Loading...If next Sunday is the first Sunday of the liturgical new year, then today must be the liturgical New Year’s Eve. And like the ending of a calendar year, it is a day of celebration as much as it is a day of reflection and dreaming, planning and preparing. We might even consider writing spiritual new year resolutions to help us walk into what we affectionately call Year C.
What makes and marks this day on our liturgical calendar special or provides us a reason to celebrate is what it is called: Christ the King or Reign of Christ Sunday.
In short, it is a day to remember who it is we Christians worship.
Historically, this day has only been recognized for the past 99 years. It was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as “The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.”
I want to read about the history as written in an article in the November issue of The Christian Century. The author is T. Denise Anderson, who is the director of “compassion, peace, and justice ministries for the Presbyterian Church (USA).”
She wrote that in 1925: “Adolf Hitler had just published the first volume of Mein Kampf, which detailed his descent into antisemitism and his sinister designs for world domination. The signing of the Locarno Treaties that year was met with disdain by German extremists, who viewed them as a betrayal of Germany and a weakening of its power and influence in the world. A year later, more than 40,000 members of the Ku Klux Klan marched on Washington to demand, among other things, immigration restrictions based on race and nationality. With membership of over 5 million at the time, the Klan was the largest fraternal organization in the United States.”
She goes on: “The world was still navigating the aftermath of the Great War, and there was growing nationalist sentiment around the globe. Pius wanted to counter what he perceived to be unhealthy nationalism and increased secularism. He called the church to declare Christ’s kingship over all creation.” Here’s what I want you to pay attention to: she continues, “The Christian’s first allegiance is therefore to Christ, whatever the nation of their citizenship. Regardless of where in the world Christians live, they should be guided by their values as followers of Christ, over and above national movements or cultural ethics.”[1]
With that history, we find ourselves here, 99 years later, still wrestling with what it means to be followers of Jesus Christ, striving to believe that if it is not about love it is not about God, working every day towards loving people and serving people in a dangerous world where around many turns we are faced with evil and hate-filled rhetoric and behavior. Still.
So, as Christians, we NEED this reminder. We need to be reminded that if we profess to be followers of Christ, crucified and risen, everything we believe about that allegiance should be, as I paraphrase what Anderson wrote, “to Christ, whatever the nation of their citizenship. […] guided by [our] values as followers of Christ, over and above national movements or cultural ethics.”
The way we understand “powers that be”—elected officials, owners and leaders of multi-million-dollar businesses, leaders of organizations—people like these—plays a role in the complexity of prioritizing who has power over and within us. These people who hold power can sometimes wield it with ill-conceived motives. They can sometimes want power to glorify and elevate their egos. These individuals may lead cities, states, nations with an expectation that we, the people they are leading, are to pledge allegiance to them over anything else in our lives.
Over God. Over family.
Unfortunately, we sometimes do realign our priorities, and in our weakness, in our vulnerability, we may be distracted enough that we deny God’s kingship. Even more unfortunately, we may not even realize it when it happens.
And so, we have had 99 years with this annual reminder to examine our lives, our priorities, and decide where we have placed God on our list.
God. Family. Church. World.
How we measure our focus on any of these things is very personal. I cannot tell you what you need to “do” to put God first. I might have a few suggestions, but each of our journeys to a fulfilling, honest relationship with God is as unique as each of us.
When the Daughters of the King ®, for example, make their commitment to follow the teaching of Jesus, the first thing that is expected from them is to practice daily prayer. Each month a list of people who have either requested prayers or those who have others requesting prayers on their behalf is distributed to help guide each of the Daughters in their prayers. Throughout the month, names are added, situations updated, and these women continue to pray.
Now the ways each of these women pray matches their experience with prayer. Prayers come easy for some and are less easy for others. But each one makes a commitment to pray to God daily. Some might be able to freely pray silently or aloud, and others may need a written prayer to help them.
Some may have time and deep interest in praying for each person on the list individually. They may be able to talk with God about the specific circumstances that put this person on the list. Others may place their folded hands over the list and ask God to fulfill the needs of those whose names are listed below. Both are perfectly appropriate ways to engage the worlds needs, the specific petitions, and anything else in a conversation with God.
And if any one of them is wondering if there is a better way to pray or wants tools to help them be more intentional in their prayer time, I can help. I can help any of you. Maybe we can talk about it during coffee hour someday.
One of the first things I might suggest is silence. Our minds are often so busy that we cannot sit still enough to focus. We might feel obligated to speak to God first, bumbling and babbling incoherently when we don’t know what to say. So, I recommend silence. Paying attention to your body as it breathes. Listening for your heartbeat.
I believe that it is in this space where we are more open to hearing what God has in mind for us. In today’s Gospel Jesus says that “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” (John 18:37)
When we are silent, we are better positioned to listen and hear what truth God wants us to know. And I believe that if we are listening, we be reminded that Christ’s kingdom, while it is not of this world, it is about living in this world, seeking and striving to love God and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
I believe that when we listen to Jesus, we will hear what that kind of love looks like. When we pay attention to the way Jesus lived, we will notice that he did not succumb to the leaders of the day. He instead showed those in power that they were not caring for the poor, healing the sick, protecting the vulnerable children, women, and immigrants. His reign, his kingdom, is defined by the way he spent time on the margins of society, trying to show that when we live in community, caring for all people with as much equity and support as possible, society is stronger.
Pope Pius XI, way back in 1925, instituted to the big C Church this feast day of the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, to remind those of us who follow Christ, who call themselves Christians, that we are to realize the commitments we have made to God in Christ. What does that look like? It means putting our citizenship and loyalty in the kingdom of God first, trusting that we will be guided by the teaching and loving of Jesus to truly be who we say we are.
Pius never wanted the Christian world to forget that there will always be people who desire world domination.
Another way to hear this message is in this quote from theological scholar, Diana Butler Bass, who wrote: “Speak the truth in love. Stand up for love in truth. Love and truth are exactly what is needed in this world to challenge the evil of the days. They are not about withdrawal, not about surrender, not about complicity. Love and truth don’t look away. Love cannot bend the kneel to Caesar.
Love and truth are where we come from.
And we must testify to that. No matter the cost.”
It’s up to us to listen to the voice of Jesus, and follow Him, the One who belongs to the truth. And guided by his teaching and examples we are to worship Christ as our only King.
Amen.
[1] The Christian Century, November 2024, page 29.
