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Tag Archives: Christ the King
Christ the King (or, the king is not the thing)
One of my favourite biblical reflections on kingship and humanity is Jotham’s parable from the book of Judges:
The trees decided to anoint themselves a king. First, they asked the olive tree: Come be our king! But the olive tree did not want to give up its vocation to produce oil for anointing, to honour and to heal, in order to govern other trees. So they asked the fig tree. But it would not give up its vocation to feed people and animals, birds, and all with its sweet goodness, so it declined. So, too, the vine, when asked, said why would I give up wine-making in order to govern other trees? Finally, they asked the bramble. The bramble, said, if you can find shelter under me, fine, go ahead; but if you are pricked by my thorns and shut out or caught up in my briars, it will be the worse for you. Continue reading
Posted in holy days, homily, lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged Christ the King, Jesus, John 18:33-37, Judges 9:7-15, neo-nazis, parable of the trees, Pilate
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Christ the King
The Son of Man, the king of kings, summons the nations of the world and mirrors back to them the ways that they have treated the image of God in their own people and in one another’s people; in all people made in the image of God. I find it striking that the question both groups ask, sheep and goats, is, When did we see you? Continue reading
Christ, the king we need
At the end, as at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus was subjected to the taunts and contempt of the tempter. The voices that surrounded him invited him to abdicate his position as one of us, Emmanuel, God with us; … Continue reading
Posted in holy days, lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged Christ the King, kindness, way of the cross
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A crown of thorns
They twisted together a crown with which to anoint his brow. They thought to make a mockery,but had the pliant green twigs not yielded of their own accord, their obeisance and homage to their king, then their hands would have held only dust rubbed into the … Continue reading
Posted in holy days, lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer, sermon preparation
Tagged Christ the King, crown of thorns
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Christ, the King, the way, the truth, the life
Standing before Pilate, Jesus conjures a vision of a kingdom in which the truth is not decided by the preferences of the powerful, nor is justice exacted by violence, nor does the law of the nations have the last word over it. The kingdom that Jesus brings is one in which the love of God stands resolute before the principalities that would lord it over him, and undermines them by refusing to accept the finality of their penalty of death. Continue reading
Posted in holy days, sermon
Tagged apocalypse, Christ the King, Daniel, Kyle Rittenhouse, Pilate, racism, Revelation, what is truth?
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The Shepherd King
The judgement that Jesus describes is the judgement that the prophet Ezekiel promises to the sheep of God’s hand. “I will feed them with justice,” says the Lord.
And what is the justice with which they are fed? Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, sermon, story
Tagged Christ the King, Ezekiel 34:11-24, God, judgement, justice, Matthew 25:31-46, mercy, mission, shepherd
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Stealing a blessing
Christ the King Sunday arrives with less pomp and circumstance than ambiguous authority; a compromised crown; the scandal of the crucifixion. Yet there is a promise to be heard: not only that we, like the thief on the cross whose … Continue reading
Posted in blessings, holy days, lectionary reflection
Tagged Christ the King, crucifixion, Incarnation, Luke 23:39-43, paradise
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My kingdom is not of this world
A pre-Advent poem for Christ the King The flag I did not come with fire and flood, but with tender fingertips, in flesh and squalling hunger biting through your resignation, splitting hearts and breaking glory down into its humblest parts, … Continue reading
Sermon for Christ the King 2013
The gospel of Luke, which we have been reading since last Advent; the gospel of Luke, from its beginning to its end, is about a revolution, the quiet revolution of the Magnificat, the secret story of a young woman who … Continue reading
Posted in sermon
Tagged Advent, Christ the King, crucifixion, gospel of Luke, Magnificat, paradise, revolution, rudolf bultmann, Year C Proper 29
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Christ the King Sunday
When Israel first asked for a king, they went to the prophet Samuel and said, “give us a king to govern us like all the other nations have,” and Samuel was angry and had words with God, and God said, … Continue reading
Posted in sermon
Tagged baptismal covenant, Christ the King, Israel, John 18:33-37, kings, Pilate, Revelation 1, Samuel
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over the water 