Christ the King Sunday 2009                                                    Christ Church , York

Now I don’t mean to lecture you today on the merits of the American political system. But I have to say, as the outsider that I am, that one of the most remarkable things about this Republic is the clear balance established under the Constitution between the three branches of government – the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial. At its best and I hasten to add, when it functions well, each branch speaks in various ways at different times with the intention that this will then serve the common good for all. This system can be confusing to an outsider who looks at it for the first time but once you understand it, you see that each branch speaks with its own authority, determining where the other branches may or may not have overstepped the bounds and hopefully providing an adjustment here, a tweaking there and sometimes even a new sense of direction and purpose as necessary.

This is not true in many other nations, where all too often one person rules and serves as the ultimate authority in all things – executive, legislative and judicial. We call that person a dictator, although in earlier days kings would often act in the same way. In the democratic United States the acceptance of such dictatorial powers is questionable and even the limited powers of a Constitutional monarch such as Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain would likely prove unacceptable.

In the context of this nation, therefore, the Church’s annual celebration, our celebration, of Christ the King Sunday seems strange. In our modern, democratic world, in this society with its emphasis on individual rights and freedoms, the image of a king would seem to be outdated and outmoded, not to mention authoritarian. And to name Jesus as a King seems to be so out of touch with our modern world as to be almost silly and looked at solely from that perspective, perhaps it is. But if we were to look at this image of a king not so much as a dictator but rather as a person who has the last word and serves as the final authority, then maybe we can see this Festival in a new light.

We all know what it means to have a last word. If you are a parent you want to have the last word in those ongoing, sometimes seemingly endless discussions with your teenage children. If you are a President or CEO of your company, you want to have the last word regarding business decisions. And if you are in a dispute in your spouse, you clearly want to have the last word! Coaches, teachers, managers all like to have the have the last word because having the last word is often what it’s all about.

And that’s what this day, this Festival of Christ the King, is all about. It is about the One we call a King who has the last word, who is the final authority and power in life and death, who is, in fact, the ultimate authority in all things. This celebration of Christ as King is about declaring that Jesus has the last word; that in a world where many are claiming to have the last word and be the final authority on everything from soup to nuts, the Church declares that Jesus has the last word, that He is the final authority and power in the universe, that He and He alone, is King.

In today’s Gospel, two kingdoms come into play, each competing with the other, each claiming to have the last word. Jesus claims to be a king, while Pontius Pilate represents a king. But these kingdoms are not alike. In fact Pilate and Jesus have very different ways of looking at power and authority. They both claim divine authority but they both take up space in this world. Two kingdoms, two powers, two ways of life, two kinds of authority, two kingdoms continually pushing and tugging at each other, each one trying to have the last word.

One kingdom lives by the power of the sword; the other is lives by the power of love. One is driven to accumulate wealth; the other announces that everyone is wealthy and therefore “Blessed are the poor.” One never has enough money; the other loves to give it away. One believes that the weak must serve the strong; that the biggest guns and the most bucks do indeed matter. The other believes that the strong get to serve the weak, that the last shall be first and the first last. One demands that everyone must get what he deserves, that justice is all that matters. The other dares to give people what they don’t deserve, mercy and forgiveness. One believes that everyone has to prove himself, that there are no shortcuts, that there are always strings attached, obligations to be fulfilled, conditions to be met. The other dares to believe that everyone is special in God’s eye, that everyone is a child of God, that we don’t have to prove anything to anyone. Two different kingdoms; two different ways of looking at things, two different perspectives on what really matters; two different voices claiming to have the last word and be the ultimate authority. Which will prove decisive? Which one will have the last word?

At the end of this scene, it appears that Pilate representing Rome is the winner. It is he who seems to have the last word, as he condemns Jesus to death on the cross, adding insult to injury by hanging a sign over His head stating that this Jesus of Nazareth was King of the Jews. Pilate and all that he represented in this world, seemed to have the last word and be the ultimate authority.

Or so it seemed. But we know that the story does not end there and that three days later Jesus was raised from the dead. Now it is God and not Pilate who has the last word. It is God and not Pilate who shows that the sign posted above the cross was not mockery but indeed the truth. It is God, not Pilate who uses Jesus as His last word to the world, a word of mercy and forgiveness. Christ is King and because of that God does indeed have the last word, that all the claims made by Jesus about His Father are indeed true, that God can be trusted, that sinners are indeed forgiven, that eternal life is ours because Jesus is King.

And because Jesus is King and because God has the last word, life can no longer be lived the same as before. It can no longer be business as usual. Because Jesus has the last word, this congregation and other Christian congregations like it, can express a kind of community life that just isn’t seen any other place, a community which welcomes all into its midst regardless of who they are – rich and poor, young and old, weak and strong, natural born children and adopted children. Because Jesus has the last word, there is mercy and forgiveness among us, there is generosity instead of stinginess, hope instead of despair. Because Jesus is the last word, we can be the leaven in the loaf, a light in the darkness, salt for the earth; we can make a difference in the world. Too many Christians see their work for the Church confined to what they do here on a Sunday morning. They usher, sing in the choir or help teach Sunday school, all wonderful, powerful and generous things to do. But the real work of a Christian is to be out there in the world from Monday through Saturday, engaged in our jobs, our communities, our families, our neighborhoods. For it is there that we speak the last word of God which is Jesus Christ; it is there that we can tell the truth when the world only wants to tell lies; it is there that we can be the bearers of Christ’s light into the world, giving glory to our Father who is in heaven.

This Festival of Christ the King may indeed seem to be outdated and even irrelevant in our modern democratic society. It may appear as if kings have nothing to say to those who live without a monarchy. But in the end it is Jesus as King who will rule over all. It is Jesus who will have the final authority on the Day of Judgment. It is Jesus before whom every knee in heaven and on earth will bend. It is Jesus who will have the last word, for He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end and in the end He will have the last word as He brings all things to completion in Him. Thanks be to God then for this ultimate authority, this One who has the last word, this Christ who is Our King. Amen.