Vicar's message from November, 2006

A Sermon @ Saint Patrick's
Proper 29 - Year B. "Christ the King" - Text: Daniel 7:9-11; Ps. 93; Rev. 1:1-8; John 18:33-37 -- November 26, 2006. The Rev. Tinh T. Huynh

Christ, the King? How can that be possible? The two ideas -- "Christ," and "king" -- do not seem to match.
          On Thanksgiving Day we were reminded that, among those who first came to America, many fled from their king. The United States was founded in revolt against the rule of a king. There are many dictators in today's world, but they do not call themselves kings, for fear of isolation. When the word "king" comes to our minds we most likely think of selfishness, domination and enslavement. We often say, "There are good kings and there are bad kings." Yet we know that almost all dynasties began with bloodshed. Their power most often was established and consolidated by means of imprisonment, murder and exploitation. Kingship has become unpopular in today's world, an irrelevant thing in the democratic mind.
    Several weeks ago I saw on television a movie on the French Revolution and the beheading of King Louis and his wife Marie Antoinette. It was sad to witness the tragic death of a royal family. But the film showed how oppression triggered human wickedness to manifest itself in anger and revenge.
            If we say, "Christ is our King," how do we describe the King and his Kingdom?
    Some people entertain the idea that the Garden of Eden was supposed to be the Kingdom of God. Others envision Israel as the Kingdom of God. There are Christians who claim that their Church is the Kingdom of God. Shall we go along with any of the above-mentioned ideas?
    The Garden of Eden could not represent the Kingdom of God, because humanity chose to disobey God, according to the Book of Genesis. Adam ate the forbidden fruit: freedom was misused, and God's dream was broken.
    Neither could Israel be considered the Kingdom of God. According to the Book of Samuel, the ancient Israelites insisted that a human king rule over them, just like other nations that had kings. While claiming themselves to be the chosen people of God, the Israelites rejected God’s kingship because of their overwhelming desire to conform with the rest of the world.
    What about the Christian Church? In the fourth century, Emperor Constantine became a Christian and Christianity suffered no more of the persecution to which it had been subjected. Instead, the Christian Church became popular and powerful in the Roman Empire. The church fathers taught their followers that the Church was indeed the Kingdom of God, and that outside the Church there was no salvation. Yet the Church had become something not unlike the kingdom of the world, allowing evil to gain the upper hand. Church leaders were corrupted, the poor were oppressed and the outspoken righteous suppressed. During the so-called Crusades, many thousands of Muslims were killed and their cities destroyed in the name of Christ. In the 16th century, in Europe, those considered "heretics" were burned to death. Even today's churches can be places that foster abuse, corruption and conflict. The Church is not the Kingdom of God.
    When Pilate questioned Jesus as to whether he was king, Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world." Christ the King is not like any other king of the world.
            John, in the Book of Revelation, tells of his vision of Christ, in which he saw a heavenly throne, and on the throne he saw a lamb -- the lamb that was abused and slain. Then there were thousands of angels and those in white robes, who surrounded the throne and sang Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus," and John was distracted. When John looked again at the throne, he did not see the lamb. Instead, he saw a lion. Did the lamb disappear? No. Did the lamb turn into a lion? No. The same King was on the throne all the time. He was 100% lamb and 100% lion. The lamb speaks to His meekness, and the lion speaks to His majesty. Meekness and majesty! How amazing!
            In the kingdom of the world, majesty and arrogance go together.
            In the Kingdom of God, majesty and meekness go together.
    The Kingdom of God does not have boundaries; everyone is welcome to enter. In this Kingdom, the King calls his people beloved. He even gave his life to save them; he is their Shepherd. This is the King who stills the storm, feeds the hungry, calms the disturbed minds, heals the sick and welcomes the outcasts. In this Kingdom, the deepest desires of the human heart are satisfied. This is the King who wipes away everyone's tears, saying, "Come unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."
    But all this truth about the Kingdom of God, and of the King's meekness, does not mean that those hoping to enter the Kingdom may do whatever they want to do.
    The Lion on the throne has established a set of rules. One of the requirements of God's Kingdom is unique: the citizens must do what the King does, think what the King thinks, and speak what the King speaks.
            The King, for instance, always speaks of peace. The King says, "Blessed are the peace makers."
            The citizens of the Kingdom are supposed to peace makers.
            Ironically, we may have found ourselves professing Christ as the King of our lives, while speaking of war and initiating conflicts. We call ourselves "disciples of Christ," but we fail to do what the King does and to speak what the King speaks.
            Clearly, the nations of today's world and their leaders are not able to speak of peace.   The kingdom of the world is a world of madness. We all are entangled in the kingdom of the world.
    Living in the world as disciples of Christ, we must face tough choices in our daily life, because in various situations the kingdom of the world clashes with the Kingdom of God, and conventional wisdom argues against the wisdom that Jesus taught. Many of today's Christians claim that they are already safe and sound in the Kingdom of God, perceiving a mission to rescue the lost souls outside of their Christian community. Yet with such beliefs disillusionment often happens, and the Kingdom seems to remain out of reach.
    Is there a way for us to get to the Kingdom of God that Jesus spoke about?
            Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is in our hearts.
    This statement may be difficult for us to comprehend. Normally, we would understand things coming to us from the outside world by reflecting upon them and talk about them. One would not usually reflect upon or try to understand the things coming from one's heart. And, indeed, many of the things coming from inside are not very positive, so we tend to avoid thinking of them.
    Yet when Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is in our hearts, he did proclaim the good news.      Humanity had not been aware that, despite all the things from inside that seemed hopeless, the seed of God's Kingdom was indeed hidden in the human heart, and the seed may yet grow when we are attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and allow it to grow. This also means that you and I cannot find the Kingdom of God from the things that this world or even the Church offers. We can find the Kingdom of God only by God's grace and mercy.
    The King says: "Behold, I am standing at the door and knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me." (Rev. 3:20)   Although we cannot perfectly follow our King we may say, "By God's grace, we are on a journey toward being fit for the Kingdom of God."
    As we call Christ our King, we remember that as we live in the world we are not given to conforming to the world, but to transforming ourselves to become Christ-like.
            Now, as we carry our crosses, our eyes are not seeing Christ the King; but we do not lose heart. Someday we will finally meet the King, face to face. Amen.