Another Christ the King Sunday. Luke 1:63 - 69

As we approach the Sunday of Christ the King, I cannot help but wonder just what kind of king do we think he is? During the past week I have had occasion to think carefully about the faith that I espouse. I have been asked why I believe what I believe, and have responded to others who wonder why anyone would choose religious faith or which truth is really THE truth. These are good questions, to be sure, and I think people who call themselves Christians should not refuse to think seriously about the questions that those who are skeptical of faith in general, and Christianity in particular, may ask. While responding to a friend who wondered about how one can know which "truth" to follow, I found myself offering an answer that just came out of my head, quite easily. I told the friend that Christianity is the faith that called me. It is not the faith I chose to follow, it chose me. I was not raised in a religious home, though we were sent to church each week. I had to make my own decisions as to what would be important to me as a young man. My church was where I felt safe, respected and loved for who I was. It may have been the only place in my young life where I felt that way. Once I became active in the church, the faith element took over. The Christian message called to me to be a pastor, to be one who helped others to feel accepted and loved. Let me say that I have performed that duty quite imperfectly over the course of my life, but, at times, I have managed to get it right. How that has been possible lies, I think, in a truth that Brian Stoffregen, another blogger, highlighted. "I believe that one of the great, unique features of Christianity is that it is a religion of God coming down to us, rather than most other religions where we have to raise ourselves up to a godly plane." As a young man I was too full of self-doubt to ever believe that God would think I was worthy to do any kind of work for the Kingdom. I know that most young people, middle-aged and older folks also feel that way quite often. And there, I think, lies the definition of the kind of king we celebrate this Sunday. Jesus was not like Saul, David or Solomon and their tenures as kings of Israel. The kingship of Christ is one of love and inclusion, not one that calls attention to the power and status of the king. I was viewing some Christian clip art today, looking for an appropriate image for Christ the King Sunday, and I was disappointed that so many of the images lifted Christ up and played on the "Christus Victor" image. That image has long been accepted by the church when the church has attempted to explain how Christ overcame death and sin. I prefer the image of the insider who became as an outsider, which is the key to understanding the prophets of the Hebrew Bible, who deliberately took upon themselves the identity of outsiders, thus representing a God who loved all people. Christ the King Sunday is a time to reaffirm our belief in the very un-king-like Christ, who was God incarnate, coming down to our level, not insisting the we ascend to God's level. Christ the King assures that every young woman and man, and every old man and woman have an advocate who already loves them and accepts them, imperfect as they may be.