Christ, Our King
Pentecost 24, Proper 29
Fr. Tim Nunez
May my spoken word be true to God’s written word and bring us all closer to the living word, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
When Meg and I went to England three years ago, it just happened to be after Queen Elizabeth II died. In fact, we went to Evensong that first evening in Westminster Abbey, where her funeral had been exactly one week earlier. It felt a little odd knowing King Charles III had succeeded his mother, which changed all the signs and stationery. That’s not just because my mum is British. Although we fought our war of independence 250 years ago to throw off King George III of England, we do share a great deal of history.
I hope and pray Charles does well. Many English monarchs did. Queen Elizabeth II reigned for over 70 years, the longest of any British monarch and second longest of any in history. Queen Victoria ruled about 25 to 30% of the world’s population, the largest empire the world has ever seen. There is only one English monarch who is called “great.” Who, you might ask? Maybe I should ask you! It’s not Arthur, not Henry VIII, Elizabeth I or II or Victoria. His name was Alfred. Why was Alfred great?
Alfred was an unlikely king, ascending to the throne in 886 only after his four older brothers died. It was during very dark days for the island that would become England – but it was not quite England yet. The island was split. The Anglo-Saxons had been under continuous assault and invasion for decades by marauding Vikings from Scandinavia, primarily Denmark who controlled much of the east. Several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the center and south survived.
Alfred’s kingdom of Wessex, with its capital in Winchester, was the key stronghold of the English but also on the verge of collapse. Things got so bad that Alfred and his army were driven into the swamps of Somerset, where they spent a long and hard winter huddled on small hillocks in those swamps, eating eels. Alfred hung on because he was absolutely convinced that God was on his side and was using him.
That spring his army emerged. News of their survival spread everywhere, a bright light of hope drew other armies and militias together from surrounding areas. They defeated the Vikings at Ethandun and baptized their leader, Guthrum.
Over time, Alfred united the various English kingdoms under his rule and thus formed England. But that’s not what made him great. Alfred’s rule was entirely shaped by his strong, personal faith in Jesus. That’s what made him great. He decided that kings should not rule by their own judgment and whims, but under God. Alfred established the rule of law, based on the principles of justice he gleaned from the Bible; the Law of Moses and the teachings of Jesus, which would later evolve into English Common Law, all rooted in the Word of God.
When we think and speak of Jesus, it is most often as the wise and gentle teacher and healer we see in the Gospels, walking his country in a humble way. Look above our altar. The stained glass above the main altar as well as above the chapel altar, depict that pastoral Jesus. And we think of him as he is now – at the right hand of the Father. The cross above the main altar and the stained glass above the front door depict him as Christ the King. Today is Christ the King Sunday.
The hymns we sing today; “Jesus shall reign,” “At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow,” and “Crown him with Many Crowns” are all songs worthy of Christ our King.
Yet, our Gospel this morning isn’t about his eternal reign. Nor is it about his commandment to love one another as he loves us. No, today we come back to that cross on that hardest of days, Good Friday – when Jesus, being fully one with the Father, submitted himself to death on the cross. Tortured, mocked, ridiculed and exposed, his mighty victory was won and the Kingdom of God was secured for all of his people. The incredible strength, the incredible love, of our Lord and King is laid bare on the hard wood of the cross. What looks on the surface to be utter defeat is his victory over sin and death.
Luke’s account shares just two quotes from Jesus in that terrible hour. They are words of strength, spoken as only a king can speak them.
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” They certainly thought they knew what they were doing. The Jewish authorities thought they were solving a problem by eliminating one of their own people. He had undermined them and stoked unrest. He had claimed to be God, which would have been blasphemy if it wasn’t true. The Romans were experts at torture and death. They thought they were making an example of him that would scare people into submission. They mocked Jesus to the end, heaping ridicule and scorn upon him as he hung in physical agony. They thought this was yet another example of their might and authority.
But they were all blind to the reality of Jesus. His compassion and love for even them – all of them – is immeasurable and eternal.
What is on your heart and mind that you cannot forgive? Lay it at the feet of your king today, for you cannot bring it into his Kingdom and he does not want it to poison your remaining days on this earth.
Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Here our King issues a promise, a promise that we hold most dear. We want to be with him forever. We want his Word of life to rule our hearts and guide our world, just as Alfred did. We’re still a very long way from perfecting it, but we are pressing toward it. Our very sense of justice and truth is defined by it. Alfred the Great shaped it, the Magna Carta shaped it, our Constitution shapes it.
And it’s not ultimately about this life. Paul says in First Corinthians 15 that if it is only for this life that we have hoped in Christ, then we above all people are to be most pitied. It’s about being with him forever. Yet we do strive for the kingdom today, in our hearts, in our families, in our communities and in the world.
If you find yourself today in low estate, as our British friends might say, look to your king. Look at your king in all his radiant glory. Remember his glory shines brightest at his lowest moment – on the cross, for us. Remember whose you are and where you are going.
AMEN!