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This Sunday is Christ the King Sunday.  It’s the last Sunday of the “church year” and it’s kind of funny.  “Why?” you might ask.  Well, Jesus is shown to be the very opposite of a King or Ruler.  We get a little bit of Good Friday; the gospel reading is always from a part of the crucifixion story.  One thief dying on a cross said to another man dying on a cross, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom!”  And Jesus replied, “Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” 

            I think y’all know me well enough by now to know that I hate “bubbles,” the kind that reinforce the “culture wars”—that is, all the fights about meaning and values, and how they should affect our society.  That does not mean I don’t agree with some “bubbles” more than others.  I am not opposed to the efforts of the social justice groups that have formed.  I do get nervous, however, with the passions that come out of “echo chambers.”  Where is the impulse “to understand rather than be understood” to quote St. Francis’ Prayer?  How is it that Jesus gets claimed by Christians at opposite ends of the political spectrum??  That bothers me.  For me, Jesus the culture warrior is the crucified one.  The powerless one.  This image of Christ is about as far away as you can get with the images of power being wielded today in the name of an ideal.”

 

            Just a few weeks ago on All Saints Sunday Jesus commanded us to love our enemies (Luke 6:27, 35).  He gives that command twice in Luke 6.  Jesus wasn’t crucified because of that command.  Imagine his accusers telling Pilate, “This man is a rebel and should be killed!”  Pilate asks, “Why, what’s he done?”  They say, “Because he tells people to love their enemies!”?  I can’t imagine that either.  This Sunday he goes so far as to forgive his enemies, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). 

            I can’t help but feel like Jesus transcends all the ways we coopt him—particularly when we use him in our culture wars.  After all, he was all about forcing people to be in relationship with each other—to love your neighbor, including your enemy.  In other words, everyone.  Maybe what really got him killed was trying to unify people.  There’s a King for you.

Peace,

Pr. Christian