Is It Good To Be King?
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
Dear Fellow Preacher,
The week of November 23 this year has at least two significances for most of our parishioners: it is the conclusion of the church year with Christ the King Sunday and also (in the United States) it includes Thanksgiving Day. We include materials in this issue of The Immediate Word for both observances.
In our lead article Carter Shelley alludes to contemporary scandals in the British royal family as well as popular attitudes on monarchy on the part of North Americans and Europeans today. She compares these with Old Testament conceptions of kingship in the First Reading of the lectionary, with the idea of Jesus as king in the Gospel lection, and with the actual power of European monarchs of the past who claimed and, at times, exercised "divine right." Team comments, illustrations, worship materials, and a children's sermon relate to the theme of kingship as well.
On the other theme, George L. Murphy offers a homily and Wes Runk a children's sermon on Thanksgiving.
Is It Good to Be King?
by Carter Shelley
2 Samuel 23:1-7; John 18:33-37
There's a popular series of Mary Englebreit birthday cards that feature a young girl or boy holding a scepter, wearing a crown, and wrapped in an ermine-lined robe or blanket (see the website http://www.treasure-house.com/page/engine/0013.9.8614681432315331258/Mary_Engelbreit/Greeting_Cards/page8.html for visual examples). These cards say things like, "On your birthday, it's good to be Queen." The message, of course, means that on one's birthday one should allow oneself the opportunity to be pampered, attended to, and make important decisions about the kind of celebrations that shall ensue on one's special day. Such a concept owes its appeal in part to the fact that most of us do not receive that kind of attention and care on a day-to-day basis.
In the twenty-first century, Hallmark-world in which we live, being king or queen for a day carries none of the presumptive power, awe, or threat that it did for Elizabethan subjects or the conquered children of Israel, who found themselves time and time again under the harsh rule of foreign pharaohs, kings, and Caesars.1
The one bright ray of hope for God's chosen people came to them through King David and his line of successors. As the Lord's anointed, these kings received God's blessing and God's law, making it possible for them to rule with justice and mercy if only they would. Because so few of David's offspring and usurpers managed to combine piety with policy, the days of Israel's independence and glory were all too few. From that void came the human appeals to the divine anointer of kings. The former sought a charismatic warrior king like David while the latter sent a king whose kingship was outside the realm of comprehension of both Pontius Pilate and first-century Jews.
"My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here" (John 18:36).
"Say what?" Pilate might have replied, demonstrating that he cannot grasp the concept of a king or emperor who doesn't intend to conquer and rule the world. For that's the job of kings, after all-to conquer, control, and profit from both by means of power, riches, and the fear they instill in lesser mortals souls. But we know that the Pilate of the Gospels has a philosophical bent. While Pilate can't conceive of a king who doesn't fit the earthly model, Pilate is partially able to follow Jesus from the earthly sphere to the ethereal with the question, "What is truth?"
For this Sunday, November 23, our last before the beginning of the season of Advent, The Immediate Word calls us to consider what Christ the King Sunday signifies. How does Jesus' kingship resemble and differ from that of royal rulers past and present? What does the claim of the divine right of kings made by James I2 become when the One who comes is the Prince of Peace, Lord of Lords, and King of Kings? Is it good to be king in the earthly sense? Is it better to serve a king whose kingship is not of this world, yet offers to govern every aspect of our lives through divine authority? These questions plus the liturgical origins of Christ the King Sunday3 will be examined in this week's entry.
Considering the Biblical Material
In approaching the biblical and historical notion of kings and the question, "Is it good to be king?" I suggest a movement from events in the news in November 2003 backward through history to consider the role of European monarchs and then the role of Israel's kings. The sermon's center point might then be a look at the biblical beginnings, where the loosely federated tribes of Israel demand of the prophet Samuel a king like their neighboring countries have. From that point one can then move forward, exploring the theological significance of kingship and the accompanying obligations to God and the king's subjects that such divine anointing entailed. From the human failure to fulfill God's righteous expectations one may then examine the contrast between Jesus' kingship and that of earthly rulers. Since there are few kings in 2003 who hold absolute power, the link between the lives of the congregation may require a look at the ways we fail to offer obeisance to God's anointed Son and the righteous and just kingdom Christ would have us help establish on earth and how far short of that goal we remain due to our own Pilate-like tendencies to be literal-minded and players in this world as it exists and not as it could be.
Is It Good to Be King?
Kings are a concept most of us know a lot about. From our elementary, middle, and high school social studies and history classes, we have learned there have been lots of kings ruling lots of countries throughout the centuries. We know that kings have to be strong and sometimes brutal to hang on to the reins of power. We know that becoming a king usually takes place through being born the child of a king. We know that wars and rebellions often lead to the usurpation of one king by someone else who may then be declared king. We know that there was a time when kings could do pretty much whatever they liked without danger of rebuke or opposition. King Henry VIII married, then either divorced or executed four of his six wives and had mistresses on the side. We know from our own proud history that many of the first settlers of the American colonies came to America for a fresh start and a free hand 3000 miles beyond the reach of their English monarchs. We also know that part of what makes our nation great and democratic today was the decisions in 1776 to win our independence from England and the king and in 1783 to establish a governmental system that did not include a king at its head. We also know that Louis XIV of France proved so inept and out of touch with the miserable life of the people of France that they rebelled against him and he was guillotined.
Fairy tales often tell the tale of a handsome prince who seeks and finds his bride among the common people: Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. Yet, isn't it interesting that these tales stop short of the prince becoming king? The notion of princes presents them as handsome, romantic, and lovesick. The story ends with marriage not coronation. Being a king surfaces a person's bad traits as well as their good, traits such as hunger for power, greed, paranoia, conspicuous consumption, bad decision and policy-making, warmongering, etc.
As sole monarch of England in the sixteenth century, Henry VIII's power, military might, luxurious life, and unquestioned obedience offered proof that it's good to be king. Henry VIII of England also offered proof positive that it's better to be king than to marry one, as he divorced two of his wives, had two more beheaded, and lost a fifth to childbirth. If you are the Lord's anointed, being king is more of a challenge. Even King David in his heyday was not a total success as a king or a father. He certainly was not someone for the rest of us to envy.
The biblical notion of the king as God's anointed is a familiar one. We know that the Hebrew slaves God liberated from Egypt were led initially by Moses, God's appointed leader. After Moses came Joshua, and after Joshua the twelve tribes of Jacob were loosely connected through the governance and military guidance of judges. It was because the people sought to have a king like other countries that the prophet Samuel reluctantly anointed Saul Israel's first king. Samuel's reservations included distress that Yahweh, the true king and liberator of Israel, wasn't good enough. The people wanted an earthly king to lead them into battle and organize them as a nation. Ironically, these people brought into existence by God's call to Abraham, Moses, the judges, and the prophets wanted what their neighbors had. Uniquely called by a divine monarch, the people wanted-a human king. One might even view it as an early example of peer pressure writ large. Samuel warns the people that earthly kings do not always serve the best interests of their subjects, yet the people are adamant.
When the idea of kingship becomes a reality in Israel's history, its kings, more often than not mirror the kings of other countries who know not the name of Yahweh. With the exception of David and Josiah, the history of the kings of Israel and Judah is one of military upheaval, jockeying for power, self-interest, corruption, and exploitation of the people. God sends prophet upon prophet to protest the lack of justice and righteousness evident in the actions of these kings and their courts. Over and over again the people are warned that neither their kings nor they themselves are keeping the Sinai covenant God established with their ancestors in the wilderness. Kings don't change. People don't change. War and conquest don't change. From independent nation in the heyday of David's rule to the multiple humiliations suffered as Assyria, Babylon, the Greeks, and the Romans each defeat and control the people and their promised land, the people demonstrate their inability to think in new ways or to envision a kingdom on earth that will be any different from those who oppress them.
Jesus is born into a world in which Herod the Great rules with Rome's approval, taxing the people into poverty and applying an iron fist against his own sons and all comers in order to maintain his power. This Herod was so bad that he's the villain in Matthew's account of the slaughter of the innocents. The Jewish notion of the Lord's anointed continued to mean a military leader and political ruler who would defeat and protect Judah from outsiders, reestablish the glory of David's era on the throne, and establish justice and righteousness for all.
What the people didn't realize was God's ability to grant their request and yet move beyond it (or full circle-Alpha and Omega) by sending a king who fit God's specifications and those of the people in the man Jesus from Nazareth. Jesus represented all those characteristics that the few righteous kings of Israel had provided: devotion to God and justice and compassion towards their earthly subjects. Yet Jesus' kingdom, as he directly and obliquely explains to Pilate, is not of this world. Jesus isn't about conquering Herod Antipas, or Pilate, Rome's representative at that time. Jesus seeks to conquer and reclaim the hearts of his people for their God. Jesus seeks to lead the children of Israel back to the righteousness and justice the Sinai covenant established, and Jesus seeks to lead the children of Israel beyond that covenant of law towards a covenant of love based on forgiveness, grace, and the establishment of God's Lordship and reign on earth as in heaven.
Kings and queens are an anachronism in present-day life. Elizabeth II has great wealth but no political power. Her royal seal on laws passed by Parliament is a courtesy and a tradition left over from the days when the British monarch actually helped formulate policy. She has no political power. In fact, she has no personal power either, in that the kind of respect and reticence the British press used to observe about the personal lives of the royal family no longer apply. Is it possible to imagine any family in the English-speaking world who has had so much of their dirty laundry and sordid conduct trumpeted from the pages of newspapers and glossy magazines as have the lives of England's royalty? Former employees, well-placed photographers, and eager editors have published virtually every secret and scandal that the queen's children and grandchildren have ever committed.
There's little respect for the British royals in America, yet we are fascinated by them. Books about them consistently become best-sellers. Their trips to Canada or the U.S. frequently receive more coverage than diplomatic visits from prime ministers, presidents, and chancellors to Washington to confer with our presidents. Is it because we Americans want the fairy tale but not the reality. In that, are we much different from the twelve tribes of Israel asking Samuel for a king?
They don't want a king who's going to govern them like a martinet. They want a king who will be good to them and for them. A king who will give them nation status before their surrounding neighbors. A king who will protect them from the threat of external invasions and conquest. A king who will be on their side in legal squabbles. A king they can admire and serve because he serves their interests and ambitions for status, security, and certainty. With a king, you know who's in charge. With a king, you know there will be another king after this one dies. With a king, other nations have to take you seriously. While with a God, they can always point to their own gods, and laugh at you for putting your land and your trust in something so ethereal and ephemeral as an invisible deity. They want a fairy-tale king, not the real thing.
We too like the fairy-tale king. More Americans watched the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana than watched the inaugural address of any recent president. More Americans know the names of the two princes William and Harry than know the names of the governor of their own state. More Americans can tell you when and how Princess Diana died than can tell you the meaning of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Why did they and do we like the fairy-tale ruler? Is it that we don't want to take responsibility for ourselves? With a king (or a president some of us didn't vote for) we can pass the buck. We like the glamour. We like the comparisons. What we don't like is living with the responsibility, the uncertainty, and the potential trials and tribulations that following the Lord's anointed implies.
The Old Testament concept of the king as the Lord's anointed leader for Israel holds a crucial place in biblical theology. The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible article on the Hebrew concept of Messiah may offer a helpful starting point for discussing the divine-human relationship thus established. The Messiah is the one chosen and anointed by God to rule as God's regent on earth. The vital nature of this link between God and Israel's kings is emphasized in 2 Samuel 23:1-7.
As the second of two oracles presented as King David's final words, 2 Samuel 23:1-7 reaffirms God's commitment to the Kings of Israel and reiterates the means by which the Lord's anointed rulers may rule justly and with righteousness. Fear God, serve as God's earthly representative (and not one's own), and obey God's laws. That's what's required of the one God anoints to be king. These theologically central words attributed to David emphasize that even at the end of his life David hears and receives the word of God. More significantly, despite all the violence that has taken place since David's adultery with Bathsheba, especially the violence between David and his sons, God continues to support and bless the Davidic line. Even though David himself could not fulfill all that kingship required of him, the ideal remains there for future kings of Israel to embody. The king's primary function is not to be served but to serve. He has not been chosen for privilege but for justice. The shepherd metaphor applies. A good king, like a good shepherd, puts the welfare and safety of his sheep before his own comforts or life. In this standard, God remains consistent throughout the centuries. As biblical history recounts, the majority of David's dynastic heirs fail miserably to fulfill their royal charge.
By the time a new king appears, a servant king, a man anointed by God to be Messiah as the Christ, there are few humans alive who can accurately make the connection between the Old Testament concept of anointed kings and the Gospel presentation of an incarnate Savior.
In John's Gospel, the presentation of Pontius Pilate, the Roman Procurator, matches the historical accounts of Pilate as a man scornful of Jews, who cares about order and expediency in keeping the peace. This Pilate is not the thoughtful philosopher the Synoptic Gospels create. Moreover, in the exchange that takes place between Jesus and Pilate in John 18:33-37, Jesus might as well be discussing quantum theory-so little does Jesus' meaning sink into Pilate's thick head. They are talking at cross purposes and with totally different meanings. Jesus' kingship has nothing to do with earthly power or military force. Christian readers would understand that Jesus' "kingdom is not of this world." They would also have understood that Pilate's inability to grasp Jesus' true meaning helps align Pilate with the obtuse Jewish leaders who don't understand Jesus' new brand of Messiahship and are calling for Jesus' blood and death. Jesus' statement that he comes to witness to the truth means nothing to Pilate; for the faithful Christian, however, it is obvious that Jesus is himself, the way, the truth, and the life.
More than 1000 years separate the kingship of David from the kingship of Jesus, yet the understanding of kingship remains entrenched in the belief that kings are political and military leaders. In the incarnation, God transforms not only the role a king will take on but also the place where that king will ultimately rule: in the hearts and minds of believers.
Notes
1. Our modern-day notion of kings and queens comes to us through fairy tales of handsome princes and their love for Snow White, Cinderella, or Sleeping Beauty. And yet we seem to have a never-ending fascination with every ugly detail revealed about the private lives of the House of Windsor, the most recent being the rumors and innuendoes heaped upon Prince Charles and various former employees. Is it good to be king? In the world of the brothers Grimm, it seems to be. Is it good to be king? Sometimes it is for modern-day monarchs who may inherit wealth and status but rarely rule over anything more than the palace staff.
2. King James I, on the divine right of kings:
The idea of the Divine Right of Kings evolved in Europe during the Middle Ages. The theory claimed that kings were answerable only to God and it was therefore sinful for their subjects to resist them.
James I upheld the doctrine in his speeches and writings. This theory was supported by his son Charles I and his chief advisor, William Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Laud argued that the king had been appointed by God and people who disagreed with him were bad Christians.
- www.spartacus.choolnet.co.uk/STUdivine.htm
"The state of monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth; for kings are not only God's lieutenants upon earth and sit upon God's throne, but even by God himself are called gods. There be three principal similitudes that illustrate the state of monarchy: one taken out of the word of God; and the two other out of the grounds of policy and philosophy. In the Scriptures kings are called gods, and so their power after a certain relation compared to the divine power. Kings are also compared to fathers of families: for a king is truly Parens patriae, the politique father of his people. And lastly, kings are compared to the head of this microcosm of the body of man.
"Kings are justly called gods, for that they exercise a manner or resemblance of divine power upon earth: for if you will consider the attributes to God, you shall see how they agree in the person of a king. God hath power to create or destroy, make or unmake at his pleasure, to give life or send death, to judge all and to be judged nor accountable to none; to raise low things and to make high things low at his pleasure, and to God are both souls and body due. And the like power have kings: they make and unmake their subjects, they have power of raising and casting down, of life and of death, judges over all their subjects and in all causes and yet accountable to none but God only....
"I conclude then this point touching the power of kings with this axiom of divinity, that as to dispute what God may do is blasphemy ... so is it sedition in subjects to dispute what a king may do in the height of his power. But just kings will ever be willing to declare what they will do, if they will not incur the curse of God. I will not be content that my power be disputed upon; but I shall ever be willing to make the reason appear of all my doings, and rule my actions according to my laws ... I would wish you to be careful to avoid three things in the matter of grievances:
"First, that you do not meddle with the main points of government; that is my craft ... to meddle with that were to lesson me ... I must not be taught my office.
"Secondly, I would not have you meddle with such ancient rights of mine as I have received from my predecessors ... All novelties are dangerous as well in a politic as in a natural body. And therefore I would be loath to be quarreled in my ancient rights and possessions, for that were to judge me unworthy of that which my predecessors had and left me.
"And lastly, I pray you beware to exhibit for grievance anything that is established by a settled law, and whereunto ... you know I will never give a plausible answer; for it is an undutiful part in subjects to press their king, wherein they know beforehand he will refuse them."
-King James I, Works (1609); www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/workbook/ralprs/20.htm;
3. The feast of Christ the King was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 in response to the rise of totalitarianism. Msgr. Hellriegal wrote this hymn following his personal experience and those of his German immigrant parishioners with the Nazi party. While those regimes have passed into history, today these words are as urgent and powerful as ever in our world of political unrest.
Thy reign extend, O King benign,
To every land and nation;
For in thy kingdom, Lord divine,
Alone we find salvation.
To Jesus Christ our Sovereign King
Who is the world's salvation,
All praise and homage do we bring
And thanks and adoration
-Christ the King Sunday http://liturgy.slu.edu/ChristKingB112302/music.html
Team Comments
George Murphy responds:
I don't think that Deuteronomy 17:14-20 is included in the lectionary for any Sunday or Festival, but it should be. In fact, it wouldn't be a bad choice as the First Lesson for Christ the King Sunday. "When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you ... and you say, 'I will set a king over me,'" it begins. This passage is the law for the king, telling rulers how they should rule. The King is to study the law of Moses regularly. He is not to acquire great wealth or exalt himself over other members of the community.
Whether actually written in the time of Moses or much later, after Israel's experience of despotic monarchs, it's clear that this text is speaking about the way a king is supposed to be, not describing the way most of the rulers of Judah and Israel actually were. It is unfortunate that the Jewish and Christian traditions, and later societies influenced by them, often saw Solomon as a kind of model of a king. His supposed splendor, wealth, and power were the things to be imitated.
In fact, it doesn't take much reading between the lines in 1 Kings to see that Solomon was a typical oriental despot who tried to break down the tribal system of Israel and whose policies impoverished the nation. He ended his life as a crass idolater. Solomon's rule was so oppressive that soon after his death the northern tribes of Israel threw off the yoke of his son, who wanted to emulate his father's overbearing style of kingship but apparently didn't have any of his intelligence.
Psalm 72 would be another good choice for Christ the King. Its superscription (which is not part of the Psalm's text) says that it is a Psalm "of" or "for" Solomon, and it's too bad that Solomon wasn't a king like this. It speaks of the king's wealth and power, but-especially in verses 12-14-emphasizes his rule for the poor and needy, rescuing them from oppression. It is a description of the ideal king, and it was quite appropriate for Isaac Watts to paraphrase it in his hymn "Jesus Shall Reign Where'er the Sun."
If Christ is indeed the king, then all other rulers (and we shouldn't limit ourselves to kings and queens in the strict sense) are at best images or representations of the true King. And this doesn't just mean that they don't have his power or splendor. Christ is the King who is "among you as one who serves." It is Pilate's mocking sign on the cross that proclaims him "King of the Jews." Ceremonies in which European royalty have washed the feet of beggars in imitation of Jesus' action on Maundy Thursday give only a hint of this kind of kingship.
Of course. the idea of "the divine right of kings" maintained by the Stuart monarchs and other kings is nonsense. There is "divine right" in any civil government only to the extent that Romans 13:1-7 supports the belief that rulers are supposed to be means through which God maintains order in society, and that can apply to various forms of government. (And even when there have been kings, the practice of primogeniture, the idea that the first-born son must succeed to the throne, hasn't always been followed. If I remember correctly, the old Kings of Wessex-from whom the present monarchs of Great Britain are descended-were elected from among members of the royal family, and Alfred the Great was, in a time of crisis, chosen ahead of sons of the previous king.)
But the past two hundred years and more should have taught us that simply getting rid of "kings" does not eliminate selfish rule and oppression. The beheading of the French king in the name of liberty was followed by terror and Napoleon's wars of conquest, and people with titles like "Leader," "Chairman" and "President for Life" have relegated Solomon's oppressions to minor league status. And while America has avoided those extremes, our "imperial presidencies" have certainly displayed some Solomonic tendencies.
These considerations don't apply just to the person who is number one in government. The Genesis creation stories in different ways picture all human beings as royalty, created to represent God in ruling the world: Viceroys if not kings and queens. "Let them have dominion," God said. But this idea of "dominion" can become a disaster for the world, as Lynn White pointed out in his famous article, "The Historical Roots of our Ecologic Crisis" (Science 155, 1967, p. 1203).
White was correct that the way the biblical tradition has been understood to give humanity a license to exploit the world is at least partly responsible for our environmental problems. But that is because "dominion" has been understood as "domination," a rule like that of Solomon. If we are to represent God in ruling the world, we must look to Christ to see how God actually does rule-and when we do that we see the crucified one, the King who is willing to die for the sake of his people.
And while reflection on kingship can be helpful for the way we understand the responsibilities of those with civil authority and the responsibilities of all humanity, our focus on this Sunday is to be on Christ the King. Our presidents and governors are not going to match the ideal of Psalm 72, and our care for the earth is going to be imperfect. But we are given hope and courage to persevere in these callings by the message that Christ is King, and that through his death and resurrection we are recalled to our proper royal vocation.
Carlos Wilton responds: The tabloid-documented foibles of the House of Windsor notwithstanding, kingship is just not part of our everyday world-and even if it were, the kingship of Jesus is so radically different from any human kingship that it's hard to draw any comparisons.
Some have suggested that, here in America, it makes more sense to talk about heroes than kings. Think, for example, of a movie hero, maybe from an old Western ... a strong, tall and resolute figure like Shane, the gunfighter who comes out of retirement to fight that one last battle for the just and the right. Or maybe, in this post-September 11th world, we'd do better to imagine those New York City firefighters, police officers and rescue workers who courageously gave their lives in service to others. "Christ our hero"-now there's an image our people can relate to.
We'd have to remember, though, the significant difference ... that Jesus not only gave his life for us but also silently submitted to public shame and humiliation-for the cross is no collapsing skyscraper. It is, rather, a dreadful instrument of torture, an instrument designed to kill the soul long before it kills the body. This is what Jesus submitted to for us. This is what Jesus took on in exchange for his kingly crown.
There's a little story, a children's story, that conveys something of this truth. It's called "The Upside-Down King," and-like most good children's stories-it has much to say to grown-ups as well, in its own whimsical way:
In a kingdom where the rich grew richer and the poor grew poorer, the rich king liked it this way.
When he died, a new king came to the throne. He did things in a different way. He always sat upside down with his feet in the air. He ate dessert first, and had cake for breakfast. Before long, people called him "the upside down king." Strange things began to happen.
The king learned to bend in places that usually do not bend upon the throne. He became less rigid and more flexible in all his ways. The king learned to look up to everyone who came to see him. He watched the sun, the children, and little people of the realm.
Best of all, he had his ear to the ground in a way no king before him could have imagined. He became a good listener to the needs of the earth and the longings of the people.
Soon the kingdom became a place where rich people lost their power and ground their teeth. They plotted how to get rid of this upside down ruler. But the poor people, blessed throughout the realm, understood that they had seen a glimpse of a new kind of living. They did not all live happily ever after, but they did see a new way.
Jesus Christ is a king, to be sure, but he's an upside-down king. He's a king who embraces lepers, raises up the poor, and cradles children in his arms. He eats, not with noble courtiers and the gentry, but with tax collectors and sinners. And when he dies, he does it on a cross between two thieves.
This is not a king who rules-but he is a king who saves.
Related Illustrations
A couple of weeks ago Paul Burrell, Princess Diana's butler, published that tell-all book. In it, Burrell repeats previous allegations that George Smith, another royal servant, alleges he was raped by yet another royal servant. Smith allegedly made that claim on a tape recorded by Diana, which, as the Brits say, has gone missing. Smith also described an incident involving the same servant with a "senior royal."
More than a week ago Prince Charles' former valet, Michael Fawcett-the guy who squeezed toothpaste onto the prince's toothbrush and who resigned in March over allegations that he'd been selling palace gifts for cash-obtained a court injunction against The Mail on Sunday to block the paper from printing Smith's claims. (Last year an anonymous palace aide denied the rumors generated by the missing Smith tape.)
Last week Sir Michael Peat, Charles' private secretary issued the weirdest statement to emanate from a royal household since King Lear announced he was divvying up Britain among his daughters. The statement denied an allegation (which it didn't describe) that Charles was involved in an "incident" which "did not take place." The speculation, Peat said, "Needs to be brought to an end." Fat chance. Within days, The Mail on Sunday was stirring up the rumors again with a seven-page story peppered with Smith's allegations.
-Newsweek magazine, November 17, 2003 (Newsmakers, p. 85)
* * * * *
There's an ancient story out of Taiwan, about a wise young king who made it his mission to end the practice of human sacrifice. From time immemorial, it had been his people's practice once a year to execute an innocent victim. This, they believed, would placate the gods and insure a good harvest.
The new king outlawed human sacrifice-and for a few years the weather cooperated with his decree. But then, a terrible drought hovered over the land, and the crops began to fail. With each week that went by without rain, more and more of the people demanded a return to the old ways. Finally, the young king saw he had no way out. He had but two choices: rescind his decree banning human sacrifice, or face revolution.
The king informed the dissenters of his decision: he would reinstate the sacrifice.
He told them to go, at dawn the next morning, to a certain large tree in the forest. There they would find their victim, prepared for the executioner's sword. The executioner was to strike fast and true; this way, the harvest would be assured.
The next morning, the delegation followed the king's instructions to the letter. They found their victim tied to the tree, hooded and dressed in a red robe. With relief, they killed him immediately, chopping off his head. As the hood rolled away from the severed head, their joy turned to horror as they saw the sacrifice was none other than the young king himself.
They say human sacrifice stopped that day, on Taiwan. It never came back. Even to this day, I'm told, there are still followers of that young king. They dress in red robes on festival occasions, to honor his memory. They call themselves "People of the Robe."
In much the same way, Jesus Christ has sacrificed himself for us, once and for all.
* * * * *
During the darkest hours of World War II in England, gloom swept over the nation as Nazi bombers delivered nightly devastation to London. The staff of King George VI, fearing for his safety, made secret arrangements to transport the king and his family to Canada, for the duration of the war. Yet George refused to leave his people.
Not long after the king made this decision, a London newspaper reported how the king was inspecting a bombed-out section of the city, following an air raid. An elderly man walked up to the king, as he was picking his way through the rubble, and said: "You, here, in the midst of this. You are indeed a good king."
In a few short weeks we will celebrate Christmas: the feast of the Incarnation. That great day reminds us how Christ our king did not desert us in our darkest hour, either.
* * * * *
Where are his courtiers, and who are his people?
Why does he wear neither scepter nor crown?
Shepherds his courtiers, the poor for his people,
With peace for his scepter, and love for his crown.
-John Rutter, "Christmas Lullaby"
* * * * *
History tells of many good kings; it also tells of a certain number of bad kings. Certainly the most extravagant king was Louis XIV of France. Not only did he loot the nation's treasury to maintain an opulent lifestyle for himself and his court but he also demonstrated a degree of personal selfishness and a disregard for the common people that's virtually unparalleled. Although his reign was an unprecedented period of national prosperity in terms of trade, Louis left such debts to his royal descendants that some historians believe his excesses indirectly caused the French Revolution.
The great palace of Versailles is the model of this sort of arrogance. Constructed by a man who became king at the age of five and who took the sun as his personal symbol, Versailles became a symbol of royal excess. As many as 10,000 people lived there in its heyday. Including its expansive gardens, the palace covers a total of 37,000 acres. To the comparatively simple country chateau he inherited, Louis added 400 new sculptures and 1,400 fountains. Some have estimated that the palace's construction cost approximately the same amount, in today's money, as it would cost to construct an international airport.
Louis was among the most pampered people ever to live on this earth. What a contrast he is to Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed king only in a mocking way, by his executioners!
A Sermon for Thanksgiving
How Do We Address the Thank-You Note?
by George L. Murphy
Psalm 136; Matthew 11:25-30
Christmas is coming, and you know what that means-thank-you notes! You probably remember being urged by parents to write them in the days after Christmas, or maybe you've had to push your children to do it. When you're young, it's hard to think of what to say beyond, "Thank you for the sweater. It is nice." But at least we knew who to thank. It was just the words that were hard.
Americans have a thanks problem that goes deeper than that. We have a Thanksgiving holiday, but it often has little real gratitude: "Thank you for the food. It is nice." Some people have gotten into the habit of calling it "Turkey Day" instead of Thanksgiving, and that may be more accurate. Are we really thankful, or just glad that we've got a lot of stuff? There's a big difference.
Why is there this problem with giving thanks? I can suggest one reason. Unlike that time in our childhood when we knew that it was Aunt Sue and Uncle Bill who had given us the book, people today don't really know who to thank on Thanksgiving. And it's hard to send a sincere thank-you note to "Occupant" or "Whom It May Concern."
"Come on, preacher, you're exaggerating. Of course we know who to give thanks to. God. Just like 'In God we trust' and 'One nation, under God.'" Okay, God-but who is God? In our pluralistic society there's no generally acceptable answer to that question. In our public discourse we say, "God," and pretend that others know what we mean, but they may have an idea of God quite different from ours. So Thanksgiving as a public observance becomes vague and weak, and our thanks become brief and formal.
"At that time Jesus said, 'I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.'" Jesus had no doubts about who he was thanking. It was the LORD-Yahweh, the God of Israel. He was an Israelite, and like all Israelites he prayed the Psalms. And because we pray in Jesus' name, we pray the Psalms as the prayers of Jesus. In Psalm 136 he gives thanks for all God's actions in the world, and it is those actions that identify the God who is thanked. Many people believed there was a God, but Israel, alone of all the nations, knew who God was. Their fundamental thanks, the praise they kept coming back to, was for God's deliverance of them from slavery in Egypt. The psalmist's answer to the question, "Who do you give thanks to?" is: the one "who struck Egypt through their firstborn ... and brought Israel out from among them."
But thanksgiving expands from there to take in all things. The one who got us out of Egypt is the one who created the universe and still sustains it. And there comes that whole rolling recital of the gracious acts of God: "Give thanks to the LORD ... who by understanding made the heavens ... who divided the Red Sea in two ... who led his people through the wilderness ... who struck down ... Sihon ... and Og [those obscure kings whose only claim to fame was that they got in God's way] ... who gave their land as a heritage ... to his servant Israel ... who gives food to all flesh." And with the recital of each thing that God has done, each act which becomes another sign identifying God, Israel exults, "For his steadfast love endures forever."
Jesus gives thanks with Israel, thanks to God who created the earth, parted the sea, led Israel through the desert and gave them the promised land, and stretches out his hand to satisfy the desire of every living thing. But he gives thanks as no one ever had before because he knows God intimately and personally as his father. "No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
Jesus, the Son of God, does make the Father known. He not only tells us about his father but invites us to trust in him as our father. We are welcomed into the community of the Holy Trinity, to know the love of God and to give thanks to this God we now really know.
The knowledge of God comes from God's self-revelation. The problem of knowing who to thank is not to be solved by our getting to work to discover God through our experience or reason. God has "hidden these things from the wise and intelligent" who insist on trying to understand God on their own terms, and has "revealed" the secret of God "to infants." The true knowledge of God is only possible on the basis of faith and is given to those who are trusting enough to see God at work in the rescue of a group of slaves, in a baby lying in a manger and a man hanging on a cross.
God's revelation is not a passive affair, a matter of God simply waiting for people to find him. God acts, and it is the divine actions that identify God for us. What God has done in Jesus Christ, in his life and cross and resurrection, is a work of salvation, a rescue from sin, death, and hopelessness even greater than God's rescue of Israel from Egypt. The letter to the Colossians calls us to give "thanks to the Father, who has enabled [us] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
The thanksgiving of the Christian community centers on God's saving work in Jesus Christ, and especially on "the night when he was betrayed," his cross and resurrection. But then, like the thanks of the Psalm, it expands to include our gratitude for all God's gifts. And so it is the God revealed in and through Jesus Christ whom we thank also at this time. All the things in the traditional lists of blessings that Americans remember on the fourth Thursday of November-families, homes, food, and freedom-are included in the thanks we offer in, with, and because of Jesus Christ.
When we keep that center in view, we can understand a little better how those things are God's gifts. The food on our Thanksgiving tables comes from earth and air, water and sunlight, and all the complex processes taking place in them. It's "all natural," and we don't see God at work in those processes. That's part of the reason that some people don't give thanks. "What's God got to do with it?" they ask. "It's just a result of natural processes."
And it is natural: No miracle puts the turkey in the oven. But the God who is paradoxically hidden in his supreme work on Calvary (for who in the normal way of thinking would ever imagine that it is God who hangs on the cross?) is always at work in the world in hidden ways. "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants."
So it's no surprise that we don't see this God ceaselessly at work in the world, acting through natural processes to give us what we need for life. All the things in the world hide God from our observation even as God works through them. They are, as Martin Luther said, "the masks of God, behind which he wishes to remain concealed and do all things."
We give thanks for all that God has done, from the beginning of creation to its fulfillment. We do that in Jesus Christ, because in him we know who to thank. That continual repetition of the refrain in the one hundred and thirty-sixth Psalm may seem strange when we first encounter it, but it becomes more and more appropriate as we reflect on all that God has done, and is doing, and will do. "For his steadfast love endures forever."
Worship Materials
1. For Christ the King (by Chuck Cammarata):
CALL TO WORSHIP (based on Revelation 1:4-6)
LEADER: Grace and peace to you from the one who was,
PEOPLE: And is,
LEADER: And is to come.
PEOPLE: From Jesus Christ,
LEADER: The faithful witness,
PEOPLE: The firstborn from the dead,
LEADER: And the ruler of the kings of the earth.
PEOPLE: To him who loves us,
LEADER: And has freed us from our sins
PEOPLE: By his blood.
LEADER: And has made us a kingdom of priests
PEOPLE: To serve God.
LEADER: To him be glory,
PEOPLE: And power
LEADER: Forever and ever.
PEOPLE: Amen.
CALL TO WORSHIP (based on the hymn, "He Is Lord")
LEADER: He is Lord,
PEOPLE: He is Lord!
LEADER: He is risen from the dead,
PEOPLE: And he is Lord!
LEADER: Every knee shall bow,
PEOPLE: And every tongue confess
LEADER: That Jesus Christ is Lord!
(Or you might just sing the chorus of this hymn as a Call to Worship.)
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
LEADER: We have no king but Caesar,
PEOPLE: Shouted the people
LEADER: As they called for the execution of Jesus.
PEOPLE: And he was crucified.
LEADER: And still we shout,
PEOPLE: We have no king but money,
LEADER: And Jesus is crucified;
PEOPLE: We have no king but political power,
LEADER: And Jesus is crucified,
PEOPLE: We have no king but our stomachs,
LEADER: We have no king but sex,
PEOPLE: We have no king but our anger,
LEADER: And Jesus is crucified.
PEOPLE: Lord, forgive us,
LEADER: For putting all manner of things before you.
PEOPLE: For we ask it in the name of Jesus Christ,
LEADER: Who was crucified,
PEOPLE: And died,
LEADER: To pay the penalty for such sin,
PEOPLE: And set us free.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
LEADER: From his cross of torture and death Jesus cried out,
PEOPLE: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."
LEADER: Praise God for our forgiveness,
PEOPLE: And let us walk in that forgiveness
LEADER: Now and always,
PEOPLE: Amen.
PASTORAL PRAYER
Let us pray: O God, whose ways and thoughts are higher than ours, remind us this morning that you and you alone are our king. Above all earthly rulers, beyond all worldly authority, your ways are always true and righteous. In these times of confusion and conflict, we lift up to you the leaders of our nation and ask that they have hearts to be obedient to your ways. Whether they know you or not, may they strive for justice for all people of the earth, may they have a passion for protecting the precious gift of your creation, may they have compassion for those whose lives are broken, may they yearn to bring healing and wholeness to the wounded, may they love peace, and may they humbly understand that there is one who is far greater than any king of the earth, and ultimately it is this King of Kings whom we must serve.
HYMNS AND CHORUSES
He Is Lord
King of Heaven, Lord Most High
All Hail the Power of Jesus Name
Crown Him with Many Crowns
Jesus Is King
Our God Reigns
Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above
How Great Thou Art
O Worship the King
Come Let Us Worship and Bow Down
Praise to the Lord the Almighty
(There are more appropriate hymns for this Sunday than can be listed. Just praise God in your singing!)
Amy Grant's "El Shaddai" would be a good chorus for this Sunday.
Ray Boltz has a marvelous song entitled simply, "Reigning," which can be found in Trax form for use by soloists. It reminds us that God still reigns.
2. For Thanksgiving (by Stan Purdum):
CALL TO WORSHIP
LEADER: The Lord is clothed with honor and majesty,
PEOPLE: Wrapped in light as with a garment.
LEADER: He makes the clouds his chariot,
PEOPLE: And rides on the wings of the wind.
LEADER: God set the earth on its foundations,
PEOPLE: So that it shall never be shaken.
LEADER: Let us worship God.
PEOPLE: Let us worship him indeed!
OPENING PRAYER
Almighty God, we gather together to worship you, believing that somehow the assembling of ourselves in joint worship pleases you and helps us grow in our faith individually. Together we praise your name and ask you to make your will known to us. Help us in this service to set aside the things that distract us from listening for your word. Enable the things we say and do in these moments to become channels for your word of truth to come to us. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
God of all blessings, we thank you for the riches of your love that you have showered upon us this year past. And thank you for the richness of your presence that was with us even when we passed through dark valleys and deep troughs. Accept now our thanksgiving and our praise, from our lips and from our hearts. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
HYMNS AND CHORUSES
We Gather Together
Fill My Cup, Lord
He Is Lord
Alleluia
Now Thank We All Our God
How Firm A Foundation
Two Children's Sermons
by Wesley T. Runk
1. Christ The King
John 18:33-37
Text: "Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" (v. 33)
Object: a crown and a map of the world or a globe
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have ever heard of a king? Do you know a king? (let them answer) You know the name of a president, don't you? (let them answer) But you probably don't know the name of any king. We have the Queen of England whose name is Elizabeth, and there is also a king from the land of Jordan. There is a king of Sweden and there are kings in other places. At one time, each country had a king. There was a king in France and one in Italy and another in Russia. Take a look at the map and see all of the countries that there are on the earth. See how the colors change from one place to another. Each time you see the colors change, there is another country. At one time all of those countries had kings.
In our scripture lesson today, the representative of the man the people called the king of Rome asked Jesus if he were the king of the Jews. He meant, was Jesus the new king of Israel. He knew that there already was a king of Israel by the name of Herod, but Pilate wanted to know if he was starting a revolution or a fight to take the kingship away from Herod.
Jesus knew what he was thinking and he also wanted to show Pilate that he was a different kind of king. Jesus was surely the king of something, but it was not of one little country like Israel or France or Russia or the United States of America. Jesus is the king of people and not countries. Jesus is the king of God's kingdom. Jesus does not have armies with guns like Herod and others had. He does not have palaces and places filled with gold. He doesn't wear fancy clothes and have people to wait on him. Jesus is the king of people's minds and their hearts. He is the king of love and joy. He is the king over death and disease. Jesus is the king of the world. Jesus is not the king of one country or one planet, but instead he is the king of the entire universe.
So when you hear about kings - any kings - I hope that you will think of Jesus Christ, the real king who lives forever and rules over everything. That is what Jesus was telling Pilate that day, and the message remains for everyone who wants to ask. Jesus is not just the king of a country, one country, but all countries and all worlds.
* * * * *
2. Thanksgiving
"The most valuable thing"
Matthew 6:25-33
Text: "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (v. 26)
Object: "Price Is Right" game (select 3 products and display them; have actual money value written on cards to show after children have guessed which is the price of each one)
Happy Thanksgiving, boys and girls! Isn't Thanksgiving a wonderful time to thank God for all of the good things he has done for us and to ask for his continued blessings.
What do you like best about Thanksgiving? (let them answer) Good food, visiting our family, taking long walks to see the color changes of the trees, and coming to church. All of those are good things about the holiday.
I brought with me a little game today. I have three different things and I want you to tell me which one cost the most money. I have a big bag of candy, a brand new toy, and a ticket to see a movie. How much do you think the big bag of candy cost? (let them answer and write down the prices they give you) How much do you think the new toy would cost if you bought it in a store? (let them answer and write down these answers also) And how much do you think this ticket for the movie cost? (repeat the same thing; see if you can get a consensus on which one cost the most) This (name the item) is the most expensive according to the people here today. Let me show you how much I spent for each item. (show them the prices) You thought that this one had the greatest value, this one had the second greatest value, and this one the least value. But the stores say this is the most valuable according to the amount of money it cost.
Do you know what God thinks is the most valuable thing on earth? (let them answer) Would it be a big car? Would it be a big diamond? Would it be a beautiful mansion? (let them answer) If God had to pick the most valuable thing on the earth, what would he choose? (let them answer)
Jesus says the most valuable thing on earth is people. God thinks you are the most important thing in the whole world. You are more valuable than a jet plane, or an ocean full of fish, or even all of the gold in Fort Knox.
You are real value. You are more valuable than birds or animals or things. God loves you with all of his feelings. So God doesn't want you to worry about things. He doesn't want you to worry about having beautiful clothes, big houses, or steak dinners. Don't worry about those things. Instead thank God that he loves you, and God says he will take care of you for all of the days of your life.
That's a great promise. Love God first and God will take care of you forever.
What is God's most precious thing on earth? It is people, people like you and me. Be sure to thank God for loving us and caring for us today and forevermore.
The Immediate Word, November 23, 2003, issue.
Copyright 2003 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
The week of November 23 this year has at least two significances for most of our parishioners: it is the conclusion of the church year with Christ the King Sunday and also (in the United States) it includes Thanksgiving Day. We include materials in this issue of The Immediate Word for both observances.
In our lead article Carter Shelley alludes to contemporary scandals in the British royal family as well as popular attitudes on monarchy on the part of North Americans and Europeans today. She compares these with Old Testament conceptions of kingship in the First Reading of the lectionary, with the idea of Jesus as king in the Gospel lection, and with the actual power of European monarchs of the past who claimed and, at times, exercised "divine right." Team comments, illustrations, worship materials, and a children's sermon relate to the theme of kingship as well.
On the other theme, George L. Murphy offers a homily and Wes Runk a children's sermon on Thanksgiving.
Is It Good to Be King?
by Carter Shelley
2 Samuel 23:1-7; John 18:33-37
There's a popular series of Mary Englebreit birthday cards that feature a young girl or boy holding a scepter, wearing a crown, and wrapped in an ermine-lined robe or blanket (see the website http://www.treasure-house.com/page/engine/0013.9.8614681432315331258/Mary_Engelbreit/Greeting_Cards/page8.html for visual examples). These cards say things like, "On your birthday, it's good to be Queen." The message, of course, means that on one's birthday one should allow oneself the opportunity to be pampered, attended to, and make important decisions about the kind of celebrations that shall ensue on one's special day. Such a concept owes its appeal in part to the fact that most of us do not receive that kind of attention and care on a day-to-day basis.
In the twenty-first century, Hallmark-world in which we live, being king or queen for a day carries none of the presumptive power, awe, or threat that it did for Elizabethan subjects or the conquered children of Israel, who found themselves time and time again under the harsh rule of foreign pharaohs, kings, and Caesars.1
The one bright ray of hope for God's chosen people came to them through King David and his line of successors. As the Lord's anointed, these kings received God's blessing and God's law, making it possible for them to rule with justice and mercy if only they would. Because so few of David's offspring and usurpers managed to combine piety with policy, the days of Israel's independence and glory were all too few. From that void came the human appeals to the divine anointer of kings. The former sought a charismatic warrior king like David while the latter sent a king whose kingship was outside the realm of comprehension of both Pontius Pilate and first-century Jews.
"My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here" (John 18:36).
"Say what?" Pilate might have replied, demonstrating that he cannot grasp the concept of a king or emperor who doesn't intend to conquer and rule the world. For that's the job of kings, after all-to conquer, control, and profit from both by means of power, riches, and the fear they instill in lesser mortals souls. But we know that the Pilate of the Gospels has a philosophical bent. While Pilate can't conceive of a king who doesn't fit the earthly model, Pilate is partially able to follow Jesus from the earthly sphere to the ethereal with the question, "What is truth?"
For this Sunday, November 23, our last before the beginning of the season of Advent, The Immediate Word calls us to consider what Christ the King Sunday signifies. How does Jesus' kingship resemble and differ from that of royal rulers past and present? What does the claim of the divine right of kings made by James I2 become when the One who comes is the Prince of Peace, Lord of Lords, and King of Kings? Is it good to be king in the earthly sense? Is it better to serve a king whose kingship is not of this world, yet offers to govern every aspect of our lives through divine authority? These questions plus the liturgical origins of Christ the King Sunday3 will be examined in this week's entry.
Considering the Biblical Material
In approaching the biblical and historical notion of kings and the question, "Is it good to be king?" I suggest a movement from events in the news in November 2003 backward through history to consider the role of European monarchs and then the role of Israel's kings. The sermon's center point might then be a look at the biblical beginnings, where the loosely federated tribes of Israel demand of the prophet Samuel a king like their neighboring countries have. From that point one can then move forward, exploring the theological significance of kingship and the accompanying obligations to God and the king's subjects that such divine anointing entailed. From the human failure to fulfill God's righteous expectations one may then examine the contrast between Jesus' kingship and that of earthly rulers. Since there are few kings in 2003 who hold absolute power, the link between the lives of the congregation may require a look at the ways we fail to offer obeisance to God's anointed Son and the righteous and just kingdom Christ would have us help establish on earth and how far short of that goal we remain due to our own Pilate-like tendencies to be literal-minded and players in this world as it exists and not as it could be.
Is It Good to Be King?
Kings are a concept most of us know a lot about. From our elementary, middle, and high school social studies and history classes, we have learned there have been lots of kings ruling lots of countries throughout the centuries. We know that kings have to be strong and sometimes brutal to hang on to the reins of power. We know that becoming a king usually takes place through being born the child of a king. We know that wars and rebellions often lead to the usurpation of one king by someone else who may then be declared king. We know that there was a time when kings could do pretty much whatever they liked without danger of rebuke or opposition. King Henry VIII married, then either divorced or executed four of his six wives and had mistresses on the side. We know from our own proud history that many of the first settlers of the American colonies came to America for a fresh start and a free hand 3000 miles beyond the reach of their English monarchs. We also know that part of what makes our nation great and democratic today was the decisions in 1776 to win our independence from England and the king and in 1783 to establish a governmental system that did not include a king at its head. We also know that Louis XIV of France proved so inept and out of touch with the miserable life of the people of France that they rebelled against him and he was guillotined.
Fairy tales often tell the tale of a handsome prince who seeks and finds his bride among the common people: Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. Yet, isn't it interesting that these tales stop short of the prince becoming king? The notion of princes presents them as handsome, romantic, and lovesick. The story ends with marriage not coronation. Being a king surfaces a person's bad traits as well as their good, traits such as hunger for power, greed, paranoia, conspicuous consumption, bad decision and policy-making, warmongering, etc.
As sole monarch of England in the sixteenth century, Henry VIII's power, military might, luxurious life, and unquestioned obedience offered proof that it's good to be king. Henry VIII of England also offered proof positive that it's better to be king than to marry one, as he divorced two of his wives, had two more beheaded, and lost a fifth to childbirth. If you are the Lord's anointed, being king is more of a challenge. Even King David in his heyday was not a total success as a king or a father. He certainly was not someone for the rest of us to envy.
The biblical notion of the king as God's anointed is a familiar one. We know that the Hebrew slaves God liberated from Egypt were led initially by Moses, God's appointed leader. After Moses came Joshua, and after Joshua the twelve tribes of Jacob were loosely connected through the governance and military guidance of judges. It was because the people sought to have a king like other countries that the prophet Samuel reluctantly anointed Saul Israel's first king. Samuel's reservations included distress that Yahweh, the true king and liberator of Israel, wasn't good enough. The people wanted an earthly king to lead them into battle and organize them as a nation. Ironically, these people brought into existence by God's call to Abraham, Moses, the judges, and the prophets wanted what their neighbors had. Uniquely called by a divine monarch, the people wanted-a human king. One might even view it as an early example of peer pressure writ large. Samuel warns the people that earthly kings do not always serve the best interests of their subjects, yet the people are adamant.
When the idea of kingship becomes a reality in Israel's history, its kings, more often than not mirror the kings of other countries who know not the name of Yahweh. With the exception of David and Josiah, the history of the kings of Israel and Judah is one of military upheaval, jockeying for power, self-interest, corruption, and exploitation of the people. God sends prophet upon prophet to protest the lack of justice and righteousness evident in the actions of these kings and their courts. Over and over again the people are warned that neither their kings nor they themselves are keeping the Sinai covenant God established with their ancestors in the wilderness. Kings don't change. People don't change. War and conquest don't change. From independent nation in the heyday of David's rule to the multiple humiliations suffered as Assyria, Babylon, the Greeks, and the Romans each defeat and control the people and their promised land, the people demonstrate their inability to think in new ways or to envision a kingdom on earth that will be any different from those who oppress them.
Jesus is born into a world in which Herod the Great rules with Rome's approval, taxing the people into poverty and applying an iron fist against his own sons and all comers in order to maintain his power. This Herod was so bad that he's the villain in Matthew's account of the slaughter of the innocents. The Jewish notion of the Lord's anointed continued to mean a military leader and political ruler who would defeat and protect Judah from outsiders, reestablish the glory of David's era on the throne, and establish justice and righteousness for all.
What the people didn't realize was God's ability to grant their request and yet move beyond it (or full circle-Alpha and Omega) by sending a king who fit God's specifications and those of the people in the man Jesus from Nazareth. Jesus represented all those characteristics that the few righteous kings of Israel had provided: devotion to God and justice and compassion towards their earthly subjects. Yet Jesus' kingdom, as he directly and obliquely explains to Pilate, is not of this world. Jesus isn't about conquering Herod Antipas, or Pilate, Rome's representative at that time. Jesus seeks to conquer and reclaim the hearts of his people for their God. Jesus seeks to lead the children of Israel back to the righteousness and justice the Sinai covenant established, and Jesus seeks to lead the children of Israel beyond that covenant of law towards a covenant of love based on forgiveness, grace, and the establishment of God's Lordship and reign on earth as in heaven.
Kings and queens are an anachronism in present-day life. Elizabeth II has great wealth but no political power. Her royal seal on laws passed by Parliament is a courtesy and a tradition left over from the days when the British monarch actually helped formulate policy. She has no political power. In fact, she has no personal power either, in that the kind of respect and reticence the British press used to observe about the personal lives of the royal family no longer apply. Is it possible to imagine any family in the English-speaking world who has had so much of their dirty laundry and sordid conduct trumpeted from the pages of newspapers and glossy magazines as have the lives of England's royalty? Former employees, well-placed photographers, and eager editors have published virtually every secret and scandal that the queen's children and grandchildren have ever committed.
There's little respect for the British royals in America, yet we are fascinated by them. Books about them consistently become best-sellers. Their trips to Canada or the U.S. frequently receive more coverage than diplomatic visits from prime ministers, presidents, and chancellors to Washington to confer with our presidents. Is it because we Americans want the fairy tale but not the reality. In that, are we much different from the twelve tribes of Israel asking Samuel for a king?
They don't want a king who's going to govern them like a martinet. They want a king who will be good to them and for them. A king who will give them nation status before their surrounding neighbors. A king who will protect them from the threat of external invasions and conquest. A king who will be on their side in legal squabbles. A king they can admire and serve because he serves their interests and ambitions for status, security, and certainty. With a king, you know who's in charge. With a king, you know there will be another king after this one dies. With a king, other nations have to take you seriously. While with a God, they can always point to their own gods, and laugh at you for putting your land and your trust in something so ethereal and ephemeral as an invisible deity. They want a fairy-tale king, not the real thing.
We too like the fairy-tale king. More Americans watched the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana than watched the inaugural address of any recent president. More Americans know the names of the two princes William and Harry than know the names of the governor of their own state. More Americans can tell you when and how Princess Diana died than can tell you the meaning of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Why did they and do we like the fairy-tale ruler? Is it that we don't want to take responsibility for ourselves? With a king (or a president some of us didn't vote for) we can pass the buck. We like the glamour. We like the comparisons. What we don't like is living with the responsibility, the uncertainty, and the potential trials and tribulations that following the Lord's anointed implies.
The Old Testament concept of the king as the Lord's anointed leader for Israel holds a crucial place in biblical theology. The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible article on the Hebrew concept of Messiah may offer a helpful starting point for discussing the divine-human relationship thus established. The Messiah is the one chosen and anointed by God to rule as God's regent on earth. The vital nature of this link between God and Israel's kings is emphasized in 2 Samuel 23:1-7.
As the second of two oracles presented as King David's final words, 2 Samuel 23:1-7 reaffirms God's commitment to the Kings of Israel and reiterates the means by which the Lord's anointed rulers may rule justly and with righteousness. Fear God, serve as God's earthly representative (and not one's own), and obey God's laws. That's what's required of the one God anoints to be king. These theologically central words attributed to David emphasize that even at the end of his life David hears and receives the word of God. More significantly, despite all the violence that has taken place since David's adultery with Bathsheba, especially the violence between David and his sons, God continues to support and bless the Davidic line. Even though David himself could not fulfill all that kingship required of him, the ideal remains there for future kings of Israel to embody. The king's primary function is not to be served but to serve. He has not been chosen for privilege but for justice. The shepherd metaphor applies. A good king, like a good shepherd, puts the welfare and safety of his sheep before his own comforts or life. In this standard, God remains consistent throughout the centuries. As biblical history recounts, the majority of David's dynastic heirs fail miserably to fulfill their royal charge.
By the time a new king appears, a servant king, a man anointed by God to be Messiah as the Christ, there are few humans alive who can accurately make the connection between the Old Testament concept of anointed kings and the Gospel presentation of an incarnate Savior.
In John's Gospel, the presentation of Pontius Pilate, the Roman Procurator, matches the historical accounts of Pilate as a man scornful of Jews, who cares about order and expediency in keeping the peace. This Pilate is not the thoughtful philosopher the Synoptic Gospels create. Moreover, in the exchange that takes place between Jesus and Pilate in John 18:33-37, Jesus might as well be discussing quantum theory-so little does Jesus' meaning sink into Pilate's thick head. They are talking at cross purposes and with totally different meanings. Jesus' kingship has nothing to do with earthly power or military force. Christian readers would understand that Jesus' "kingdom is not of this world." They would also have understood that Pilate's inability to grasp Jesus' true meaning helps align Pilate with the obtuse Jewish leaders who don't understand Jesus' new brand of Messiahship and are calling for Jesus' blood and death. Jesus' statement that he comes to witness to the truth means nothing to Pilate; for the faithful Christian, however, it is obvious that Jesus is himself, the way, the truth, and the life.
More than 1000 years separate the kingship of David from the kingship of Jesus, yet the understanding of kingship remains entrenched in the belief that kings are political and military leaders. In the incarnation, God transforms not only the role a king will take on but also the place where that king will ultimately rule: in the hearts and minds of believers.
Notes
1. Our modern-day notion of kings and queens comes to us through fairy tales of handsome princes and their love for Snow White, Cinderella, or Sleeping Beauty. And yet we seem to have a never-ending fascination with every ugly detail revealed about the private lives of the House of Windsor, the most recent being the rumors and innuendoes heaped upon Prince Charles and various former employees. Is it good to be king? In the world of the brothers Grimm, it seems to be. Is it good to be king? Sometimes it is for modern-day monarchs who may inherit wealth and status but rarely rule over anything more than the palace staff.
2. King James I, on the divine right of kings:
The idea of the Divine Right of Kings evolved in Europe during the Middle Ages. The theory claimed that kings were answerable only to God and it was therefore sinful for their subjects to resist them.
James I upheld the doctrine in his speeches and writings. This theory was supported by his son Charles I and his chief advisor, William Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Laud argued that the king had been appointed by God and people who disagreed with him were bad Christians.
- www.spartacus.choolnet.co.uk/STUdivine.htm
"The state of monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth; for kings are not only God's lieutenants upon earth and sit upon God's throne, but even by God himself are called gods. There be three principal similitudes that illustrate the state of monarchy: one taken out of the word of God; and the two other out of the grounds of policy and philosophy. In the Scriptures kings are called gods, and so their power after a certain relation compared to the divine power. Kings are also compared to fathers of families: for a king is truly Parens patriae, the politique father of his people. And lastly, kings are compared to the head of this microcosm of the body of man.
"Kings are justly called gods, for that they exercise a manner or resemblance of divine power upon earth: for if you will consider the attributes to God, you shall see how they agree in the person of a king. God hath power to create or destroy, make or unmake at his pleasure, to give life or send death, to judge all and to be judged nor accountable to none; to raise low things and to make high things low at his pleasure, and to God are both souls and body due. And the like power have kings: they make and unmake their subjects, they have power of raising and casting down, of life and of death, judges over all their subjects and in all causes and yet accountable to none but God only....
"I conclude then this point touching the power of kings with this axiom of divinity, that as to dispute what God may do is blasphemy ... so is it sedition in subjects to dispute what a king may do in the height of his power. But just kings will ever be willing to declare what they will do, if they will not incur the curse of God. I will not be content that my power be disputed upon; but I shall ever be willing to make the reason appear of all my doings, and rule my actions according to my laws ... I would wish you to be careful to avoid three things in the matter of grievances:
"First, that you do not meddle with the main points of government; that is my craft ... to meddle with that were to lesson me ... I must not be taught my office.
"Secondly, I would not have you meddle with such ancient rights of mine as I have received from my predecessors ... All novelties are dangerous as well in a politic as in a natural body. And therefore I would be loath to be quarreled in my ancient rights and possessions, for that were to judge me unworthy of that which my predecessors had and left me.
"And lastly, I pray you beware to exhibit for grievance anything that is established by a settled law, and whereunto ... you know I will never give a plausible answer; for it is an undutiful part in subjects to press their king, wherein they know beforehand he will refuse them."
-King James I, Works (1609); www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/workbook/ralprs/20.htm;
3. The feast of Christ the King was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 in response to the rise of totalitarianism. Msgr. Hellriegal wrote this hymn following his personal experience and those of his German immigrant parishioners with the Nazi party. While those regimes have passed into history, today these words are as urgent and powerful as ever in our world of political unrest.
Thy reign extend, O King benign,
To every land and nation;
For in thy kingdom, Lord divine,
Alone we find salvation.
To Jesus Christ our Sovereign King
Who is the world's salvation,
All praise and homage do we bring
And thanks and adoration
-Christ the King Sunday http://liturgy.slu.edu/ChristKingB112302/music.html
Team Comments
George Murphy responds:
I don't think that Deuteronomy 17:14-20 is included in the lectionary for any Sunday or Festival, but it should be. In fact, it wouldn't be a bad choice as the First Lesson for Christ the King Sunday. "When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you ... and you say, 'I will set a king over me,'" it begins. This passage is the law for the king, telling rulers how they should rule. The King is to study the law of Moses regularly. He is not to acquire great wealth or exalt himself over other members of the community.
Whether actually written in the time of Moses or much later, after Israel's experience of despotic monarchs, it's clear that this text is speaking about the way a king is supposed to be, not describing the way most of the rulers of Judah and Israel actually were. It is unfortunate that the Jewish and Christian traditions, and later societies influenced by them, often saw Solomon as a kind of model of a king. His supposed splendor, wealth, and power were the things to be imitated.
In fact, it doesn't take much reading between the lines in 1 Kings to see that Solomon was a typical oriental despot who tried to break down the tribal system of Israel and whose policies impoverished the nation. He ended his life as a crass idolater. Solomon's rule was so oppressive that soon after his death the northern tribes of Israel threw off the yoke of his son, who wanted to emulate his father's overbearing style of kingship but apparently didn't have any of his intelligence.
Psalm 72 would be another good choice for Christ the King. Its superscription (which is not part of the Psalm's text) says that it is a Psalm "of" or "for" Solomon, and it's too bad that Solomon wasn't a king like this. It speaks of the king's wealth and power, but-especially in verses 12-14-emphasizes his rule for the poor and needy, rescuing them from oppression. It is a description of the ideal king, and it was quite appropriate for Isaac Watts to paraphrase it in his hymn "Jesus Shall Reign Where'er the Sun."
If Christ is indeed the king, then all other rulers (and we shouldn't limit ourselves to kings and queens in the strict sense) are at best images or representations of the true King. And this doesn't just mean that they don't have his power or splendor. Christ is the King who is "among you as one who serves." It is Pilate's mocking sign on the cross that proclaims him "King of the Jews." Ceremonies in which European royalty have washed the feet of beggars in imitation of Jesus' action on Maundy Thursday give only a hint of this kind of kingship.
Of course. the idea of "the divine right of kings" maintained by the Stuart monarchs and other kings is nonsense. There is "divine right" in any civil government only to the extent that Romans 13:1-7 supports the belief that rulers are supposed to be means through which God maintains order in society, and that can apply to various forms of government. (And even when there have been kings, the practice of primogeniture, the idea that the first-born son must succeed to the throne, hasn't always been followed. If I remember correctly, the old Kings of Wessex-from whom the present monarchs of Great Britain are descended-were elected from among members of the royal family, and Alfred the Great was, in a time of crisis, chosen ahead of sons of the previous king.)
But the past two hundred years and more should have taught us that simply getting rid of "kings" does not eliminate selfish rule and oppression. The beheading of the French king in the name of liberty was followed by terror and Napoleon's wars of conquest, and people with titles like "Leader," "Chairman" and "President for Life" have relegated Solomon's oppressions to minor league status. And while America has avoided those extremes, our "imperial presidencies" have certainly displayed some Solomonic tendencies.
These considerations don't apply just to the person who is number one in government. The Genesis creation stories in different ways picture all human beings as royalty, created to represent God in ruling the world: Viceroys if not kings and queens. "Let them have dominion," God said. But this idea of "dominion" can become a disaster for the world, as Lynn White pointed out in his famous article, "The Historical Roots of our Ecologic Crisis" (Science 155, 1967, p. 1203).
White was correct that the way the biblical tradition has been understood to give humanity a license to exploit the world is at least partly responsible for our environmental problems. But that is because "dominion" has been understood as "domination," a rule like that of Solomon. If we are to represent God in ruling the world, we must look to Christ to see how God actually does rule-and when we do that we see the crucified one, the King who is willing to die for the sake of his people.
And while reflection on kingship can be helpful for the way we understand the responsibilities of those with civil authority and the responsibilities of all humanity, our focus on this Sunday is to be on Christ the King. Our presidents and governors are not going to match the ideal of Psalm 72, and our care for the earth is going to be imperfect. But we are given hope and courage to persevere in these callings by the message that Christ is King, and that through his death and resurrection we are recalled to our proper royal vocation.
Carlos Wilton responds: The tabloid-documented foibles of the House of Windsor notwithstanding, kingship is just not part of our everyday world-and even if it were, the kingship of Jesus is so radically different from any human kingship that it's hard to draw any comparisons.
Some have suggested that, here in America, it makes more sense to talk about heroes than kings. Think, for example, of a movie hero, maybe from an old Western ... a strong, tall and resolute figure like Shane, the gunfighter who comes out of retirement to fight that one last battle for the just and the right. Or maybe, in this post-September 11th world, we'd do better to imagine those New York City firefighters, police officers and rescue workers who courageously gave their lives in service to others. "Christ our hero"-now there's an image our people can relate to.
We'd have to remember, though, the significant difference ... that Jesus not only gave his life for us but also silently submitted to public shame and humiliation-for the cross is no collapsing skyscraper. It is, rather, a dreadful instrument of torture, an instrument designed to kill the soul long before it kills the body. This is what Jesus submitted to for us. This is what Jesus took on in exchange for his kingly crown.
There's a little story, a children's story, that conveys something of this truth. It's called "The Upside-Down King," and-like most good children's stories-it has much to say to grown-ups as well, in its own whimsical way:
In a kingdom where the rich grew richer and the poor grew poorer, the rich king liked it this way.
When he died, a new king came to the throne. He did things in a different way. He always sat upside down with his feet in the air. He ate dessert first, and had cake for breakfast. Before long, people called him "the upside down king." Strange things began to happen.
The king learned to bend in places that usually do not bend upon the throne. He became less rigid and more flexible in all his ways. The king learned to look up to everyone who came to see him. He watched the sun, the children, and little people of the realm.
Best of all, he had his ear to the ground in a way no king before him could have imagined. He became a good listener to the needs of the earth and the longings of the people.
Soon the kingdom became a place where rich people lost their power and ground their teeth. They plotted how to get rid of this upside down ruler. But the poor people, blessed throughout the realm, understood that they had seen a glimpse of a new kind of living. They did not all live happily ever after, but they did see a new way.
Jesus Christ is a king, to be sure, but he's an upside-down king. He's a king who embraces lepers, raises up the poor, and cradles children in his arms. He eats, not with noble courtiers and the gentry, but with tax collectors and sinners. And when he dies, he does it on a cross between two thieves.
This is not a king who rules-but he is a king who saves.
Related Illustrations
A couple of weeks ago Paul Burrell, Princess Diana's butler, published that tell-all book. In it, Burrell repeats previous allegations that George Smith, another royal servant, alleges he was raped by yet another royal servant. Smith allegedly made that claim on a tape recorded by Diana, which, as the Brits say, has gone missing. Smith also described an incident involving the same servant with a "senior royal."
More than a week ago Prince Charles' former valet, Michael Fawcett-the guy who squeezed toothpaste onto the prince's toothbrush and who resigned in March over allegations that he'd been selling palace gifts for cash-obtained a court injunction against The Mail on Sunday to block the paper from printing Smith's claims. (Last year an anonymous palace aide denied the rumors generated by the missing Smith tape.)
Last week Sir Michael Peat, Charles' private secretary issued the weirdest statement to emanate from a royal household since King Lear announced he was divvying up Britain among his daughters. The statement denied an allegation (which it didn't describe) that Charles was involved in an "incident" which "did not take place." The speculation, Peat said, "Needs to be brought to an end." Fat chance. Within days, The Mail on Sunday was stirring up the rumors again with a seven-page story peppered with Smith's allegations.
-Newsweek magazine, November 17, 2003 (Newsmakers, p. 85)
* * * * *
There's an ancient story out of Taiwan, about a wise young king who made it his mission to end the practice of human sacrifice. From time immemorial, it had been his people's practice once a year to execute an innocent victim. This, they believed, would placate the gods and insure a good harvest.
The new king outlawed human sacrifice-and for a few years the weather cooperated with his decree. But then, a terrible drought hovered over the land, and the crops began to fail. With each week that went by without rain, more and more of the people demanded a return to the old ways. Finally, the young king saw he had no way out. He had but two choices: rescind his decree banning human sacrifice, or face revolution.
The king informed the dissenters of his decision: he would reinstate the sacrifice.
He told them to go, at dawn the next morning, to a certain large tree in the forest. There they would find their victim, prepared for the executioner's sword. The executioner was to strike fast and true; this way, the harvest would be assured.
The next morning, the delegation followed the king's instructions to the letter. They found their victim tied to the tree, hooded and dressed in a red robe. With relief, they killed him immediately, chopping off his head. As the hood rolled away from the severed head, their joy turned to horror as they saw the sacrifice was none other than the young king himself.
They say human sacrifice stopped that day, on Taiwan. It never came back. Even to this day, I'm told, there are still followers of that young king. They dress in red robes on festival occasions, to honor his memory. They call themselves "People of the Robe."
In much the same way, Jesus Christ has sacrificed himself for us, once and for all.
* * * * *
During the darkest hours of World War II in England, gloom swept over the nation as Nazi bombers delivered nightly devastation to London. The staff of King George VI, fearing for his safety, made secret arrangements to transport the king and his family to Canada, for the duration of the war. Yet George refused to leave his people.
Not long after the king made this decision, a London newspaper reported how the king was inspecting a bombed-out section of the city, following an air raid. An elderly man walked up to the king, as he was picking his way through the rubble, and said: "You, here, in the midst of this. You are indeed a good king."
In a few short weeks we will celebrate Christmas: the feast of the Incarnation. That great day reminds us how Christ our king did not desert us in our darkest hour, either.
* * * * *
Where are his courtiers, and who are his people?
Why does he wear neither scepter nor crown?
Shepherds his courtiers, the poor for his people,
With peace for his scepter, and love for his crown.
-John Rutter, "Christmas Lullaby"
* * * * *
History tells of many good kings; it also tells of a certain number of bad kings. Certainly the most extravagant king was Louis XIV of France. Not only did he loot the nation's treasury to maintain an opulent lifestyle for himself and his court but he also demonstrated a degree of personal selfishness and a disregard for the common people that's virtually unparalleled. Although his reign was an unprecedented period of national prosperity in terms of trade, Louis left such debts to his royal descendants that some historians believe his excesses indirectly caused the French Revolution.
The great palace of Versailles is the model of this sort of arrogance. Constructed by a man who became king at the age of five and who took the sun as his personal symbol, Versailles became a symbol of royal excess. As many as 10,000 people lived there in its heyday. Including its expansive gardens, the palace covers a total of 37,000 acres. To the comparatively simple country chateau he inherited, Louis added 400 new sculptures and 1,400 fountains. Some have estimated that the palace's construction cost approximately the same amount, in today's money, as it would cost to construct an international airport.
Louis was among the most pampered people ever to live on this earth. What a contrast he is to Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed king only in a mocking way, by his executioners!
A Sermon for Thanksgiving
How Do We Address the Thank-You Note?
by George L. Murphy
Psalm 136; Matthew 11:25-30
Christmas is coming, and you know what that means-thank-you notes! You probably remember being urged by parents to write them in the days after Christmas, or maybe you've had to push your children to do it. When you're young, it's hard to think of what to say beyond, "Thank you for the sweater. It is nice." But at least we knew who to thank. It was just the words that were hard.
Americans have a thanks problem that goes deeper than that. We have a Thanksgiving holiday, but it often has little real gratitude: "Thank you for the food. It is nice." Some people have gotten into the habit of calling it "Turkey Day" instead of Thanksgiving, and that may be more accurate. Are we really thankful, or just glad that we've got a lot of stuff? There's a big difference.
Why is there this problem with giving thanks? I can suggest one reason. Unlike that time in our childhood when we knew that it was Aunt Sue and Uncle Bill who had given us the book, people today don't really know who to thank on Thanksgiving. And it's hard to send a sincere thank-you note to "Occupant" or "Whom It May Concern."
"Come on, preacher, you're exaggerating. Of course we know who to give thanks to. God. Just like 'In God we trust' and 'One nation, under God.'" Okay, God-but who is God? In our pluralistic society there's no generally acceptable answer to that question. In our public discourse we say, "God," and pretend that others know what we mean, but they may have an idea of God quite different from ours. So Thanksgiving as a public observance becomes vague and weak, and our thanks become brief and formal.
"At that time Jesus said, 'I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.'" Jesus had no doubts about who he was thanking. It was the LORD-Yahweh, the God of Israel. He was an Israelite, and like all Israelites he prayed the Psalms. And because we pray in Jesus' name, we pray the Psalms as the prayers of Jesus. In Psalm 136 he gives thanks for all God's actions in the world, and it is those actions that identify the God who is thanked. Many people believed there was a God, but Israel, alone of all the nations, knew who God was. Their fundamental thanks, the praise they kept coming back to, was for God's deliverance of them from slavery in Egypt. The psalmist's answer to the question, "Who do you give thanks to?" is: the one "who struck Egypt through their firstborn ... and brought Israel out from among them."
But thanksgiving expands from there to take in all things. The one who got us out of Egypt is the one who created the universe and still sustains it. And there comes that whole rolling recital of the gracious acts of God: "Give thanks to the LORD ... who by understanding made the heavens ... who divided the Red Sea in two ... who led his people through the wilderness ... who struck down ... Sihon ... and Og [those obscure kings whose only claim to fame was that they got in God's way] ... who gave their land as a heritage ... to his servant Israel ... who gives food to all flesh." And with the recital of each thing that God has done, each act which becomes another sign identifying God, Israel exults, "For his steadfast love endures forever."
Jesus gives thanks with Israel, thanks to God who created the earth, parted the sea, led Israel through the desert and gave them the promised land, and stretches out his hand to satisfy the desire of every living thing. But he gives thanks as no one ever had before because he knows God intimately and personally as his father. "No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
Jesus, the Son of God, does make the Father known. He not only tells us about his father but invites us to trust in him as our father. We are welcomed into the community of the Holy Trinity, to know the love of God and to give thanks to this God we now really know.
The knowledge of God comes from God's self-revelation. The problem of knowing who to thank is not to be solved by our getting to work to discover God through our experience or reason. God has "hidden these things from the wise and intelligent" who insist on trying to understand God on their own terms, and has "revealed" the secret of God "to infants." The true knowledge of God is only possible on the basis of faith and is given to those who are trusting enough to see God at work in the rescue of a group of slaves, in a baby lying in a manger and a man hanging on a cross.
God's revelation is not a passive affair, a matter of God simply waiting for people to find him. God acts, and it is the divine actions that identify God for us. What God has done in Jesus Christ, in his life and cross and resurrection, is a work of salvation, a rescue from sin, death, and hopelessness even greater than God's rescue of Israel from Egypt. The letter to the Colossians calls us to give "thanks to the Father, who has enabled [us] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
The thanksgiving of the Christian community centers on God's saving work in Jesus Christ, and especially on "the night when he was betrayed," his cross and resurrection. But then, like the thanks of the Psalm, it expands to include our gratitude for all God's gifts. And so it is the God revealed in and through Jesus Christ whom we thank also at this time. All the things in the traditional lists of blessings that Americans remember on the fourth Thursday of November-families, homes, food, and freedom-are included in the thanks we offer in, with, and because of Jesus Christ.
When we keep that center in view, we can understand a little better how those things are God's gifts. The food on our Thanksgiving tables comes from earth and air, water and sunlight, and all the complex processes taking place in them. It's "all natural," and we don't see God at work in those processes. That's part of the reason that some people don't give thanks. "What's God got to do with it?" they ask. "It's just a result of natural processes."
And it is natural: No miracle puts the turkey in the oven. But the God who is paradoxically hidden in his supreme work on Calvary (for who in the normal way of thinking would ever imagine that it is God who hangs on the cross?) is always at work in the world in hidden ways. "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants."
So it's no surprise that we don't see this God ceaselessly at work in the world, acting through natural processes to give us what we need for life. All the things in the world hide God from our observation even as God works through them. They are, as Martin Luther said, "the masks of God, behind which he wishes to remain concealed and do all things."
We give thanks for all that God has done, from the beginning of creation to its fulfillment. We do that in Jesus Christ, because in him we know who to thank. That continual repetition of the refrain in the one hundred and thirty-sixth Psalm may seem strange when we first encounter it, but it becomes more and more appropriate as we reflect on all that God has done, and is doing, and will do. "For his steadfast love endures forever."
Worship Materials
1. For Christ the King (by Chuck Cammarata):
CALL TO WORSHIP (based on Revelation 1:4-6)
LEADER: Grace and peace to you from the one who was,
PEOPLE: And is,
LEADER: And is to come.
PEOPLE: From Jesus Christ,
LEADER: The faithful witness,
PEOPLE: The firstborn from the dead,
LEADER: And the ruler of the kings of the earth.
PEOPLE: To him who loves us,
LEADER: And has freed us from our sins
PEOPLE: By his blood.
LEADER: And has made us a kingdom of priests
PEOPLE: To serve God.
LEADER: To him be glory,
PEOPLE: And power
LEADER: Forever and ever.
PEOPLE: Amen.
CALL TO WORSHIP (based on the hymn, "He Is Lord")
LEADER: He is Lord,
PEOPLE: He is Lord!
LEADER: He is risen from the dead,
PEOPLE: And he is Lord!
LEADER: Every knee shall bow,
PEOPLE: And every tongue confess
LEADER: That Jesus Christ is Lord!
(Or you might just sing the chorus of this hymn as a Call to Worship.)
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
LEADER: We have no king but Caesar,
PEOPLE: Shouted the people
LEADER: As they called for the execution of Jesus.
PEOPLE: And he was crucified.
LEADER: And still we shout,
PEOPLE: We have no king but money,
LEADER: And Jesus is crucified;
PEOPLE: We have no king but political power,
LEADER: And Jesus is crucified,
PEOPLE: We have no king but our stomachs,
LEADER: We have no king but sex,
PEOPLE: We have no king but our anger,
LEADER: And Jesus is crucified.
PEOPLE: Lord, forgive us,
LEADER: For putting all manner of things before you.
PEOPLE: For we ask it in the name of Jesus Christ,
LEADER: Who was crucified,
PEOPLE: And died,
LEADER: To pay the penalty for such sin,
PEOPLE: And set us free.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
LEADER: From his cross of torture and death Jesus cried out,
PEOPLE: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."
LEADER: Praise God for our forgiveness,
PEOPLE: And let us walk in that forgiveness
LEADER: Now and always,
PEOPLE: Amen.
PASTORAL PRAYER
Let us pray: O God, whose ways and thoughts are higher than ours, remind us this morning that you and you alone are our king. Above all earthly rulers, beyond all worldly authority, your ways are always true and righteous. In these times of confusion and conflict, we lift up to you the leaders of our nation and ask that they have hearts to be obedient to your ways. Whether they know you or not, may they strive for justice for all people of the earth, may they have a passion for protecting the precious gift of your creation, may they have compassion for those whose lives are broken, may they yearn to bring healing and wholeness to the wounded, may they love peace, and may they humbly understand that there is one who is far greater than any king of the earth, and ultimately it is this King of Kings whom we must serve.
HYMNS AND CHORUSES
He Is Lord
King of Heaven, Lord Most High
All Hail the Power of Jesus Name
Crown Him with Many Crowns
Jesus Is King
Our God Reigns
Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above
How Great Thou Art
O Worship the King
Come Let Us Worship and Bow Down
Praise to the Lord the Almighty
(There are more appropriate hymns for this Sunday than can be listed. Just praise God in your singing!)
Amy Grant's "El Shaddai" would be a good chorus for this Sunday.
Ray Boltz has a marvelous song entitled simply, "Reigning," which can be found in Trax form for use by soloists. It reminds us that God still reigns.
2. For Thanksgiving (by Stan Purdum):
CALL TO WORSHIP
LEADER: The Lord is clothed with honor and majesty,
PEOPLE: Wrapped in light as with a garment.
LEADER: He makes the clouds his chariot,
PEOPLE: And rides on the wings of the wind.
LEADER: God set the earth on its foundations,
PEOPLE: So that it shall never be shaken.
LEADER: Let us worship God.
PEOPLE: Let us worship him indeed!
OPENING PRAYER
Almighty God, we gather together to worship you, believing that somehow the assembling of ourselves in joint worship pleases you and helps us grow in our faith individually. Together we praise your name and ask you to make your will known to us. Help us in this service to set aside the things that distract us from listening for your word. Enable the things we say and do in these moments to become channels for your word of truth to come to us. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
God of all blessings, we thank you for the riches of your love that you have showered upon us this year past. And thank you for the richness of your presence that was with us even when we passed through dark valleys and deep troughs. Accept now our thanksgiving and our praise, from our lips and from our hearts. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
HYMNS AND CHORUSES
We Gather Together
Fill My Cup, Lord
He Is Lord
Alleluia
Now Thank We All Our God
How Firm A Foundation
Two Children's Sermons
by Wesley T. Runk
1. Christ The King
John 18:33-37
Text: "Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" (v. 33)
Object: a crown and a map of the world or a globe
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have ever heard of a king? Do you know a king? (let them answer) You know the name of a president, don't you? (let them answer) But you probably don't know the name of any king. We have the Queen of England whose name is Elizabeth, and there is also a king from the land of Jordan. There is a king of Sweden and there are kings in other places. At one time, each country had a king. There was a king in France and one in Italy and another in Russia. Take a look at the map and see all of the countries that there are on the earth. See how the colors change from one place to another. Each time you see the colors change, there is another country. At one time all of those countries had kings.
In our scripture lesson today, the representative of the man the people called the king of Rome asked Jesus if he were the king of the Jews. He meant, was Jesus the new king of Israel. He knew that there already was a king of Israel by the name of Herod, but Pilate wanted to know if he was starting a revolution or a fight to take the kingship away from Herod.
Jesus knew what he was thinking and he also wanted to show Pilate that he was a different kind of king. Jesus was surely the king of something, but it was not of one little country like Israel or France or Russia or the United States of America. Jesus is the king of people and not countries. Jesus is the king of God's kingdom. Jesus does not have armies with guns like Herod and others had. He does not have palaces and places filled with gold. He doesn't wear fancy clothes and have people to wait on him. Jesus is the king of people's minds and their hearts. He is the king of love and joy. He is the king over death and disease. Jesus is the king of the world. Jesus is not the king of one country or one planet, but instead he is the king of the entire universe.
So when you hear about kings - any kings - I hope that you will think of Jesus Christ, the real king who lives forever and rules over everything. That is what Jesus was telling Pilate that day, and the message remains for everyone who wants to ask. Jesus is not just the king of a country, one country, but all countries and all worlds.
* * * * *
2. Thanksgiving
"The most valuable thing"
Matthew 6:25-33
Text: "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (v. 26)
Object: "Price Is Right" game (select 3 products and display them; have actual money value written on cards to show after children have guessed which is the price of each one)
Happy Thanksgiving, boys and girls! Isn't Thanksgiving a wonderful time to thank God for all of the good things he has done for us and to ask for his continued blessings.
What do you like best about Thanksgiving? (let them answer) Good food, visiting our family, taking long walks to see the color changes of the trees, and coming to church. All of those are good things about the holiday.
I brought with me a little game today. I have three different things and I want you to tell me which one cost the most money. I have a big bag of candy, a brand new toy, and a ticket to see a movie. How much do you think the big bag of candy cost? (let them answer and write down the prices they give you) How much do you think the new toy would cost if you bought it in a store? (let them answer and write down these answers also) And how much do you think this ticket for the movie cost? (repeat the same thing; see if you can get a consensus on which one cost the most) This (name the item) is the most expensive according to the people here today. Let me show you how much I spent for each item. (show them the prices) You thought that this one had the greatest value, this one had the second greatest value, and this one the least value. But the stores say this is the most valuable according to the amount of money it cost.
Do you know what God thinks is the most valuable thing on earth? (let them answer) Would it be a big car? Would it be a big diamond? Would it be a beautiful mansion? (let them answer) If God had to pick the most valuable thing on the earth, what would he choose? (let them answer)
Jesus says the most valuable thing on earth is people. God thinks you are the most important thing in the whole world. You are more valuable than a jet plane, or an ocean full of fish, or even all of the gold in Fort Knox.
You are real value. You are more valuable than birds or animals or things. God loves you with all of his feelings. So God doesn't want you to worry about things. He doesn't want you to worry about having beautiful clothes, big houses, or steak dinners. Don't worry about those things. Instead thank God that he loves you, and God says he will take care of you for all of the days of your life.
That's a great promise. Love God first and God will take care of you forever.
What is God's most precious thing on earth? It is people, people like you and me. Be sure to thank God for loving us and caring for us today and forevermore.
The Immediate Word, November 23, 2003, issue.
Copyright 2003 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
