Today, the final Sunday in the Christian liturgical year, is referred to by some as “Christ the King Sunday.” For those churches using the Revised Common Lectionary as the basis for the day’s scriptural text the gospel reading is Matthew 25: 31-46. This is the account of when Jesus, AKA “the Son of Man,” “will come in his glory…sit on his throne…separate the sheep from the goats” as “all the nations” stand before him.
Those who, in their lifetimes, fed the hungry, visited prisoners, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, etc., are welcomed into the “kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” These are the sheep.
The goats, however, did not show compassion or care for those in need. They face “eternal punishment.”
For preachers who chicken out on sermonizing the Matthew 25 text, the epistle reading gives a smoother path. Here, the writer (Paul? Someone else?) congratulates the fine folks of Ephesus on their faith and hopes God will bestow wisdom, revelation, enlightened hearts and hope so that they become fully aware of the power of Christ. After all, the writer continues, “God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
The focus here is on Christ and his power rather than our behavior and priorities. We can sit back, breathe a sigh of relief, and bask in the glow and glory of “the head of all things.”
Given the attitudes, inclinations, desires, and biases of many in the dominant North American culture, even among self-named Christians, the Ephesians verses are more palatable.
An insight from the late Rev. William Sloane Coffin comes to mind in the midst of the consideration of these texts: “We want God to be strong so we can be weak, but God chooses to be weak so we can be strong.”
The focus on the power of God in Christ who was “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come,” implies a strong God who gets things done for the world, and consequently, for us. Whew! That takes off a lot of pressure, doesn’t it?
Conversely, the Matthew verses indicate a Jesus/Christ/King, who was hungry, thirsty, lonely, sick, naked, and so forth. These are not royal attributes as we in this world define them. And not only is this “king” weak, but we must be the strong ones, somehow taking care of and meeting the needs of the king by caring for those who suffer. After all, when we do it for them, we do it for Christ the King. In doing so, we also take a large measure of responsibility for the state of our own soul's well-being.
The image of a king is not the most flattering one in today’s world, it seems to me. In our own nation there are those who seek what they presume to be ultimate, or kinglike power. In the past that status has been abused by powerholders and those in their orbit. Current strivers promise violence, exclusion and oppression.
Methinks
Jesus would reject this type of throne-sitting. Rather than limiting life’s possibilities, I
have the sense Christ the King envisions a world in which we all find ways to
raise the level of abundant potential inherit in the life gifted to us by God, following his words and example.
