Rev Andy Braunston
Introduction
The older I get the more I am amazed at how the world changes, almost when we aren’t noticing. Things that I was familiar with as a child aren’t here any more – you can’t get milk bottles in shops any more, the police officers really are young, and countries I grew up hearing about don’t exist any more!
As a school child I read of the Treaty of Versailles which brought the first World War to an end. As part of this Treaty the countries of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia were created; today they are no more. The Czech and Slovak republics divorced a few years ago, quite amicably, and enjoy warm relations; the break up of the myriad countries of the former Yugoslavia resulted in war. I was reminded of this when reading of the diamond wedding celebrations of Her Majesty The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. It was noted that there were lots of members of European Royal families at the service including a Prince of Yugoslavia (a country that doesn’t exist and which, when it did exist hasn’t had a monarchy since the end of the Second World War). Things change.
This mood of the old order of things passing away has also been strong due to the book I am currently reading. It’s a history of the Byzantine Empire. This was a Christian Empire centred on the city we know as Istanbul, but which was known originally as Byzantium and then, more famously, as Constantinople. From here the Eastern Roman Empire continued, in one form or another, for 1,000 years after Rome fell. This eastern Empire protected Europe from Muslim expansion in the middle ages; without it, it is probable that most of Europe would now have a Muslim not a Christian heritage. Yet most of us have only vaguely heard of this great empire. Many of us grew up with the threat of war with what was then called the USSR – the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics – another empire which doesn’t exist now and which most younger folks won’t have heard of.
It is against this context of the changing empires and political orders of the world that the Church offers us the festival of Christ the King where we compare the universal unchanging rule and reign of Jesus Christ with the passing orders of our world.
The Reign of Christ
Jesus came to proclaim the Kingdom of God. He showed us how to live as good citizens of that kingdom, taught about the values of the kingdom and inaugurated it here on earth. Of course Jesus’ claim to be a king got him into lots of trouble. It was treason against Rome to set oneself up as a king and the Jewish people were very sensitive to anyone who might be the long promised Messiah.
We heard from our reading that there were political overtones to Jesus’ execution. The leaders of the people made him out to be a revolutionary to the Roman authorities – the sign “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” is a typical piece of Roman mocking humour.
Yet the Romans, the Jewish leaders, and it seems, the apostles didn’t fully understand what kind of King Jesus was and is. He was not interested in political power. He did not found a dynasty, or create a political entity. Just as well as we have seen the fate of so many empires, kings, countries and states just in our own life times.
Jesus’ kingship is different. It’s beyond what the people of his time could really grasp.
* It’s a kingdom not based on politics or territory. This is strange as every kingdom, every country and state in the world as a geographical definition, and a political complexity in its form of government. The kingdom of God doesn’t exist in any geographical place but across eternity and in the hearts and minds of God’s people. It doesn’t have a political structure but has implications for how we order our common life (politics) and how we inhabit and care for the land.
* Unlike other states and kingdoms it is not based on pomp and circumstance but on the service of others. The hallmarks of the Kingdom of God are not armies or parliaments, monarchs or palaces, but the loving kindness which God shows to us and that we show to others. They include justice, inclusion, equality and sacrificial love.
* The Kingdom of God is not based on what seems wise to humanity, but on God’s reign. The wisdom and politics of our world are based on what seems expedient, useful, and convenient. The urgent is laid aside for the practical. Initiatives are only pursued in our world if there are votes or short term gain in them. Yet God’s wisdom involved the utter shame and degradation of the cross. It’s about a world turned upside down where the first shall be last and the last first.
* The kingdom of God is without boundaries. All are welcome to join this kingdom, you don’t need to pass a Life in the UK test, get a resident’s permit or leave to remain, all are welcome. It’s a kingdom we seek to be a part of whilst living in this realm of Great Britain. Some years ago a gospel singer tried to make this point in his album “Only visiting this planet”. Our true home, our true allegiance is to God, and God’s kingdom. This is not to say that we are not good citizens of the earthly realms we live in, only that we recognise we are members of an eternal Kingdom where God rules with justice, love and grace.
Conclusion
The Kingdom of God is nothing less than God ruling
and reigning in our lives. Our submission to God’s will, our seeking to
order our lives so that God is honoured and obeyed, our finding that our true
happiness and fulfilment is found in living as citizens of the kingdom, showing
love and service to others, and seeking to make God known in our world. All this
we celebrate today as we recognise and affirm that Jesus is our
King.
Amen.
(Andy Braunston)