Love the Way Mom Would
Bob Wickizer
Revelation 1:4-8
I have always been uncomfortable about kings. Hierarchies in general give me the jitters. After all we don't have kings in the United States. We had a war two centuries ago to throw off the yoke of an oppressive king. Our own church struck out the prayerful words supporting the king of England in our new 1789 Book of Common Prayer. And up until the modern era, kings throughout the world and in the Bible did not separate political rule from religious rule. Even today the church building in which the pope presides at mass is called a ''basilica,'' a Greek term meaning the king's palace.
So here we find ourselves on Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of Pentecost observing and celebrating Christ as king of the universe. Here at Grace from any seat in the nave you can see 21 crowns.
Let's compare the kingdoms of political rulers and of Jesus who tells Pilate ''My kingdom is not from this world.'' Worldly rulers wield authority by violence and occasionally by diplomacy. Jesus will not allow his followers to commit acts of violence in his defense. All along this journey to the cross, Jesus is handed over by Judas, by the soldiers and by Pilate. The key phrase linking this action is unfortunately translated in English as he ''gave up'' his spirit with his last breath on the cross. The text actually says he ''handed over'' his spirit which tells us that it is not Judas, not the Jewish leaders, not the soldiers nor Pilate that has authority over life and death. Only Jesus has that authority and the truth of it is demonstrated by his last breath on the cross. His last words asking God to forgive us testify the truth that God is merciful and forgiving. That God is love.
Today I cannot preach a sermon about the abstractions of kingdoms, authority and love. Because the reality of worldly violence has shattered if not our faith at least our confidence in this world as a safe place where love reigns and our ...
Bob Wickizer
Revelation 1:4-8
I have always been uncomfortable about kings. Hierarchies in general give me the jitters. After all we don't have kings in the United States. We had a war two centuries ago to throw off the yoke of an oppressive king. Our own church struck out the prayerful words supporting the king of England in our new 1789 Book of Common Prayer. And up until the modern era, kings throughout the world and in the Bible did not separate political rule from religious rule. Even today the church building in which the pope presides at mass is called a ''basilica,'' a Greek term meaning the king's palace.
So here we find ourselves on Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of Pentecost observing and celebrating Christ as king of the universe. Here at Grace from any seat in the nave you can see 21 crowns.
Let's compare the kingdoms of political rulers and of Jesus who tells Pilate ''My kingdom is not from this world.'' Worldly rulers wield authority by violence and occasionally by diplomacy. Jesus will not allow his followers to commit acts of violence in his defense. All along this journey to the cross, Jesus is handed over by Judas, by the soldiers and by Pilate. The key phrase linking this action is unfortunately translated in English as he ''gave up'' his spirit with his last breath on the cross. The text actually says he ''handed over'' his spirit which tells us that it is not Judas, not the Jewish leaders, not the soldiers nor Pilate that has authority over life and death. Only Jesus has that authority and the truth of it is demonstrated by his last breath on the cross. His last words asking God to forgive us testify the truth that God is merciful and forgiving. That God is love.
Today I cannot preach a sermon about the abstractions of kingdoms, authority and love. Because the reality of worldly violence has shattered if not our faith at least our confidence in this world as a safe place where love reigns and our ...
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