Today is Christ The King Sunday. What does it mean to say, to proclaim, to declare: “Christ is King”?

In the early 1900’s there was optimism that the twentieth century was going to be the Christian century. The missionary movement was in high gear. In Europe and in the United States there was strong confidence in progress; people really believed that in every way the human race was getting better and better. The twentieth century was going to be the century when, at last, Christ truly would be king. 

But something went wrong—terribly wrong. War after war made the last one hundred years the bloodiest years in the history of humanity. Millions upon millions were killed in uprisings, rebellions, purges and wars. The twentieth century was a century unsurpassed for mass cruelty. 

In Nazi Germany millions of Jews were killed and their bodies burned. Their only crime was that they were Jews. But the Jews were not the only ones persecuted and executed. The last one hundred years saw more Christians put to death because of living their faith than all the martyrs of the preceding centuries. During the twentieth century in country after country Christians living the faith they proclaimed refused to go along with regimes that were unjust and cruel. Committed to the truth reveal in the Prophets and Christ, they spoke out against governments that trampled on the poor and ignored basic issues of justice. All too many of these faithful women and men were put to death by the state or murdered by those sympathizing with the state. 

And there were others, millions of others, who suffered and died merely because they were born where they were born and lived where they lived. Remember the murder and intentional starvation of millions of individuals under Stalin? And who knows the number of persons who were the victims of wars and purges in China, Burma, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Pakistan, Albania, Serbia, Bosnia, Turkey, El Salvador, Columbia, Rwanda, Ireland, the Middle East and God knows where else?^[1]

In this kind of a world does it make any sense at all to say the Prince of Peace—Christ—is the King?

And it is not just the blatant cruelty and killing that happens in wars, purges and rebellions that cause us to question that Christ is King. What about all the other “bad stuff” that happens in life? What about babies born but doomed to die in infancy? What about tragedies we cannot comprehend, such as the death of Chuck Meyer? What about living in a world in which bright, young teenagers suffer such terrible, emotional agony they choose death over life? What about a society such as ours in Austin in which the gap between the rich and the poor widens? During the economic boom of the last ten years in which many in our city have made a lot of money, there has been an 8% increase in the number of persons living in poverty. Today almost 17% of the population in Austin lives below the poverty level. The adults in most of these families are working longer hours than most of us and yet they still struggle to afford the basics. Housing is a major factor. Housing costs in Austin have increased 70% in the last ten years; however, the salaries of those at the bottom end of the pay scale have increased very little. For the first time in our city’s history, more than 50% of the homeless in Austin are women and children.^[2]

In this world, in this city, what does it mean to proclaim: “Christ is King”? Well, to say the obvious, whatever it means, it is not a declaration of a completed task. Tragedy, cruelty and injustice are all too prevalent in this world we live in. Sadly, Christ is not the king of our society. And yet, we dare to proclaim: “Christ is King!”

For us to declare Christ is King is something like the Robin Hood stories told in the movies when I was a child. In those stories the good King Richard was the true king, but his wicked brother John was trying to take his place on the throne. Robin Hood had to deal with the reality of John’s injustice and cruelty, but Robin Hood knew who the true king was, and he gave his allegiance to King Richard.

There is much that is wrong, evil and tragic at work in life. There are all too many people with significant power who refuse to recognize, much less try to follow, the way of Christ. They abuse the gift of life, and make life worse for others.

But this does not alter the truth that Christ is King.

In the midst of all the turmoil and tragedy with which we humans must contend, what hope there is for us, what hope there is for the world resides in Christ. And Christ resides where faith, hope and love are clearly evident in the way people live—in the words they speak, in actions they take and policies they make.

When is Christ the king? Whenever we stop trying to be pretenders to the throne of life, and we surrender life and our lives to him. When Christ is King of our daily living, we stop chasing the illusion that we can really control it all and we begin living by depending on the grace of God. When Christ is King of our living, our perception of life is changed and our priorities in living are transformed. It is then that the proclamation: “Christ is King” becomes more than words recited in church.

When Christ is King, we live by faith, that is, we live trusting God, trusting God is for us and not against us, regardless of what we must face or endure.

When Christ is King, we live in hope, that is, we face whatever we must face confident in the grace of God to see us through.

When Christ is King, our living is shaped by love—not the love that is lust or romance, but the love that is compassion, compassion that drives us into action, giving of ourselves for the good of others.

When faith, hope and love rooted in Christ are the characteristics of our daily living, we are living with Christ as King. And when Christ is the king of our daily living, we live as God intends us to live.

Most of us gathered here recognize that Christ is King; we really do understand that for life to be what God intends life to be, our daily living must to be shaped by Christ-centered faith, hope and love. We know that when Christ really is King of our lives, we take stands for what is constructive and true. When Christ is King of our living, we speak out against that which is destructive in life, we fight against that which is unjust, and we work for what is truly good, just and merciful. When faith, hope and love, rooted in Christ, are the characteristics of our daily living, we are living with Christ as King, and then we are living as God intends us to live. We understand that sometimes living with Christ as King puts us in harm’s way. There are times when following Christ leads to some form of cross. 

Nevertheless, most of us gathered here recognize that Christ is King. We really do understand that for life to be what God intends life to be, our daily living must be shaped by Christ-centered faith, hope and love. We understand what Jesus meant when the told us to pick up our crosses and follow him.

Our problem is we are too much like the Apostle Paul—at least Paul as he described himself in Romans 7 when he wrote that he all too often failed to do the good he knew he ought to do and far too often he found himself doing the very thing he knew he ought not do.

Where was his hope? Where is ours? It is in Christ the King—this strange and marvelous king who not only calls us to commitment and obedience, but who also offers us forgiveness and the power to begin again and again.

If you are familiar with the stories about the disciples, you will remember they did not make the leap to perfection in three years, living day in and day out with Jesus. Not even Peter. Up until the end of Jesus’ life Peter misunderstood; He made grandiose claims of commitment that he was unable to fulfill; for example, after pledging his willingness to die for Jesus, Peter denied he even knew Jesus, and he denied knowing him three times. Even after Pentecost, Peter still struggled and at times failed to be the person God intended him to be. However, all his failures and all the failures of all the other disciples did not and do not diminish the truth that Christ is King.

And so it is with us. Christ is King, whether we are loyal to him or not. Christ is King, whether we believe it or not. Christ is King, even when we crucify him with rejection. Christ is King.

Because this is the truth, life becomes what God intends life to be only when we live with Christ as King. It is only when Christ is King of our living that the faith, hope and love that are rooted in him shape our living and transform us so that we become the persons God intends us to be.

God, we believe Christ is King. Help us overcome our unbelief. Transform our living with the faith, hope and love that are possible only when we commit ourselves to him. Amen.

Pastoral Prayer:

God, it is so easy for us to say “God” and have no sensitivity to what we are saying. We have so often heard talk about how kind and merciful and forgiving and generous you are that, without realizing it, we lose our awareness that you are God and we begin to live in the illusion that you are our buddy, our chum, a sentimental deity who has a lot in common with Santa Claus. Forgive us. God, even in coming to worship often and even in praying to you a lot, it is easy for us to fail to be aware that you are God, that you are beyond our ability to comprehend. It is easy for us to pretend you are what we think you are and that our concepts and intellectual beliefs define and identify who you are.

And yet, when we pause to look into the depths of reality, we know we do not know—except to know that you are God, creator, redeemer and sustainer of the universe. When we look into the tiniest bit of creation and see the intricate, complicated workings of your will and when we look into the infinite vastness of space with the billions of galaxies, each with their billions of stars, we are overwhelmed with a sense of awe.

It is then, O God, that we begin to understand with new depth the significance of Jesus calling you Father. We are thankful that you who are the Lord, God of all that was, is and ever will be, you are for us and not against us. We are grateful that you who are God beyond our knowing, are like an ideal parent in your love for us.

In awe and gratitude, we humbly offer to you the prayer Jesus taught us: “Our Father …”