Sermon – We Need a King
2 Samuel 23:1-7; John 18: 33-37
Farmville Presbyterian Church
11/24/24
It has been quite a year. Yes, the calendar year is still going, but the church year draws to a close today and begins, again, next week with Advent. Over the course of the church year, we have shared in mission, ministry, and outreach. We had our connections with Madeline’s House renewed, continued supporting our local mission partners like FACES and the Free Clinic. We shared in another successful Operation Christmas Child which is clear by wall of boxes here. We grew in our Heart of VA presence as we try to connect with more and more people, even in such a simple and beautiful way as free water. Our special services are growing with our community Lenten service and luncheon returning. Even though we are on our third organist and music director in one year, we maintain our commitment to the best music that we can offer. Our online sharing grows and holds a solid connection with sisters and brothers all over the world. We have also grown our fellowship with coffee in the hall which is next Sunday, and we continue to share in Sunday school and now Bible study on a weekly basis. We hosted our first college intern, and out of that, we created a walking ministry that continues to this day. We are a home for a number of community groups, and a special meeting space for others in the blessing of hospitality. Our support of Narcotics Anonymous has helped that group to grow too big for their regular room, and a second group is beginning for women. There is a great deal of good going on which I hope you see, as well. I give thanks to God for all of this because it is only possible because Christ is King.
If the world were really and entirely up to us, we would be far worse than we are. If the world were completely up to us and our goofy notions, we would have very little to show for ourselves right now. The world has had quite a year, also. Imagine what it would look like without Christ the King sharing in the care of the world through us all. It is staggering to me to consider how many hands and hearts give and do and bless and share across this community and every community where the body of Christ exists (which is every community, by the way). Even in communities where the presence of our Lord is less recognized and less celebrated, Jesus is still there because Christ the King is unbound, eternal, and Lord of all. He is not Lord of some people or some places. He is King and Lord now, and his reign is always coming, always unfolding until it is fully realized one day. We live in a strange world of “now, and not yet” with Jesus. This is reflected in the readings from today.
David feels pretty confident in what he prophecies with his oracle, but there are also notes of uncertainty. One example is the fact that he gives this at all. He is telling God that the promise God made is still on. The entire previous chapter is a defense of how good he has been as the man of God’s choosing. Why would he even have to make this oracle today, if he did not need to reaffirm that the promise is still on? He needs to be reassured that God’s heart is still with him and that his throne will continue. These are his closing thoughts. What he did not know and could not have seen was just how his throne would be established. Not only were pretty much all of his following family failures as kings, David might have scratched his head over greatest descendant being dragged in front of the ruling powers as a common criminal – maybe even worse than a common criminal because his crime was treason against Rome. Pilate was entirely comfortable crushing anyone who threatened his power and Roman control. The peace of the status quo made some people rich, like the Jewish and Roman leaders, but Jesus was rocking the boat. Pilate needed to find out what was going on.
Notice that nothing Jesus says is actually a threat to Pilate. Jesus’ Kingdom was not of this world. His followers were not threatening violence. The only people who were upset by Jesus were the Jewish religious leaders, but they wanted Rome to do their dirty work. Pilate is in a tricky situation. To appease the Jewish side, he decided to throw them a bone. Jesus meant nothing to him. He did not care if Jesus lived or died. To help the peace, he would sacrifice Jesus on the altar of injustice and wash his hands. What Pilate did not know was that this was the whole plan for Jesus to receive his throne.
Jesus does not condemn anyone. He did not condemn Pilate or Herod Antipas or the Jewish Sanhedrin or the pharisees or Sadducees or scribes who had hounded him. It would have bene very easy for him to condemn the Roman soldiers who mocked him and tortured him and killed him. What human heart could have withstood all of that and not answer back. Jesus did not respond evil for evil, though. Even if he was justified, he did not curse them or condemn them. In fact, he was not a man of judgment. When asked to condemn a woman caught in adultery, he refused. Do not judge, lest ye be judged – let him who is without sin cast the first stone. We are not so good with judgment and can easily fall into the trap of judgment, even under the guise of faithfulness. You heard some of this recently. People are not our enemy. It is what people do that is the problem in the world. Evil exists when we act on it. Good exists when we act on it. Christ our King is helping on one side. The world tends to head in the other direction. Human beings tend to favor selfishness and gain over sharing and sacrifice. We tend to look at others as things to use rather than as people to love.
But, thanks be to God, that love is at the heart of our being. We are made in the image of God, not the world, not evil or Satan or whatever people want to propose. Even sin does not stand in the face of Christ. He is the God of grace, the King of mercy. It makes me desperately sad when we construct systems of guilt and shame to deal with human brokenness. It makes me sad when we erect walls and throw rocks at people who are different. It does not honor Christ our King when we judge and condemn our neighbor or even a family member who is not living up to our expectations. None of us is truly living up to divine standards, no matter what we want to believe. Even David was not living up to the standards he wanted to believe. He was so good in so many ways and also not so good in others, and God still kept that promise.
Christ the King Sunday was created 100 years ago in the wake of WW1 and rampant secularism and nationalism. Life can be a broken record. This day was created to call out attention to what is most important. We have one King and one King only who is over ALL. Christ Jesus our Lord is bigger than our vain hopes and selfish ambitions. He is bigger than this world and its most impressive or oppressive systems. Rather, this world does not even belong to us but is entrusted to our care. People (any and all) are also not ours to lord over but are given in trust by God. There is one Lord, and it is not me. It is up to us to decide how we will use the trust God has given to us for one another. It is up to us to live up to the responsibility of caring for others as Jesus would have us. Where we fail to seek the welfare of others, God’s people need to respond. Where we fail to protect the vulnerable, God’s people need to respond. Where we fail to honor the humanity of God’s children, God’s people need to respond. Where justice is choked by human brokenness, God’s people need to respond. You and I are called to respond.
The powers of the empire of this world are not fixed by making the king a Christian. That just leads to a religious tyrant. Power and the church have NEVER done well together. Evil empire is changed by resisting the evil. Some of the greatest evils of this world have been overcome by resisting and offering something different. No power on this earth can withstand the love and grace of Jesus. As the Bible promises, one day all powers will come and bow before our true King.
The best sacrifice that anyone of us can make is a willing spirit, an open heart. That is what our King desires – the earnest desire to serve in good, faithful, loving, humble, and kind ways. Jesus already has the power of this world in his hand. He also has us. Here and today, we welcome his embrace.
To God be the glory. Amen.