Some Troubled Thoughts about Christ the King Sunday, with a nod to Aotearoa Sunday.

This Sunday is Christ the King or the Reign of Christ Sunday. Which means we are at the end of another church year and are finishing our time in Luke’s Gospel. Advent beckons.

To be honest I struggle with this Sunday. It was instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI in response to rising anticlericalism and nationalism across Europe. The image of king is very male and quite European – not helpful when talking about God. It was intended to make the reign of God the means by which we understand the purpose of government, but I wonder how many of our preconceived ideas about “king” shape how we understand Christ as king. Too easily we forget Jeremiah’s words of condemnation to those who in the name of God sought power and wealth for themselves and left the poor even more impoverished, the widows and orphans unprotected, and the community broken with division.

In contrast Luke offers the image of a crucified king – an image of powerful powerlessness.  The temptation is to jump away from this scene and to look elsewhere for what Christ’s kingship looks like. The New Testament scholar NT Wright comments: ‘At the heart of Luke’s picture of the cross is the mocking of Jesus as king of the Jews … Jesus has stood on its head the meaning of kingship, the meaning of the kingdom itself. He has celebrated with the wrong people, offered peace and hope to the wrong people, and warned the wrong people of God’s coming judgment’ (Luke for Everyone, p.284). This is not the power of influence and control, but love that flows with reconciling compassion and grace. This is a deeply subversive image of kingship.

Interestingly in our church here in Aotearoa – New Zealand this Sunday is also Aotearoa Sunday – a day to remember the long and shameful story of the creation of Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa. A solemn note to finish the year as we reflect on how our Eurocentric notions of what it means to be Christian got in our way of living with compassion and generosity among nga iwi o Aotearoa. We have played king, and made Christ the king in our image.

So, what does Christ the King mean for us today? As we enter Advent, what does this image of the crucified king invite us to hold and look for?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Get those PSA Blood Tests Done Boys!

I had a strange conversation a few months ago. I was lying back in a chair, naked from the waste down, holding a nappy over my bits while I waited for the skin under my bits to go numb enough from liquid nitrogen or some such thing, so that they could inject the local anesthetic and then punch a couple of holes through to the prostate. All in all a fun experience. And while I waited the nurse made small talk and asked what I did. "I'm retired", I replied. "Oh, what are you planning to do now you are retired? any travel?" "Turns out not" I said, "It seems I'm just keeping my dairy open for dealing with health things." And I am still keeping my dairy open and still dealing with them. This journey began last year. I was already dealing with two other things, including a lump in my parotid gland which has been slowly growing there for about 3 years. When I got back from being overseas on sabbatical my doctor called me in to talk about that an
Read more

What a Ride! - Thankyou and Goodbye!

Image
You can listen to this sermon here   Gate Pa - Ascension Sunday and Easter 7 Year B, 2024 Readings: Palm                            Psalm 1 First Reading:             Acts 1:1-11, 15-17,21-26                     Bible Page 884 Second Reading:        1 John 5:9-13                                       Bible Page 991 Gospel:                         John 17:6-19                                        Bible Page 879 What I want to say: A sermon to say thankyou -           To explore the process we are all going through – and that it is ok -           Use the ascension to invite us all to trust God in all this -           Offer some thoughts about what the future might be What I want to happen: People to embrace all that the liminal space might offer with thankfulness, hope and trust. The Sermon 1.      Introduction: Pancake Monday in 2012 – nearly 12 ½ years ago Bishop David Rice installed me as vicar of Gate Pa Telling everyone I didn’t know much about vicaring -          Outraged some
Read more

"Just Enjoy The Coffee"

I was just sent this on Anglicans All. Being a coffee enjoyer and a Franciscan I enjoyed it. I hope you do to: Even if you are not a coffee drinker...Have a good day!!!! A group of graduates, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain ,plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite, telling them to help themselves to the coffee. When all the students had a cup of coffee, the professor said: If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the simple and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it is just more ex
Read more