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Last Sunday after Pentecost - Christ the King
November 26, 2006 Sermon by The Rev. Bill Van Oss, Rector
Readings       

It seems like there was more snow when I was a boy. I remember great piles of snow, perhaps because I was responsible to shovel it.

But even in the old photographs my parents now hand out for family reunions, there were big piles of snow on the end of the driveway and on street corners.

People even put a colored ball on the tip of the antenna of their car, so it could be seen over the piles of snow at intersections.

There were great piles of snow everywhere when I was a kid, but none was bigger and taller than the one in the corner of the parking lot at my grade school.

Every winter, the man with the rusted pickup truck would push the snow toward one corner of the lot, then the big truck with the huge bucket on the front would come and pile it up into a mountain.

A young boy’s dream come true – that huge pile of snow, for once those trucks had finished, it was time for King of the hill.

King of the hill – that annual winter ritual where a boy would ascend the great mountain of snow to the very top and then attempt to defend this domain. Other boys, of course, would attempt to de-throne the one on top – sneak up the sides, or crawl up the back – but the one on top would now fling snowballs and chunks of snow at the ones attempting to overtake him.

Eventually though, exhaustion would prevail and the king would be forced from the top and a new king would take up the throne and attempt to defend it. And so it went, king after king.

By force, fear and intimidation the king of the hill would attempt to rule, until someone stronger took over. Over and over it went. The king would try to hang on to what he had, so preoccupied with defending it he could not enjoy the view for even a second. Having it was more important than using it.

And my memories of king of the hill are so strong, I think, because I was never the king. I never made it to the top, because I was afraid. I had glasses as a young boy. Fear of breaking them and suffering my mother’s wrath, fear of having them knocked off and being laughed at as I blindly searched the snow . . . I was never the king of the hill. I just stood at the bottom and watched.

Today, this last Sunday of the church year, the last Sunday before Advent, we celebrate Christ the King. “King of Kings” we proclaim about Christ. But Jesus was not a King of the Hill sort of king. He would not rule by force, fear or intimidation, even though some might have wanted this.

As the crowds lined the roadside for Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem they laid palm branches in his path and proclaimed: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” As if to say: go, get ‘em, Jesus, get those awful Romans who are oppressing us, throw them off the hill so we can be on top.

But Jesus will have no part of being made an earthly king.

“Are you the King of the Jews?” Pilate asks. “Are you a threat to me? Are you going to overthrow me?”

Pilate’s afraid. Earthly kingship can pass away in a heartbeat. But Jesus will have no part in being made an earthly king. “My kingdom is not from this world” Jesus replies to Pilate. My kingdom is not an earthly kingdom of power and control, force, fear and intimidation. My throne is the cross,” Jesus says, “My crown is of thorns, my glory is suffering and dying, in order to redeem sinners. It’s not earthly glory with Christ the King.”

Redemption replaces coercion, service replaces military might, deeds of love, mercy and justice replace grasping, dishonesty and selfishness.

This is the kind of king I am, Christ tells Pilate, and us. This is the kind of kingdom I have come to usher in. Not a kingdom where some chosen few are sitting on top, but a kingdom where the weak and lowly are lifted up.

Not a king who lords power over us, but a king who empowers us to be His co-workers – who help make his kingdom come, by: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, housing the homeless, caring for the sick, working for peace and justice, loving our enemies, caring for the earth.

All are lifted up, to the top of the mountain, to the top of the pile of snow – lifted up and empowered with love to make the kingdom of God a reality in our world - to “usher in” God’s kingdom of reconciliation, mercy, compassion and love. This is the kingdom over which Christ reigns triumphant. This is the kingdom Christ calls us to serve. This is the kingdom for which we pray every time we say the Lord’s prayer. This is the kingdom so opposed to the kind of kingdoms earthly kings and little boys spend themselves defending.

Christ the king reigns triumphant over a kingdom of life, love and peace, and Christ has prepared a place for each of us in His kingdom. There’s even a place for a young boy with thick glasses.

      
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