Sing to the King

Two Sundays ago was the Christ the King Sunday.  (Yes I am behind these days.)  One of the doctrine and theology ordination interview questions used to ask about theories of atonement and which one you most liked.  There’s all sorts of theories of atonement and Dr. Thangaraj’s Images of Christ class gave a ton of them in a very succinct way and I found that I really like Christus Victor.  As in Christ is the Victor – which always reminds me of Christ the King Sunday.  That no matter what crud is happening in life right now, that in the end – Christ is the King.  Christ wins.  Christ is the final victor.

So I generally like Christ the King Sunday in essence.  The texts are usually very imperious and globaly reckoningy but other than that I’m cool with it….most of the time.  There’s a part of me that even though that was my answer in ordination interviews, that doesn’t really like any kind of king over me.  You know what I mean?  Maybe you’re shaking your head and saying no. 

Let’s think about some crazy kings – Herod, Henry the crazy 8th, there’s all sorts of them.  You bow down to kings.  You obey kings.  Kings are your Lord and Master.  So this isn’t a halfway commitment, it’s an all the way, all or nothing.  You don’t just give a flimsy curtsy and you don’t just disobey whenever you feel like it with no consequence. 

So I’m thinking the part of me that doesn’t like this whole kingship idea is one that is basing this idea on human kings that fail every time.  These kings are not always just, are not always kind, are not always looking out for the best benefit for all of their people.

But the King that we celebrate is one that knows and loves each of us equally – not just the rich ones or the pretty ones or the smart ones or the most athletic ones, but all of us.  This theory – this idea of Christ as King – says that Christ is the Victor over all things that bind us or hold us back – sin, sickness, death, doubts, fears, past mistakes, old and new wounds, uncertainty, hopelessness – Christ is the victor over all of the darkness and shines light into all the dark places of our hearts and our lives.

This kingship is not just over one country or one people, but over all the world.  This kingship doesn’t just bring hope and good news to one group, but to all people.  It’s a kingship that brings about more hope, joy, and peace than even Camelot could imagine.  So we will Sing to the King who IS coming to reign.  May our King reign in our hearts and minds this day.

Sing to the King (Lyrics by Billy Janes Foot and Candi Pearon)