What exactly is a King?

Welcome to Christ the King Sunday. What exactly does that mean – do we get cake? Should we be celebrating something, a bit prior to Christmas? At the end of each year – this one for the way that Scripture is read – we have such a day – Christ the King Sunday. But given the circumstances pertinent for this year, what exactly is a King?

We have a monarch, King Charles III, but as a King he might not have the full repertoire of actions and responsibilities of the kings of long past. Rich he may be, but powerful? Even his influence is strictly limited, in my opinion.

Jesus was declared to be a King, but only by the others, and often by those who feared him. It might be useful to try to determine what exactly is a King in the minds of those who feared Jesus.

Christ the King Sunday

This day was initiated by Pope Pius the 11th back in 1925. The idea was that Church would be free from the state, that nation would be bound by respect to Christ, and that congregations were reminded that Christ must reign in our hearts, minds, wills, and bodies. But what exactly does that mean? Surely that must depend upon what exactly is a King? And how does that impact us in Church today?

“I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for whores at 3:30 in the morning.”

Tony Campolo : The Kingdom of God Is a Party

Pontius Pilate

Like others in the Hebrew Scriptures, the idea of a King was misunderstood by the likes of Saul, David, the disciples and Pilate. The latter misunderstanding might be seen in the passage from John 18: 33-37.

Pilate: Are you the King of the Jews?

What might Pilate be really asking? Do you have an army? Are you possibly looking to overthrow the Roman rule of this land? Really, you? Recall that Jesus is in a long line of people who did revolt with a sole cause to actually attempt to overthrow the Romans but who failed resulting in the loss of their life – and crucifixion, not just Jesus. Was Pilate threatened do you think?

Jesus: Do you ask this or did someone tell you about me?

Where is the evidence of Pilate coming from? Surely, as a Roman ruler, even a puppet ruler of Caesar, he might have a wealth of people giving him intelligence, but what exactly does he know of Jesus?

Pilate: He immediately claims “I’m not a Jew”, you are here because your own folk dobbed you in. What did you do?

We can all use this reasoning. It’s got nothing to do with me. I know nothing. But he is the ruler, surely he should know what the charges are?

Jesus: My Kingdom is not from here.
Ah, Jesus’ kingdom exists just not from here. This might be a threat to Pilate. This guy has a kingdom; therefore he is a King. An answer to my first question!

Jesus: Otherwise, my followers would be fighting.
So the followers of this ‘king’ are one that do not fight. This is a paradox to any Roman warrior. So we have a self-declared king who has an army that doesn’t fight… Is this Jesus a pacifist or a coward?

Pilate: So you are a King?

Jesus: You say I am a King; whoever belongs to the truth listens to my voice.

OK what is truth? Pilate is very confused. He believes that truth is an academic response. It is either right or wrong, Roman or otherwise.

Our response

We can be like this, can’t we? We have our established truths which when confronted we fight against. When people declare that they can change sex, we might oppose that as we have never experienced such a desire. It doesn’t make sense to us. When people claim benefits as an asylum seeker, we might challenge this as we have had a difficult ride financially so why should someone else jump the queue? Are we in fact in any queue ourselves?

We hear the news of the fighting between Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Hamas, and we might wish to take sides. But are we like Pilate, not having the full understanding of the history, the culture of the region, and the motives of their political leaders? Why did Hamas attack Israel? Why did the Israeli leader take war to Gaza and the Golan Heights, when the country was economically and judicially in tatters?

All of these groups have leaders. How exactly might we describe them? Powerful, aggressive, an alpha-male? Did Pilate see Jesus through this lens?

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What does Jesus as a King mean to us today?

It was in the 12th C that a scholar called Anselm described God as a King whose people tilled the land. It represented the feudal system which everyone could relate to at that time. Anselm suggested that if the people caused the King to have an issue, they should pay a fine to the King. But this King was so powerful, so majestic what fine would be appropriate, other than your own life? God’s son was deemed an appropriate equivalent payment for all people. And the rest is history.

The King is seen to be all powerful, and from our Hebrew Scriptures, one of valour for the many battles that God has fought, and won. He’s a keeper.

Jesus, in the picture that the Gospel according to John describes, is one that does not fight, has followers who have dispersed in the evening – in the Garden of Gethsemane. But those listeners followed his teachings, that of forgiving people, turning the other cheek etc.

Pilate didn’t know to ask “Have you or have you not come to proclaim release to the captives and freedom to the oppressed?”  or whisper in Jesus’ ear “if we kill you, are you just going to rise from the dead 3 days from now and change the course of history?” So instead, he asks if Jesus fancies himself a political leader who might threaten Rome with a violent revolt.  I think this is called a leading question.

Jesus is totally a threat.  There’s no intention of overthrowing the government in any way.  The threat is not to Pilate’s power – as Jesus had no intention to use the power that Pilate possessed.  Jesus is a threat to violence itself and to all of the ways we use today to put people on a ranking system.

Jesus is like: “do your worse…your violence does nothing but show how weak you really are.”

Nadia Bolz-Weber

When Jesus said “the first shall be last and the last shall be first” was he suggesting that the weakest would suddenly become muscular, all powerful. Perhaps when we try to dominate, win that argument it will never bring us the life we seek.

Jesus as King is about what powers us, not our power.
Jesus as King is about what gets us motivated, not driven by the winds of society.
It comes from the heart, mind and soul.

Tony Campolo tells a story about a time when he was visiting a city in the US. He was thrown by the time difference so he was awake in the early hours. He went for a walk. Just outside the hotel was a cafe. He popped in for a coffee. There he met a woman who sat disconsolate looking at her near empty coffee. In the ensuing conversation he found out that she was a lady of the night, she had few real friends, her life was worthless, and tomorrow she was yet another year older. She soon left. Tony went to the owner and asked if she was a regular at the cafe. “Yes” came the response. “Can we get a birthday cake for her and some of her friends here tomorrow morning?” “I’ll try” said the owner. That next morning, at 3:30am, the lady called again. She slumped into her chair and watched the steam rising from her coffee. The owner came towards her with a birthday cake, a group of her friends came in and they sang Happy Birthday. Seeing the lady bowled over by the response from others, the cafe owner asked Tony what type of church did he go to?

“I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for whores at 3:30 in the morning.”

Tony Campolo : The Kingdom of God Is a Party

What power did Tony Campolo or the cafe owner possess? What impact did they make to the one who had exactly no power?

Being a King like Jesus isn’t about power, like our normal Kings. It is not about regime change, hostile takeovers, aggressive divorce proceedings, making a name for yourself in academia by tearing down the work of another scholar, gossiping about others in order to feel superior. There are so many ways to dominate another person. Has retribution ever managed to eliminate the shame of having been hurt, or the shame of having been betrayed?

Let’s not think on this day that Jesus is like any Earthly King. Jesus usurps our notion of monarchy, and we are called to follow like Jesus. Can we?

When we say the Lord’s Prayer, let us think of each subversive line, but especially “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Is that we are seeking as well?

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A poem by Malcom Guite

Our King is calling from the hungry furrows
Whilst we are cruising through the aisles of plenty,
Our hoardings screen us from the man of sorrows,
Our soundtracks drown his murmur: ‘I am thirsty’.

He stands in line to sign in as a stranger
And seek a welcome from the world he made,
We see him only as a threat, a danger,
He asks for clothes, we strip-search him instead.

And if he should fall sick then we take care
That he does not infect our private health,
We lock him in the prisons of our fear
Lest he unlock the prison of our wealth.

But still on Sunday we shall stand and sing
The praises of our hidden Lord and King.