to cooperate (that’s ‘code’ for other people to “do what we want them to”). Our nation stations troops all over the world in the name of “freedom.” And while we might even claim faith in and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, notice how we often we can see our nationalistic pride in building our own kind of “dominion” in the name of all the things we believe are “right” and the freedoms we believe we’re entitled to—above others.
And if you think I’m “cracked,” just watch what happens as we celebrate the national holiday this week. We call it, “thanksgiving,” but how easily our “gratitude” is shafted by “gluttony”—first at the meal, but then in the great race of personal possessing and materialistic impulses on “the day after” when the Christmas SALES begin! Then—in the mad rush—quietly ask yourselves: in all of “this” that is our culture, “where is the authority of God in Jesus Christ?” And where is Christ’s Kingdom made resident in our lives? And you would think that we wouldn’t need friendly reminders. But Pope Pious, perhaps wondering about the expanse of Christ’s Kingdom, believed we might.
So, in what is quite the contrast from our worldly celebrations this week, John’s gospel offers us a decidedly different view of Christ’s Way and the Worldly Way. Notice Jesus—choosing a very different path than the one of “domination” and “violence.” Notice Jesus—choosing a very different way of being than one that puts others “at risk.” Notice Jesus—as Pope Benedict has remarked in our own century, exhibiting a “kingship” that “is not based on ‘human power’ but on loving and serving others,” even in death.
Two weeks ago, I was in Jerusalem, and one of the places we visited was the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu on Mt. Zion. This is the site of what was believed to be Caiaphas’ headquarters where Jesus was taken after his arrest in Gethsemane, where he was held BEFORE his appearance with Pilate; where Peter denies Jesus three times. We saw the steps—dated to the time of Jesus—where the soldiers would have escorted Jesus to his meeting with Caiaphas and his cohort that night, and by which they would have taken Jesus on to Pilate the next morning. And we were taken into the basement to see the “sacred pit” where it was believed Jesus would have been “held” overnight awaiting being taken to Pilate on the other end of the city.
The “sacred pit” was a bottle-neck holding cell, where the accused would have been lowered some 50 or 60 feet down into a small cavern in solid rock—a kind of “maximum security” holding cell. Next to the “pit” was a room where a guard could observe the prisoner through a small opening in the rock; and next to the observation room was another cavern used for torturing prisoners. Hewn into the rock were hand-holds and foot-holds where prisoners could be fastened so as to be whipped and beaten, as well as small troughs where vinegar and other painful agents might be applied to open wounds.
Now the Bible doesn’t tell us that Jesus endured torture at Caiaphas’ headquarters; still, I wondered if while Jesus were being held there, others were being mistreated—within earshot of Jesus? And far more than his own suffering and death, I believe that the tortured screams of others would have wounded Jesus even more deeply.
By contrast, if you and I believed in following a “Christ-way”: the suffering we human beings inflict on one another through violence and war for personal or national gain; the suffering we human beings inflict on one another because we only care about ourselves and our national interests built on greed; the suffering we human beings inflict by hoarding and possessing, by our “might equals right” mentality—could never be a demonstration of the way of Jesus.
On Christ the King Sunday, Jesus’ suffering and death are lifted up before us—in contrast to the freedoms and celebrations we so often relish. Jesus’ way is to be lifted up for us because we are prone to handing ourselves over to our own desires, rather than the desires of God in Christ. So one of my colleagues challenged me this week to think about Dietrich Bonheoffer who believed that we are called to participate with God in the sufferings of the world. We believe, don’t we, that God participates in the world through the suffering and death of Jesus. This is not to say that we all have to suffer rather than celebrating this week. But this is to say we ought to be asking ourselves the questions: “where is the authority of God in Jesus Christ?” And where is Christ’s Kingdom being made resident in our lives? What should Christ’s authority and Kingship look like for those of us who entrust our lives to Christ?—a kingship not based on human power!
Baptism, for Christians, is to entrust our lives to God—who lifts up the way of Christ. Kingship not based on human power and violent domination, but on loving and serving others. For us to claim Christ is to claim his way of living and dying; and “belonging to God,” is more than just God’s promise of our salvation. Baptism means for us to give ourselves over to God’s authority, to live our lives in the ways Jesus lived his. So remember YOUR baptism—and it’s claim that Christ’s Kingdom is to be lived out in our way of life—above all else.
--+ AMEN.
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