Sunday, November 24, 2013
On Christ the King Sunday it seems pastorally heavy to drag ourselves to the foot of the cross. On the other hand, maybe it’s exactly the right move.
Luke makes certain that we don’t miss the double death dealt in the moment when human power shows its worst side. Not only is Jesus executed; he is humiliated. The leaders scoff, the soldiers mock, a criminal derides. It’s as if the collective murdering machine is making sure to communicate that “we’re not killing Jesus because he’s powerful, we’re killing Jesus because he’s a Nothing who is pretending to be powerful.”
We 21st-century people don’t think of these powers, however, when we hear “Christ the King,” because our ears have become dull and desensitized to this title. Royals don’t rule us; we no longer use this term. Yet it’s crucial that we remember that the first-century in Galilee was a time of kings and rulers, as well as a time of huge social change and upheaval. The roots of our faith are located here, not in isolated issues of individual piety, but rather in resistance to the idolatry of power—specifically, the Roman Empire and Herodian Jerusalem.
