Christ the King Sunday B 2006

Daniel 7:9-10,13-14

Psalm 93

Revelation 1:4b-8

It’s about power isn’t it? Who has it, who wants it, who looses it?

We know that, us folks living in Iowa. For no sooner have the latest round of local elections passed and we are once again embroiled in national elections with our power as the first caucus state.

Who gets to make the decisions? Who really decides how we live?

We’d like to think that we are responsible, powerful people. We decide where to work, how to spend our time and money. We have our freedoms, living in a democracy.

But really, who calls the shots in our lives? Who pulls the strings? We work to make ends meet, to pay taxes that government has imposed on us, to help pay for a war that many of us disagree with. We are pulled about by family obligations, societal demands, self-imposed expectations.

We live in the kingdom of this world. A place ruled by the rich and powerful out of their own self-interest. A place ruled by force and coercion.

Sure, sometimes we feel like we are in control, that everything is going along according to our plans. But then we hit a bump…we struggle to hold our heads up and stay on the road. Illness, loss, insecurity, the temptation that life could be better with someone else or somewhere else…

When struggles threaten to tear us apart, we are more than happy to let others take control for a while, let others decide for us. Or we are tempted to just throw up our hands in despair and pull the covers back over our heads. At times like that we would welcome a king in our lives. Someone to tell us what to do and when to do it. Someone to make the decisions for us.

Someone to come and rule over our world, with power and might. Someone who will come and smite our enemies. Someone who will defend us from the people that bother us.

The Judeans wanted such a king. One to replace the Romans. They wanted a native king, one who would be on their side. But since the Romans were ruling Israel, they, especially the rulers of the temple, would do their best to get along.

But someday, someday, they would have their own King again.

Pilate wants to know if Jesus is such a king. Hey Jesus, are you the King of the Judeans? Are you planning to overthrow the Romans with force and take my place? That’s what the Judeans that surround me are saying.

Jesus answers in that riddle way of his…”My Kingdom is not from this world.” If my kingdom were from this world my followers would be resorting to violence even as we speak in order to put me on your worldly throne. But my kingdom isn’t like this.

My kingdom is the kingdom of God. Hmm? Does that mean Jesus Kingdom is up in the heavens somewhere? Jesus sitting on a throne at the right hand of God looking down at us, scurrying about as small as ants down here on earth? Waiting for his chance to come and overthrow the kingdoms of this world with a mighty earthquake or thunderclap?

If that is the way God works, what good is God in my life today, my struggles I’m struggling with this morning, the burdens that are weighing me down? What good is a God that is somewhere out there, watching us from a distance?

If we are just waiting for God’s kingdom to come someday, somehow, later on, how does that help us now? Today? This morning?

The truth is, God’s kingdom is already here. Jesus says that even when he was with his disciples. The Kingdom is at hand, it is as close as the nose on your face.

You may not notice, at first, because it doesn’t come with violence or force or loud blaring trumpets.

The kingdom of God doesn’t come with thunderclaps and fanfare. But it has come and it is coming and it will be coming.

The kingdom that Jesus speaks of is not from here, meaning this world. But it doesn’t mean heaven either. IT means that the kingdom Jesus is king of is not like the kingdoms of this earth. It is not forceful or cruel or dependent on force to keep it’s borders clear.

The kingdom of God is more like fog. It is quietly surrounds us, subltly sneaks in, encasing us in love. The kingdom of God is a kingdom of mercy, justice, forgiveness, peace.

It is not forceful in the way of the world, but in the way of Christ.

So if the kingdom of God is already among, if Jesus is already in our midst, if we pray for the kingdom to come even as it is arriving, then our faith makes a difference.

For if the kingdom is in our midst, we are not alone. We are not alone in our struggles, in our temptations, in our despair. For Jesus is with us, the kingdom is here, and here (the heart).

Not to make the bad stuff go away, or to end the illness, or to chase the temptations off….but to give us strength to deal with it, patience to outlast it, courage to face it.

And when we fail, God’s kingdom isn’t about retribution or punishment. God’s kingdom is about mercy and forgiveness. It is a kingdom for losers and sinners and backsliders.

God’s Kingdom is not about who has the most power or the most money or the most political influence. It is about all of us, from the least to the greatest. It is on our side even when we have reached bottom.

Of course, this kind of truth makes people in power uncomfortable, it threatens people who like to make their own truth and lord it over others. It gets Jesus killed, as this truth unveils evil and injustice.

Yet the king continues to reign, despite death, despite the threats of evil; despite this world’s hatred of the truth.

Thy Kingdom come…Lord, thy will be done today, in my heart, in my life, in our world. May goodness overcome evil, life overcome death, hope overcome despair. May our lives reflect God’s present rule of mercy and love. AMEN