Readings for Christ the King / C:
Jeremiah 23:1-6; Lk. 23:35-43
November 25, 2007
The Rev. Karen Faye Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino, CA
“The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” [Jeremiah 23]
“Forward Day by Day” [11/25/07] talks about a professor who once said that the Bible is largely about government: “Who will govern the people of God? For instance, after Moses led the Israelites from Egypt, God gave him the Ten Commandments. But when Moses returned, the people had already taken things into their own hands and were worshiping the Golden Calf. God led the Israelites through the desert and then sent prophets to guide them.” But the people were not satisfied with the prophets so God sent judges to help them. Still, the people were still not satisfied with the judges and thus demanded a king. The kings of Israel were a mixed bag. Most of them turned out to be self-centered or unfaithful, often inflicting great hardships upon the people. Why do political systems have such a difficult time in executing justice and righteousness in the land?
Some 3000 years later, Christians are still struggling with the question of who will govern us? Have you ever thought about who governs your life? The best way to answer this question is to take a close look at what influences your choices. Who has power over you? Is it your family, your job, your ego, your sensitive feelings, your addictions, old resentments, your government, your insecurities, your religion, God? Where do you spend your time and money? Where do you focus your primary energy? When making important decisions, who or what do you consider first? Who or what is at the center of your universe? These questions can help us discern who really governs our lives. Today being the feast day of Christ the King, I would like to focus my sermon on this question: Who really governs the lives of most Christians? This means I will talk about religion and politics!
Last year, just two weeks into her new job as co-host of “The View,” comedienne, actress, and political activist Rosie O’Donnell made her views about Christianity known to the world. She suggested that followers of Christ are no different from Muslim extremists because they blow up civilian children in the name of religion. She was referring to those Christians who equate nationalism with Christianity. Rosie criticized the country’s decision to go to war and invade Afghanistan and Iraq over the terrorist attack on 9/11. And she criticized those Christians who supported this policy. To her, 3000 deaths in the United States do not justify thousands and thousands of deaths of innocent civilians in other countries.
ABC finally relieved Rosie O’Donnell from her TV show because of the sharp criticism from viewers, accusing her of religious bigotry. What was it about her comments that made people so angry? Was there any truth in those comments? While I did not closely follow her attack on Christians, I did wonder whether Christians were more loyal to their country than they were to the teachings of Jesus. It made me ask questions about my own loyalty to Christ in particular and other people’s loyalty in general. Are Christians being truly faithful to their baptismal vows “to follow and obey Christ as Lord and to put their whole trust in his grace and love?” [BCP 302] Or do we put our trust in other gods? Why do we celebrate the feast day of Christ the King anyway?
In 1922, Mussolini and his fascist Party Blackshirts marched into Rome. Promising to revive the economy, Mussolini became the right wing leader of Italy. It was into this context of economic chaos and political upheaval that Pope Pius XI instituted the feast day of Christ the King in 1925. This feast day was instituted to remind Christians that because Jesus is Lord and King, no other leader on earth deserves unquestioned support. This feast day was instituted to remind Christians that "to-good-to-be true" political agendas are usually not good or true, but rather short sighted, parochial, and harmful in the long run.
The other day I read through the newspaper, discerning who or what governed the lives of famous people (or not so famous people) who happened to find their names in the newspaper. Here is what I concluded:
- There was an article about Barry Bonds being indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice because he lied about the use of steroids. Obviously winning, being famous, and earning lots of money were more important to Barry than sportsmanship, honesty, and taking care of his body. He must have missed the sermon about the body being the temple of the Holy Spirit. But this issue is not just about Barry Bonds. It is about a system that enables and rewards steroid use starting in high school. It is about a system that values winning so much that this becomes the ultimate god.
- Then there were all sorts of the articles on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when most retailers make huge profits from shoppers buying gifts for Christmas. The article said that there are more complaints about pushing and shoving, fighting and shoplifting on this day than any other day of the year. It seems to me that under the guise of Christmas, the god of materialism is being worshipped here rather than the Prince of Peace, the Spirit of Grace and Truth.
- Finally, there were many articles on political candidates running for the next Presidential election and what they had to say or not say. Frankly, it is difficult for me to know the truth about these candidates because they often don’t speak the truth in public. We seem to live in an age where our candidates are more interested in getting elected than they are in being honest. In this political system, the god of power and self-interest seems to be preferred over justice and righteousness in the land.
When God is not the center of our universe, justice and righteousness are pushed to the side and society ultimately suffers. This is what happened during the 1920’s and 30’s in Germany following WWI. Suffering from the tremendous financial burdens placed on this country by the Treaty of Versailles, the German people became discouraged. The railroads, the schools, and the economy had been severely impacted and the quality of life for the average German family was at an all time low. Then Hitler campaigned and promised to restore the railroads, build new schools, give jobs to the unemployed, revitalize the economy, and strengthen the military fabric of the country. Even though people knew that Hitler was a problem at best, he made good on his promises. And so the people supported his rise to power at a tremendous cost to the world.
Wracked by hardships and motivated by fear, German Christians began to switch their allegiance from Christ the King to the Third Reich. They began to engage in distorted thinking, watered down the faith, ignored the teachings of Jesus, and convinced themselves that in the name of nationalism and the needs of their families, God was on their side. This kind of shortsighted, distorted thinking resulted in the deaths of 70 million people, making WWII the deadliest conflict in human history.
So, is there any truth to Rosie O’Donnell’s comments about Christians? I will let you be the judge. The feast day of Christ the King reminds us where we need to place our loyalty. If we truly want peace, justice, and righteousness in the land then we need to subject ourselves (our lives, our bodies, our souls) to the One who embodies grace and truth and whose power can bring about a new creation.
“Almighty and Everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord or lords: Mercifully grant that all the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule ... ” [Collect of the Day]
| Updated November 26, 2007 |
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