Today
\nis \u201cChrist the King\u201d Sunday, sometimes called \u201cReign of Christ
\nSunday.\u201d \u00a0It is the last Sunday of the Christian Liturgical year,
\nthe completion of the annual cycle of remembrance and growth. \u00a0Next
\nSunday we start a new year of remembering and recreating with the
\nbeginning of a new Advent. \u00a0 I often skip these texts, and this
\ntopic. \u00a0Most years the hierarchy of monarchy and patriarchy of
\nkingship combined with ridiculously high Christology are enough to
\nturn my stomach. \u00a0Many years Thanksgiving gives me a way out.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This
\nyear I heard the texts and the topic with a different energy. \u00a0This
\nyear I heard them speak about leadership, and I heard them speaking
\nabout leadership in a radically different way than it is normally
\nspoken of. \u00a0As I continued to reflect on the texts, I was reminded
\nthat not everyone identifies as a leader, but we all lead. \u00a0Much of
\nthe leadership in human history and even today has been about
\nCONTROL, and about having power OVER other humans. \u00a0God doesn’t call
\nanyone into that sort of leadership. \u00a0God calls us into relationships
\nwith each other, and leadership in that vein is about shared
\nempowerment. \u00a0That is, I think that there are leadership components
\nin every relationship, even (if I’m honest) the relationship we have
\nwith ourselves. \u00a0That is, within each of us there are various needs,
\ndesires, and values vying for control, and some of the work of our
\nlives is to balance each of those so that good is maximized \u2013 thus
\nthere is leadership within.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Unfortunately,
\noften relationship between people are centered on control, instead of
\non mutual benefit, listening, and affection. \u00a0Those relationships
\nreflect a system of broken leadership, utterly unlike the idea of the
\nreign of God \u2013 which is also called the kindom of God.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It
\nseems at times that we don’t spend adequate focus on the kindom of
\nGod. \u00a0You may disagree, and that’s OK! \u00a0However, since the kindom is
\nmentioned twice in the Lord’s Prayer, and is said to be the ACTUAL
\nmessages that Jesus preached in his ministry, I don’t think is is
\npossible to focus on it too much.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Together,
\nwe spend a few sermons focusing on it in 2014, and I want to bring
\nback some of the ideas we talked about then. \u00a0They seem really
\ncentral to our faith, and it has been a while (and not everyone was
\nhere then.) \u00a0Both then, and now, I think this quote from Rev. Dr.
\nJohn Cobb is the most important thing I can share to bring the idea
\nof the kindom of God into clarity:<\/p>\n
\n\n\u201cJesus
\ndid not do away with the future tense. We still pray for its coming.
\nClearly there is no earthly political region (basileia) that realizes
\nthis ideal. Nevertheless, what is different in Jesus message is that
\nthis ideal is already being realized. He says it is ‘at hand.’ Even
\nin his lifetime, to follow him was to take part in this new reality.
\nHis table fellowship already realized it.\u201d1<\/sup><\/a>
\n \u201cJesus understood his message to be the proclamation
\nof the kingdom of heaven understood as a great opportunity or
\nblessing, not as a terrifying judgment. \u2026 ’<\/i>The kingdom is
\n\u201cat hand.\u201d The requirement for being part of that kingdom is that
\none change the basic way one thinks and lives. \u2026 Even more
\nimportant in my view is that a \u201cbasileia\u201d need not be
\nhierarchically governed at all. Of course, the\u00a0\u201cbasileia\u201d\u00a0Jesus
\nproclaimed involved God\u2019s will being done. But when we read the
\nbeatitudes, to take but one example, we may be struck by the
\nabsence of one saying that those who obey God\u2019s laws are blessed.
\n<\/b>The first one, for example, says \u201cblessed are the poor in
\nspirit,\u201d and it goes on to say explicitly that \u201cfor theirs is the
\nkingdom of heaven.\u201d (Mt.5:3) There is nothing here to indicate that
\nwe should understand that the government of the divine
\n\u201cbasileia\u201d\u00a0would be like that of an earthly
\nkingdom, simply with God replacing the earthly ruler. That may have
\nbeen the theology of the translators of the New Testament, but there
\nis no reason to attribute it to Jesus. Jesus prayed to God as \u201cabba\u201d
\nof \u201cpapa.\u201d Papa cares deeply how his children behave but even
\nmore for their true happiness. The\u00a0<\/b>basileia\u00a0<\/b>of\u00a0<\/b>abba\u00a0<\/b>is
\nnot a \u201ckingdom.\u201d<\/b> I know of not perfect translation, but I am
\nfully convinced that \u201ccommonwealth\u201d is better than \u201ckingdom.\u201d
\nOne of the ways in which Jesus called people to change their thinking
\nwas away from the hierarchical mindset that expresses itself in
\n\u201ckingdom.\u201d2<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<\/p>\n
\nWhile
\nI REALLY like the idea of the commonwealth of God, or the basileia, I
\nmost often use the phrase \u201ckindom of God.\u201d \u00a0I use it because it
\nis identifiable as related to the \u201ckingdom of God\u201d and also names
\na different dream \u2013 the dream of the time when all the world will
\nlive in justice and peace because all people will treat each other as
\nkin. \u00a0If there is any meaning to Christ being KING, it is that this
\nsort of kindom is what the Body of Christ is working on building.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n
\nBy
\nthe way, this kindom of God is language from the New Testament, but
\nit isn’t something that really started with Jesus. \u00a0Jesus preaching
\nwas continuous with and based on the visions of God from the Hebrew
\nBible. \u00a0Rev. Dr. Cobb
\nconnects the prophetic tradition with Jesus’ kindom message saying,<\/p>\n\n\n \u201cJesus
\ncalls us uncompromisingly to enter the prophetic tradition of Israel,
\nthe one long-lasting tradition in human history that calls for a
\nreversal of the social, political and economic values that are
\notherwise universally accepted. True wisdom is not what is taught in
\nuniversities. True wealth is not material possessions. True power is
\nnot the ability to force people to do one\u2019s will. Communities based
\non this deep reversal are \u201cat hand.\u201d We can take part in them as
\na foretaste of God\u2019s hope for the whole world. Jesus understood his
\nmission to be to proclaim and realize this possibility.\u201d3<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<\/p>\n
That
\nall being said, the work of the Body of Christ to build the kindom
\nmay make more sense in the words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, as
\nhe preached it,<\/p>\n\n\n “We
\nshall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to
\nendure suffering. We shall meet your physical force with soul force.
\nDo to us what you will, and we shall continue to love you. We cannot
\nin all good conscience obey your unjust laws because noncooperation
\nwith evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.
\nThrow us in jail and we shall still love you. Bomb our homes and
\nthreaten our children, and we shall still love you. Send your hooded
\nperpetrators of violence into our community at the midnight hour and
\nbeat us and leave us half dead, and we shall still love you. But be
\nye assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer. One
\nday we shall win freedom but not only for ourselves. We shall so
\nappeal to your heart and conscience that we shall win you in the
\nprocess and our victory will be a double victory.\u201d4<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<\/p>\n
\nIn
\ntheir own ways, our texts today also point to the kindom of God. \u00a0The
\nGospel lesson has long annoyed me, mostly because it seems to assume
\nthat salvation has to do with afterlife, and I simply don’t think
\nthat reflects the authentic Jesus. \u00a0The Jesus Seminar colored this
\ntext black (vindication!!), indicating that they don’t think it
\nreflects the actual words or ideas of Jesus, but rather of the early
\nChristian community. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n
The
\ntext is worried about the care of \u201cthe least of these\u201d which is
\npart of what the kindom of God is all about. One scholar points out
\nthat of the ways that the sheep and goats were judged, \u201cThe first
\nfive actions were typical Jewish acts of mercy. \u00a0(Jews did not use
\nimprisonment as punishment.)\u201d5<\/sup><\/a>
\n Matthew thought that while those early Christians were waiting for
\nJesus to come back, they should act in continuity with good living as
\nboth Jesus and the Jews had understood it. \u00a0That scholar connects
\nthese commandments even more strongly to the kindom, saying, \u201cJesus
\nteaches that God’s reign, the full revelation of which we await \u2013
\nis characterized in the present, not by powerful works and miracles,
\nbut by deeds of love, mercy, and compassion, especially toward those
\nmost in need<\/b>.\u201d6<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n
\nOur
\nEzekiel passage understands salvation to be healing for the whole
\ncommunity, not a particular form of afterlife. (Phew) \u00a0It sees all of
\nus as sheep \u2013 some overfed and some underfed- but all the same.
\nThis text speaks of a God who wants justice, not punishment. \u00a0There
\nis a bit of punishment in it, but even within that, God’s concern is
\nfor caring for the afflicted! \u00a0This passage comes after an extended
\nmetaphor about the leaders of Israel being like bad shepherds who
\ndon’t care for their sheep. \u00a0Here, God claims that God will shepherd
\nthe people directly, since the human leaders have failed them so
\nbadly. \u00a0Historically, this passage is placed within the exile, and
\nEzekiel is speaking hope to the people in a time and place when hope
\nitself is a form of resistance!<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n
God
\nwants the people well led, so
\nthat justice and love define their lives together. \u00a0In both the
\nGospel and in Ezekiel we see the concern God has in how ALL of the
\npeople are treated, especially the vulnerable. \u00a0God wants the people
\nto have good leaders, who care about the vulnerable, who care about
\nthe well-being of the whole community, who are using the resources
\nthey have for the COMMUNAL well-being instead of just using the power
\nfor their own enrichment. \u00a0The Bible, time and time again, calls on
\nleaders and on the justice system to be FAIR, and JUST, and to make
\nsure the vulnerable have a fair chance. \u00a0It really is a different
\nidea of what leadership is than I tend to see in the world at large. <\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n
\nWe,
\nall of us, are called into the kindom, which is build on people
\nbelieving in an alternative set of values \u2013 values of cooperation,
\nvalues of shared joy, values of hope, a refusal to discount the full
\nhumanity of anyone, of peaceful resistance, of trust in God. \u00a0The
\nkindom one where all the sheep are well-cared for. \u00a0It requires
\nleadership, and it requires it of all of us. \u00a0We have to let go of
\nthe idea of power over others or control of them, that isn’t the way
\nof God. \u00a0Enforcing our will isn’t leadership. \u00a0Caring about each
\nother’s well-being, listening and responding, that’s leadership. \u00a0As
\nJesus said, the kindom is at hand. We are called to be leaders of the
\nkindom. \u00a0May we learn the values well, and teach them with our lives.
\n Amen\n<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
1<\/a>\u00a0Dr.
\n\tJohn Cobb \u201cFourth
\n\tSunday after Epiphany\u201d Process and Faith Lectionary Commentary,
\n\taccessed
\n\ton February 1, 2014.<\/p>\n2<\/a>\u00a0Dr.
\n\tJohn Cobb \u201cThird
\n\tSunday after Epiphany\u201d Process and Faith Lectionary Commentary,
\n\thttp:\/\/processandfaith.org\/resources\/lectionary-commentary\/yeara\/2014-01-26\/third-sunday-after-epiphany<\/a>
\n\taccessed on January 25, 2014.<\/p>\n3<\/a>\u00a0Dr.
\n\tJohn Cobb \u201cFourth
\n\tSunday after Epiphany\u201d Process and Faith Lectionary Commentary,
\n\thttp:\/\/processandfaith.org\/resources\/lectionary-commentary\/yeara\/2014-02-02\/fourth-sunday-after-epiphany<\/a>
\n\taccessed
\n\ton February 1, 2014.<\/p>\n4<\/a>
\n\tRev. Dr. Martin Luther King A
\n\tChristmas Sermon for Peace on Dec 24, 1967<\/p>\n5<\/a>\u00a0Thomas
\n\tD. Stegman, SJ \u201cExegetical Perspective on Matthew 25:31-46\u201d in
\n\tFeasting on the World Year A Volume 4<\/i>, David L. Bartlett and
\n\tBarbara Brown Taylor, editors (Westminster John Knox Press:
\n\tLouisville, KY, 2011) 335<\/p>\n6<\/a>\u00a0Thomas
\n\tD. Stegman, SJ, \u00a0337<\/p>\n–<\/p>\n
Rev. Sara E. Baron<\/p>\n
First United Methodist Church of Schenectady<\/p>\n
603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305<\/p>\n
Pronouns: she\/her\/hers<\/p>\n
http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FUMCSchenectady<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"