And he has put all things under his feet and has made him
the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him
who fills all in all. – Ephesians 1:23
It is difficult for us, as Americans, to understand what it
means to live in a monarchy. We live in
a democratic republic, where we elect representatives to make laws for us. If we are unhappy with the job they are
doing, we can vote them out and replace them with new representatives. Even our principal interaction with a monarchy
is a constitutional monarchy, where Queen Elizabeth is merely a symbol of
national power, with the actual governance left up to a democratically elected
parliament, with its prime minister and cabinet. Her role as queen is largely reduced to
waving to crowds and cutting ribbons and being saddened by the scandals of her
offspring.
It’s interesting that, although the concept of Christ’s
kingship is a biblical one, the feast itself was only instituted in 1925 by
Pius XI to be observed on the last Sunday of October, as a way of trying to
reassert the Roman denomination’s secular political power against a rising tide
of secularism and nationalism. Given the
atrocities that have been committed in the name of Christ by those
denominations which have been established as “state churches”, I find myself
rooting for the secularists this feast was instituted to oppose. The political power amassed by the churches
is in stark contrast to the life of Jesus, born in a stable, who ate and drank
with outcasts, and who was executed as a common criminal.
Nonetheless, as the church, we must acknowledge Jesus Christ
as our King. And he is not a
constitutional monarch who is content to cut ribbons and wave to crowds
(although he undoubtedly shakes his head over the actions of many Christians as
Queen Elizabeth does over the actions of her children and grandchildren). He is an absolute monarch whose authority over
the church is so complete that the church is described as his “body”. We, as the church, are to carry out his commands
as seamlessly as our hands do what our brains tell it to.
But what does that actually mean in practice?
Jesus Christ, in everything he did while on earth, acted in
full union with God’s purposes on earth.
God created the universe, and us, as an expression of God’s love. We sinned, and fell short of that
expression. God acted in revelation to
the people of Israel, giving the Torah at Sinai and speaking through the
prophets. We, as Christians, believe
that the fullness of revelation occurred in the life, death, and resurrection
of Jesus, revealing to us God’s love.
God acted to redeem us. God
redeemed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, and as Christians, we
believe that Christ’s death and resurrection redeems all of humanity from the
slavery of sin. Forty days after his
resurrection, Christ ascended into heaven, leaving us to carry out his mission
on earth. On the day of Pentecost, the
church was born, being given the gift of the Holy Spirit, God’s presence on
earth, to empower us to carry out that mission.
And the mission is the same – to honor God’s creation, to
act in such a way that our lives also serve as revelation of God – that God
becomes known through us, and that we bring others to the redeeming love and
power found in Christ, reconciling them with God, humanity, and all of
creation. Anything we do that
participates in this mission is in accordance with the Kingship of Christ. Anything that does not carry out that mission
is extraneous and is an act of rebellion against the Kingship of Christ.
St. Augustine wrote, in his Rule, that “pride lurks even in
good works in order to destroy them”.
The regular activities of the church – that which we are called to do –
can be carried out in such a way as to glorify Christ and further his kingdom
on earth, or they can be distorted and come to harm the cause of Christ.
We gather for worship to offer our prayers, to hear the Word
of God in scripture, and to share in the Body and Blood of Christ. Both the Word and the Sacrament are meant to
transform us so that we are empowered to do Christ’s work in the world. But if we come to worship, not looking for
transformation, but merely for comfort and to feel good about ourselves, we risk
turning worship into idolatry, with ourselves as the object of worship rather
than God.
We are also called to be a community – but, again, the
purpose of community is transformation and service. If we engage with our church community merely
to meet our social needs and not to be transformed into citizens of the kingdom
of heaven, then we become a social club rather than the body of Christ.
As this church year draws to a close, and we prepare to
begin a new year next Sunday on the First Sunday of Advent, let us take time to
reflect on our lives, as Christians and as the church, and offer ourselves anew
to Christ our King. We give thanks for
those ways we have been faithful, and we ask for grace to repent of the areas
in which we have fallen short.
Lord God, deliver us from the presumption of coming to this
Table for solace only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for
renewal. Let the grace of this Holy
Communion make us one body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve
the world in Christ’s name. We ask this
in the name of Jesus Christ our great High Priest. Amen.
(Adapted from Eucharistic Prayer C, Holy Eucharist Rite II, 1979 Book of
Common Prayer)
