Kings

Scripture: Christ the King, A.D. 2014 A

Sermon:

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  AMEN.

In 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union divided the nation of Poland between themselves. The Nazis took the western half, and the Soviets got the east. One can scarcely imagine a worse fate for the Polish people, carved up between two of the most demonic and murderous regimes in all of human history. But even worse was the fate of Poland’s Jews, the scapegoats of Nazi ideology’s mad wrath.

Hitler diced up his half of conquered Poland into three separate districts. Two of these districts he ordered to be purged of all Jewish men, women, and children. The third would serve as a massive ghetto for Jews and other “undesirables”. Each district had a military governor, and Hitler made it clear that they were in charge of eliminating Poland’s Jewish population by any means necessary. In fact, they were told that Berlin would ask no questions whatsoever—so long as they got the job done. Hitler gave to them free reign for barbarity.

The first governor did exactly what was expected of him. He launched a vigorous, full-scale persecution of the Jewish families in his territory, hunting them down, weeding them out, murdering and torturing and deporting people en masse for no other sin than the blood in their veins. He set out to purge his district with fire and sword, by any means necessary, no questions asked. But the second governor interpreted his orders rather differently. “No questions asked?” he inquired. “None at all,” Hitler confirmed. So the second governor went to all the Jewish families in his district of occupied Poland, and he said to them, “From now on, you are all of Polish descent. Go to school. Learn the language. And if anyone asks, tell them that you are 100% Polish, nothing more, nothing less.” And lo and behold, overnight, there were no longer any Jews to be found in his district.

Today, brothers and sisters, is the Feast of Christ the King. It is the last festival on our Church calendar, as well as one of the youngest. We can date Christmas back almost 1900 years. Easter stems from Passover, which is at least 3,000 years old. But Christ the King did not become a holiday until 1925—less than a century ago. It was first implemented by Pope Pius XI as a protest against the rising tides of Communism and Fascism, which would eventually come to a head in the butcher’s regimes of Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, and Red China. To celebrate the Feast of Christ the King is to declare with defiance before an unbelieving world that the autocrat is not king, the ruling party is not king, the totalitarian state is not king, but only Christ is King. King of Kings, Lord of Lords, God above all gods!

He is not, however, the sort of King that we expected. He does not behave as merely human kings behave. Most kings, most regimes, most ideologies, tend to build their utopias on the bones of anyone who gets in their way. But Jesus is a different sort of monarch altogether—the only true Monarch of the cosmos. And thank God in Heaven for that.

See, at the time of Jesus, everyone was looking for a king. Israel wanted one quite desperately. Long before, when Israel was young, there were no kings over God’s people because God Himself was their king. But the Israelites looked around at all the other nations, and at the glory and power and prestige that foreign kings had, and they wanted that for themselves. So they demanded that God give to them an earthly king, a human king. And God warned them that this was a terrible idea. He warned them about high taxes and military conscription and foreign wars, about rulers who would put themselves above the law and amass great treasure at the expense of the people. Not that any of us today could relate to such ancient concerns.

But the Israelites insisted upon a king, and God, begrudgingly, gave to them what they wanted. He gave to them a throne and a king to rule over them, and a promise that there would always be a king on that throne, a king from the line of David. And wouldn’t you know it, things went poorly. God must get tired of being right all the time. There were wars and schisms and all kinds of terrible tragedy. And finally the kingdom was conquered, and the last king was forced to watch his sons die in front of him, before his own eyes were put out. So ended the long line of David.

But that couldn’t be right. If history had taught the Israelites anything, it was that God remains faithful even when Man does not. If God promised that a king would always rule over God’s people, surely a king would arise from the line of David. And when the time came for this Return of the King, things would be different. Because this king wouldn’t be like the others. Oh, no. This would be the Anointed One, the Messiah. He would be a cosmic King, an eternal King, come down from Heaven yet born of David’s line. They would call Him Immanuel, the Christ, Son of God and Son of Man. And He would come to set all things right. Any day now.

From the Scriptures, centuries in advance, they calculated the time when He would arise. They even knew where: in Bethlehem, the little town of old King David, within sight of the watchtower that overlooked sheep destined for the Jerusalem Temple. The Israelites knew that the King of Kings was coming. And when He finally got here, boy oh boy—it was gonna be payback time. The kingdom of Israel would rise again, and cast off their oppressors, and cleanse the world with fire and sword. It would be just like the old days, the bad days, the all-or-nothing days—only this time the King would win. Then we’d see who would have their sons killed and their eyes put out!

Meanwhile, the Israelites weren’t the only ones waiting. The Arabs had a prophecy about a star rising from Israel that would mark the birth of a great King. The Persian Magi scoured the sky for signs. Even the Romans, those pagan occupiers and enemies of God’s people, had the Sybil’s prophecy of a world-ruler arising from Judea, a Child who would lead Rome into a 1,000-year golden age. And so they waited. And they watched.

Now you and I both know that the King did come, just as was foretold. He came at exactly the time specified by the prophet Daniel. A star arose as Balaam foretold. The Magi brought gifts, as the Psalmist prophesied. And He was both Priest and King, inheriting from not one but two branches of David’s extensive family tree. Jesus Christ met every criteria laid out for the Messiah, yet we did not recognize Him because He came as exactly the sort of King Whom we did not expect. We were all looking for a warlord, a general, a mighty man of old. What we got was a Baby, a Rabbi, a wandering Galilean Who spoke with authority and acted with love and died in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice for all humankind.

The Messiah born to Israel took everyone by surprise. The psalm of Solomon foresaw that the Son of David would “thrust out sinners from the inheritance”—but who knew that He would accomplish this by forgiving sinners of their sins? The psalm foretold that the Son of David would “shatter unrighteous rulers”—but who knew that He would shatter their unrighteousness through a conversion of heart?*

Jesus rounded up the enemies of God and of God’s people, and we expected Him to put us all to the sword. But instead He said, “You are no longer My enemies. You are not even My friends. You are now and forever My brothers and My sisters, bought with My own Blood, beloved of My Father, and heirs of My Kingdom! Your sins are forgiven, your debts have been paid, and you are freed from all chains to be Children of the Most High!” We wanted the King to purge His Kingdom of sinners. Behold, overnight, there are no sinners to be found. No questions asked.

What does it mean for us to proclaim Christ as our King today? It means that while we have a duty to be good citizens, to be active and informed participants in our democracy, our ultimate allegiance lies not with earthly powers, which prove fallible and foolish, which rise and fall. Our trust true citizenship is secured in Heaven, and we are but sojourners doing what good we can in our short pilgrimage upon this earth. Governments may ignore the poor, crush the innocent, even murder the unwanted and undesirable, be they Jewish or Gypsy, too young or too old. But the true King never will. The true King will never fail us, never bow to what is popular or expedient, never flinch in proclaiming His justice and mercy, forgiveness and truth. And lo, He is with us always, even unto the end of the age.

Remember the words of the Psalmist. Put not your trust in princes, in mortals in whom there is no hope. Republican or Democrat, Libertarian or Green, it doesn’t matter. Happy are those whose hope is in the Lord who keeps faith forever, who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, watches over the stranger, upholds the widow and the orphan. The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Long live the King!

In Jesus’ Name. AMEN.

*This paragraph is taken pretty much verbatim from p. 104 of Dr. Scott Hahn’s Joy to the World (Image, 2014).