One of the things you learn in seminary is: when you are studying the text to preach on a given Sunday, if something bothers you, you need to dive into that until you understand exactly what it is that bothers you. With that understanding you just might have a sermon. Today is one of those days. Christ the King bothers me enormously. The concept always has bothered me. Let me share some observations to help illuminate the source of discomfort.
At a clergy conference one year in the Diocese of Washington D.C., the bishop arranged for author Bruce Feiler to speak. Mr. Feiler has written some very popular books such as “Walking the Bible” and “Abraham.” He is Jewish. The bishop also arranged for a distinguished Arab studies scholar from American University to speak. Akbar Ahmed is Muslim. Also invited that weekend were the rabbi of a large Jewish congregation in Washington and the imam of a large Muslim congregation. As the clergy interacted with these religious leaders in other faiths, we reached one of those “aha” moments collectively as if a great truth had been revealed.
The author, the rabbi, the scholar, and the imam all held very open views about their respective holy scripture. They made no claims that their religion was the only way to salvation. They did not hold a vision that their religion, when spread across the globe to 100% of the people, would usher in a thousand years of peace and prosperity. And they did not believe violent conquest was sanctioned by their scripture for winning converts.
The Episcopal clergy gathered began to realize we had much more in common theologically with the Jewish and Muslim leaders at that conference than we do with many of our counterpart leaders in other Christian denominations. Everyone gathered talked about the difficulty of maintaining an open position about scripture and salvation in the midst of a culture that wants easy answers and a quick fix. We will return to this momentarily.
I recently read an article about Christian mission featuring a 32 year old pastor who took a small church in Alabama to 8,500 members in four years. The church now offers courses on how to replicate this kind of growth. I was intrigued so I jumped in. Every pastor or rector would like to find the quick fix for growing a church. I fired up the website and read about the courses they offered. In the middle of all the description, the courses required that participants must be “in agreement with the following basic statement of faith.” I read it carefully.
It was a curious amalgamation of Roman Catholic doctrine blended with statements from the Nicene Creed and laced together with exclusionary, rabid “my way or the highway” Christianity. I was dismayed. Apparently the way to grow a mega church is to circle the wagons, waving the flag of “We’ve got the only ticket to salvation.” Is there any room in this world for tolerance, peace, doubt, and ambiguity I wondered?
When I sit down with a religious leader from another faith, whether it is Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Baha’i, Druze, Hindu, or Buddhist, one of the first things I want to understand is his (or her) concept of growing their faith. What growth means to them. What they THINK their scripture commands them to do. What they are willing to admit they do not understand.
At the clergy conference in Washington we found that there are religious leaders who, while devoted to their particular faith and teachings, are willing to admit that there is a lot they do not know, especially when it comes to other faiths. A few leaders will admit that there may be other ways to salvation. They may acknowledge that other scriptures could provide a path to know God. The handful of religious leaders in this camp will also condemn violence done in God’s name or in the name of a religion. They will refuse to point at other religions saying they are “in error.” Some of these religious leaders are hated by clergy in their own faith.
It seems that growing a mega congregation in any religion can be accomplished with the following recipe: Divide the world into us and them. Hold up a single, narrow interpretation of scripture as the authoritative word of God. Emphasize that converting others to this brand of religion is connected to individual salvation. Do not allow anyone to ask questions.
Ironically this approach is not about religion as much as it is a response to social change wrapped in religious clothing. This approach is manipulative, exclusionary, and divisive, often resulting in violence. The World Trade Center, the Middle East conflicts, and even the Oklahoma City bombing are all end products of applying this recipe to religion.
When any religious leader starts drawing lines between sinners and the righteous, or makes claims that his or her scripture interpretation is the only valid interpretation, look out, because this recipe manipulates people and as groups grow it becomes coercive. Christ the King Sunday was created by Roman Catholic leaders in 1925 as their response to growing dictatorships in Europe. They wanted a real king for people to follow. A king that manipulates and coerces is NOT one I want to follow.
In all world faiths and in all Christian denominations this recipe for growth also benefits the religious leaders, giving them more income, more attention, and more power. For Christians this clearly runs against the grain of the Gospel where John tells us that Jesus Christ must increase and the individual must decrease. Following Jesus often leads to reduction in worldly power, social power, wealth, prestige, etc. If there is an image of Jesus as King that I want to follow, it is the Christ mocked, scourged, crowned with thorns, and hung on a cross.
When we put kingly purple robes on Jesus along with a European jeweled crown and all the other earthly symbols of office, we manipulate people just like the recipe for growth. THIS king Jesus is superior to THAT king or dictator of your country. Don’t you want to follow THIS Jesus? Dressing Jesus in royal robes robs the cross of its power. We are actually making God in the image of man.
If instead we believe that we are made in the image of God, then we are required to see the face of Christ in everyone. WE are to look at everyone else, including people we don’t like, as equally made in God’s image. WE are to understand that God is big enough to love us all. How can we deny that Christ may have been sent to people in the Persian desert or the Samoan Islands? How about the bowlegged 70 year old woman squatting in the sun harvesting garlic in Korea? Is God big enough to make Jesus known to her in some way that WE fail to understand?
I am sorry to tell you but I do not have and this church does not have easy answers to life’s toughest challenges. Neither do we offer a quick fix for everyone’s problems. We simply offer a Jesus present in the outstretched arms, hands, feet, eyes, and ears of everyone in this church. We offer a Jesus who simply accepts people, wherever they are in their journey. We offer a Jesus who loves without condition the Muslim, the atheist, the Jew, the Baptist, and the Episcopalian. We offer a Jesus who teaches us that we lead others by serving them and sacrificing ourselves for them. I would like to put a crown on that Jesus and make a big fuss about him – but I won’t.
I’m just here to follow him with the rest of you.