Christ The King

 

Although Jesus' time on earth was short, he created quite a stir during his even briefer earthly ministry (Luke 23:33-43). As a revolutionary he upset Jewish law, tradition and the Roman hierarchy. He consorted with the disenfranchised, despised members of society and violated conventional tradition. He upset the “purity code” by proclaiming that it wasn’t what went into your mouth that mattered but what came out. He performed many miracles that included healing the sick and bringing the dead back to life. Yet he was "unable" to save himself and was executed with 2 petty criminals. And to compound the indignity, the soldiers knelt at his feet, not to worship, but to gamble for his clothes, while deriding his reign as “king of the Jews.” It amused them because they were Romans and they knew what a "real king" looked like, and this definitely was not it. A real king was arrogant not submissive and had power. So they mocked him.  

Yet, we wonder why one of the two thieves also being executed alongside Jesus, reprimands the other for scorning Jesus  and and takes pity on Him and  asks Jesus to "remember me when you come into His kingdom.”   What prompted this dying man to know that Jesus was the Messiah and  somehow,  knew that Jesus' death went beyond mortal understanding. 

We celebrate Christ the King, not because of Jesus' regal bearing, but because of his humanity; not because of his power, but because of his compassion, and because of his triumph over death. 

And what about the kingdom of God?  Richard Rohr writes that “if we go to the depths of anything, we will begin to knock upon something substantial, ‘real’ and with a timeless quality to it. We will move from the 'starter kit of belief to an actual inner knowing.' This is most especially true if we have ever loved deeply; accompanied someone through the mystery of dying, or stood in genuine life changing awe before mystery time or beauty. This ‘something real’ is what all the worlds’ religions were pointing to when they spoke of heaven or the kingdom of God. They were not wrong at all; their only mistake was that they pushed it off into the next world. If God’s Kingdom is later, it is because it is first of all now…In other words, heaven/ union/ love now emerge from within us much more than from a mere belief system and  as Jesus promises the Samaritan woman, 'the spring within her will well up into eternal life. (John 4:14)'"

 

"Come Share Your Master's Joy"

How many of us grew up thinking of God as one whose “performance standards” were rigid and unbending? Weren’t many of us taught to believe that this God requires us to work at and earn our salvation, and that it was up to us as to whether we enter the Kingdom? Yet, we are told that we are loved and there is nothing we can do to lose God’s love. And we don’t earn salvation; the Kingdom is ours just because we are children of God. 

Which is it? While it’s not my place to say that we have no “skin in the game,” and can’t do anything to earn it, I do believe we are “required” to live a God centered life as Jesus did…even if the Kingdom is our “entitlement.” And yet the word entitlement rubs me the wrong way. I’m not sure why. I wonder what this says about my faith?  It just seems to me that somehow, in someway we play a role in our own eternal destiny as we are invited to  "Come Share Your Master's Joy"

It gets confusing doesn’t it? On the one hand Jesus tells us to"Come Share Your Master's Joy"and the Kingdom of God is at hand, yet at the same time there are certain standards expected of us.  Last week’s parables of the “foolish virgins” (Matthew 25:1-13) had more to say about being prepared than reward and punishment. It called for us to lead a God-centered life embodied in the Two Great Commandments and the Spirit of the Beatitudes. As such we are required to take personal responsibility in living our Christian faith.  

Life, love and faith, like investments require taking risks in order to increase. And risks require relationships and true relationships require that we have the courage to be open, to be vulnerable, to let go of pretense and give our egos a rest. We must take risks and be willing to invest our lives in one another. Life in Jesus is all about relationships. 

When we put our talents to work in the service of God, we take risks (Matthew 25:14-30). When we are willing to be imperfect and reveal our humanity we are capable of being open to one another and we see ourselves in the other. Many who have participated in the Twelve Step program will tell you that its success depends on one’s ability to mirror one another: “The pain in me recognizes the pain in you; the love in me recognizes the love in you; the God in me loves the God in you.” This is risky business and taking risks is not easy; its consequences can cause anxiety. When we invest ourselves in one another, the outcome cannot be guaranteed. But, so what…we have a “safety net.” Matthew says those who were given much went to others for help in increasing it. That can do spirit grows everything it touches.

 

About That Day or Hour No One Knows

 

Keep Awake for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. These words have been repeated for over 2,000 years, yet somehow we still fear the end of our life on earth. Sure, we are comforted by the many parallels in nature that reveal death to be a precursor to new life, but the fear of death lingers in the shadows. We have - or likely have - lived longer than our parents and grandparents. We are better fed; we lose few babies, and modern medicine protects us from contagion and diseases that can shorten our lives... and yet, we are still afraid. Why?

Shortly after 9/11 the words “Fear Not” rang hollow and seemed a little out of place. Surely we had every reason to be afraid. After the three devastating attacks, the country held its breath wondering if there were there more to come. During the first few weeks following the attacks, the country was suspended in a state of watchful waiting. We were led to believe that it wasn’t a question of “if” but “when.” We carefully listened to those in authority speak of preparedness, but the summary statement always was, “we just don’t know.” It took a while but in time we began to live our lives with the knowledge that life must go on… but we were implored to remain vigilant and the words “If you see something, say something” became a national mantra.

It doesn’t take much to see the connection between our gospel Matthew 25:1-13 and the story of the so called "Foolish Virgins" with that fateful Tuesday, 9/11/01 that I remember began with skies so blue and air so clean. I'm sure the excited ladies in waiting anticipating the arrival of the groom and the week-long celebration were in a "party state o mind." What could possibly have gone wrong on such a beautiful day? How could they or we have been prepared for what happened? 

Had we ever sustained an enemy attack within our Continental borders during war time, much less peace? How do we begin to replace fear with living fully and, please God, joyfully?

We are taught that Christ's death and resurrection are the answer to our mortal fears. He relinquished his humanity as the divine Incarnation was finally complete so that we could share in his resurrection and in so doing, removed our reasons to fear death forever. Knowing that God loves us and that there is nothing we can do to ever lose His love is a matter of faith, not intellect. So, we live out our lives enriched by Christ’s example when we resist the impulse to live for ourselves instead of for others. It means being prepared to die again and again to ourselves, and to every one of our self-serving opinions and agendas. But about that day or hour no one knows. And death will have no dominion over us.