CALVARY
BAPTIST CHURCH
Rev. Fred Weimert November 25, 2007
Christ the King
This is the last
Sunday of the year
Next Sunday is the beginning of the
new Church Year…
The Church year begins
with Advent…
And this last
Sunday before Advent is called
Christ the King Sunday.
It is a day of Royal Remembrance,
but as I
said in the call to prayer
that isn’t exactly how we Americans think.
We have
families which we may refer to as royalty…
or
first families…
We know Blue
Books exist somewhere
with the names of Blue Bloods in them…
But
something in that idea grates
against our American mentality…
Deep
inside we still believe
that anybody can become our president.
that you don’t have to be born into royalty
to
lead our land.
We believe
that,
but
much in our political system indicates…
you
had better come from
or
have acquired some wealth
before
you attempt to run for office.
More
and more the gulf is growing between
between
rich and poor in our society
the
middle class is eroding
with
the loss of manufacturing jobs.
The
rich are getting richer
and
the poor are getting poorer…
So
maybe we would like to hear
a prophet like Jeremiah…
condemning
the leaders which have allowed
this
gap to widen into a gulf… a chasm.
Woe to you shepherds
who destroy and scatter the sheep
of my pasture.
Certainly,
in our land,
there
is a longing for a Righteous branch…
and
the royalty of both major political parties
are trying to figure out
how
to market themselves
to the masses of common folks.
What must political
royalty do to woo the commoners
of
and the rest of the nation?
which is our current political dilemma.
The Danish
Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard asks a very similar question
in his Philosophical Fragments…
“Suppose there was a king who loved a humble maiden?”
I realize
that situation is not the same
as what I was talking about a moment before.
If
a supposed king wished to woo a commoner…
We
would assume love
or
at least infatuation
is involved.
but
a politician wanting to woo the masses…
I
‘m not so sure there is any love there…
and
maybe that’s the problem
Jeremiah
was talking about…
Shepherds…
who don’t care for the sheep.
Kierkegaard’s fairy tale
supposition…
“Suppose there was a king who loved a humble maiden?”
Was really a
question about God and humanity…
How
God can bridge the gulf between God’s self
and
human beings…
How
is God to do that?
How
does one with so much power
court the love of one or ones
who are so totally dependant
on that power?
and are themselves
so powerless.
Kierkegaard writes:
“The union might be brought about by the elevation of the learner.”
Transfigure the individual…
Fill
their cup with millennial joy… pg. 35
The problem with that
solution is the human element…
It is the
problem of Genesis 3
The
serpent’s temptation in the garden is:
“And you will be like God,
Knowing
good from evil.
This God like illusion
is the problem of Genesis 11
in the story of the
and the assessment which God makes of human
means…
“Nothing they propose to do
will now be impossible for them.”
Elevation of the beloved
can lead to problems.
W. H. Auden
captures the problem in part of his poem
“For the Time Being”
in
the portion dealing with Gabriel and Mary
Auden
writes of Adam in the garden.
“Since Adam, being free to choose,
Chose
to imagine he was free
To
choose his own necessity.
Lost
in his freedom, Man pursues
The
shadow of his images:” pg. 279
If
we are elevated we can fall…
into
pride…
into
sin.
Kierkegaard continues with his other
option;
‘Since we found that the union
could
not be brought about by an elevation
it must be attempted by a descent‘ pg. 39
The king must become a
commoner…
Which never
really comes off well in
fairy
tales, stories, and movies…
because as Kierkegaard
puts it…
But
this servant-form is no mere outer garment,
like
the king’s beggar-cloak,
which
therefore flutters loosely about him
and
betrays the king… pg. 39
Kingly
manner is difficult to hide…
but not with Jesus.
In descending Jesus demonstrates to the
world
what it means to be the Servant of God…
what it is to live a life for others…
Kierkegaard
again:
But
the servant-form is no mere outer garment,
and
therefore the God must suffer all things,
endure
all things,
make experience of all things…
His
suffering is not that of his death,
but
this entire life is a story of suffering;
and it is love that suffers,
the
love which gives all is itself in want. pg. 40:
It
is this selfless love…
This servant love and life…
which
Jesus lived…
and
which Jesus called us to live…
I
can’t explain it, or how it happens.
When
Paul talks about it
he frequently uses the term…
en christu… in Christ,
a
mysterious union
between believer
and
one believed to be
the messiah.
Here in Colossians it is simply described in
these words:
He has rescued us from the power of
darkness
and transferred us into the kingdom of
his beloved Son,
What you are hearing in
part in Colossians 1…
is a
recitation of one of the early hymns of the Church…
It
speaks of the cosmic nature of Christ.
Colossians 1: 11 – 20
May you be
made strong
with all
the strength that comes from his glorious power,
and may
you be prepared
to endure
everything with patience,
while joyfully giving thanks to the
Father,
who has enabled you to share in the
inheritance
of the saints in the light.
He has rescued us from the power of
darkness
and transferred us into the kingdom of
his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation;
for in him
all things in heaven and on earth were
created,
things visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or powers—
all things have been created through
him
and for him.
He himself is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body,
the church;
he
is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead,
so that he might come
to have first place in everything.
For in him all the fullness of God was
pleased to dwell,
and through him God was pleased to
reconcile to himself
all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
by making peace through the blood of
his cross.
Here
ends the reading.
In something I read
this week
Something I couldn’t find today.
there was something written…
which lead me in the direction of
Kierkegaard…
while at the same time
critiquing Kierkegaard…
It said
something like…
it is important for the commoner…
the
servant girl…
to
know or believe that she is marrying
something
more than a commoner
why
shouldn’t she allowed to have a dream of marrying
a king…
There is a younger woman…
nice looking…
who for some
reason is homeless…
She
gets her mail here at ACTC.
And in her
mail is occasionally a copy of Bride
Magazine.
I don’t imagine it is
her plan to marry someone who is homeless...
I
imagine she would like to meet an marry
someone who would take her away from the
street…
Someone
who would rescue her.
Someone
who would save her.
In Jesus we meet
such a one…
One who is a humble servant…
but one who is at the
same time a ruler…
a king who
in our coming to know him
has rescued us from the power of
darkness
and transferred us into the kingdom of
his beloved Son,
Not everybody sees
it this way…
Some people say religion is foolish…
childish… nonsense…
James Luther May’s
commentary on Psalm 82 says:
As
long as nations
and their peoples
do
not see the reign of God as a reality that determines
their way and destiny,
there
will be other gods who play that role.
Religious options
of sorts surround us…
Those who claim to be above it…
are worshiping
something…
they just
don’t know what.
We
do…
We
worship Jesus the Christ.
In
becoming subjects, bondservants of Jesus
we
have discovered God’s grace,
and
meaning for living…
So
we live…
by
faith,
in
faithfulness. Amen.