Sunday 26th November 2006

Theme: Christ the King

Readings: Revelation 1.4b-8 John 18.33b-37

Rev. Murray Brown

Lord Jesus, may we let you be our King - direct our lives in your ways, for your name's sake. Amen.

I have only been to Buckingham Palace the once! At school I did the Duke of Edinburgh Award, I got the gold and went to Palace to receive it.

It was an amazing experience, you go cross the gravel bit at front, then into huge courtyard. The Palace is a great big square block with courtyard in middle and the state rooms where we went are straight through and at the back of the building.

The rooms were fantastic, there was an orchestra playing, we walking around open mouthed. Then we all lined up for the Duke to come past.

This is what happened - this the conversation between the Duke, me and the lad next to me: "Where did you go on your expedition?" He asked. We all go on an expedition. I said "The Brecon Beacons", as if it was the most exciting place on earth. And the boy next to me said Norway. So the Duke said, "Norway, how interesting...". And that was the end of my conversation with a Duke of Edinburgh!!

Now the Duke is not a king, but he is the closest I have got to meeting a king.

You expect the grandeur, but actually here is someone who is interested in people and in young people fulfilling their potential - for that's the point of the Award.

What I am wanting us to think of is what do we expect when we think of Jesus as our king? What do we think of?

Maybe we think of his greatness and glory - the sort of vision of Jesus we have in the book of Revelation, not so much in our reading, but it is there in the words:

I am the Alpha and the Omega, really I am the beginning and the end of all things - I encompass all things - says the Lord - who is and was and is to come, the Almighty.

The book of Revelation is a great reassurance that, though God's glory may be veiled at times, and though God's people go through all sorts of trials and hardships, God is not defeated.

In time God's victory and glory will be made know, and made know to all people. One day 'every eye will see'.

But that victory and triumph is very clearly always through hardship. That is God's way, through hardship comes triumph, through death comes life - through giving up life comes new life, resurrection life.

Which brings us to our Gospel reading. This amazing conversation between Jesus and Pontius Pilate.

Who is the real king in this situation. The man who has been given power by the most powerful empire on earth at the time, or the man who stands before him bound and condemned to death.

The man handed over to the enemy power of Rome, by his own nation.

Who has the authority in this exchange? Yes, Pilate has all the power, but which of these two men would we rather follow?

Jesus has the composure and he seems to run ring round Pilate, even in is powerless state.

And Jesus makes it very clear that his kingdom is not like the kingdoms of this world. God's kingdom is not about people lording it over each other, it is a kingdom of humility and service. Jesus is the Servant King.

It is Jesus who... Entered our world, his glory veiled; not to be served but to serve, and give his life that we might live...

So let us learn how to serve, and in our lives enthrone Him;

Each other's needs to prefer, for it is Christ we're serving.

This is our God, the Servant King, he calls us... now to follow Him.

( The song 'The Servant King' by Graham Kendrick)

So much about following Jesus is about learning to serve, to put other people's needs above our own. Caring for others, loving others, laying down our wants and desires for the sake of other people.

This the example which God has given us, this is our focus in our worship today.

And there is a key phrase which Pilate uses of Jesus. He says that Jesus has been 'handed over' to him, and that phrase is a significant one for the Gospel writers. It is first used in the garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus is betrayed by Judas. But the emphasis is not so much on the betrayal - which we often latch onto, but of Jesus being handed over to those who arrested him.

And it marks a clear change in Jesus behavior - from being active and taking the initiative, he becomes passive, things are done to him, things happen to him.

Indeed the word passion - the word we use for the events leading up to and including the crucifixion - the passion of Christ - this words comes from the same root as we get the word passive. Jesus became passive in his passion.

Jesus shows us that there are times when we do not need to be active, but need to wait and to see how God is at work, be aware of how God is at work in the things which happen to us.

And this - amazingly - is what was required for Jesus to triumph as our king. He became vulnerable and allowed things to be done to him. It is just so different from the images we have of what it is to be a king.

As Jesus said his kingdom is not of this world - his kingdom is totally different.

But this is the kingdom we are invited to join. Not a geographical kingdom, but a huge network of people all over the world, who all, in one way and another, accept the authority and direction of Jesus.

We are the people who choose to follow Jesus, we are the people who choose to let Jesus be king of what we do, we are the people who allow ourselves to become more and more like Jesus our king.

So, we need to allow our images of kingship to be changed by our experience of Jesus our king.

We have a king who is amazing, who is glorious, who is the Alpha and the Omega.

But also a king who is humble and passive, who gave his life for us. And this is the life we are to follow.

Most of all we have a king who is interested in each of our lives, who wants us to live in relationship with him.

As I found with my experience of meeting the Duke, we have a royal family who are interested in ordinary people.

How much more is Jesus our King is interested in every aspect of our lives. He wants to share every detail of our lives - our joys and sorrows, our successes and failures. He wants to share all this with us, and in sharing it, he will transform it.

Above all he is the servant king - he longs for us to allow him to serve us, to be at work in our lives, and, as we allow him, to guide and direct our paths, to influence and mould our personalities.

And as we do this, so he longs for us to serve each other - to serve others as he has served us.

Jesus wants to be our king, he wants us to realise that his way of kingship is very different from some of the ideas we might have of what kings might be like.

And, as we come to realise what his kingship is like, so our lives will be transformed.

May we allow Jesus to be our king and to reign in our lives.

Amen