Juliet said to Romeo, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.”[1]
On a
day in which we celebrate Christ the King, it seems most appropriate to ask:
What’s in a name, or rather, what’s in a title? We call Jesus by many titles:
Christ. Messiah. Savior. Lord. Friend. Teacher. At the beginning of John’s
Gospel, Nathaniel calls him “King of Israel,” even though Jesus seems rather
unimpressed by this declaration. Titles, like boarders, are a very human
creation. Yet we continue to put these attributes on Jesus.
The
observance of “Christ the King Sunday” is a very modern development, especially
for a nearly 2,000 year old faith. Pope Pious XI, in 1925, made the last Sunday
of October a feast “in celebration of the all-embracing authority of Christ,
which shall lead all humankind to seek the Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of
Christ.” The feast was moved to the Sunday before Advent 1 in 1970 and is now
observed by numerous Protestant traditions such as ours.[2]
“Christ”
comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah, which means “anoint”
or “Anointed.” When used with Jesus or prophesies about him, it was understood
as “one anointed by God.”
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| King George II of England, whose gift of a silver communion set is still in use at Christ Church. |
And
King…. Well… we know of countries that have kings (or queens). Maybe some of us
have even lived in those countries where the monarch’s likeness is on the
currency. But here in the U.S. of A, well, many of our forbears fought hard to
free us from a king, a king whose father made a very generous gift to this very
parish. Shortly after George Washington was elected in April 1789, the Congress
of the United States was tossing around titles like “Chief Magistrate” and “His
Highness” and (my personal favorite) “Protector of the Liberties of the People
of the United States of America.” They even tossed around the idea of King,
even though he was elected for a finite period. But the House of Representatives
didn’t want George Washington or any of his successors to let the power of the
position go to their head.
So the
House proposed a title of their own. “President.” You see, in 1789, it was
about the most humble, meager, limited title they could think of. It meant
someone who presided over a meeting, an overseer. Think about a jury
fore-person. The Senate thought this was ridiculous. They wanted the person in
that office to have the respect of other world leaders. Our infant nation would
be mocked for having a head of state with the title of “President.” But in
order to make peace and move forward, the Senate let the House have their way, though
they registered their discontent with House. Over the next 230+ years, nearly
150 other countries followed in our footsteps and titled their head of state “President.”
In the end, the Senate won because the titled has garnered the respect they
wanted it to garner.[3]
I tell
you that story because it illustrates an important point: Reality changes
words. Words rarely change reality. The world in 1925, especially Eurpoe, was
hardly at peace, even though the Great War had been over for 7 years. In
January 1925, the Prime Minister of Italy, Benito Mussolini, put an end to free
elections and became dictator. In 1925, Adolf Hitler published Mein Kampf. Pious XI knew that faithful
Christians needed something larger to look at than the leaders of their day.
Pious knew that Jesus had the chance to claim leadership and power on Earth and
turned it down. “My kingdom is not of this world,” he said to Pilate. Like so
many, Pilate didn’t know who or what was in front of him. “Everyone who belongs
to the truth listens to my voice,” Jesus continued. “What is truth?” Pilate
asked.
The
reality of Jesus’ mission, ministry, and teachings changed what it means to
have a king, and be a part of a kingdom.
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| Jesus before Pilate |
The
truth is that we are still struggling to understand what the Kingdom of God
looks like. We struggle to see Jesus, the King of that Kingdom, in our midst.
The
truth is that we don’t really know what to do with a King. It doesn’t fit very
well with the American narrative of Liberty and Freedom. Most of us are fine to
declare Jesus as Lord and Savior, but when it comes to unfettered, unwaivering
following of him to a point where we might be uncomfortable, well, that’s
another story. Sometimes we are called out of that comfort zone and are
resustant to go. Other times, we find we have been out of that zone for a while
and we want to go back where it is safe and easy.
Yet, if
we are to be subjects of Christ the King and follow and trust him, sometimes
(many times!) we will be called out of our comfort zone because Jesus calls us
to be IN the world but not OF the world. And part of being IN but not OF the
world means tuning out the fear mongering that comes from those who get air
time.
If we
are willing to call Christ our King, then we are declaring ourselves part of
the Kingdom of God, a kingdom that knows no boundries, no nationalities, no
language, and no skin color. A kingdom whose currency is love and whose motto
is “God Loves you. No exceptions.”
We
have choices to make:
n To live
as if the Kingdom of God is now and not in the future.
n To live
with compassion, not merely for self-preservation.
n To live
by faith and not by fear.
If we
live a life with Christ as our king, the reality of the Kingdom of God will
change the world.
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