What if Jesus Really Is the King?
John 18:33-37
The church calendar says that today is Christ the King Sunday. But for most people in America, it is the Sunday before Thanksgiving. So I would like to combine these two things and share with you perhaps the most popular hymn of thanksgiving in the United Kingdom, the land of kings and queens. Among those kings was King James, the authorizer of the English translation of the Bible which bears his name. King James was also the monarch who opposed church reforms, which was the reason the Pilgrims fled to the New World, which led to this country’s celebration of Thanksgiving.
I said this hymn is among the most popular hymns in the United Kingdom, but that has not been the case in the United States. This hymn was not included in our 1938 hymnal, but it made an appearance in our 1966 hymnal. It was dropped from the 1989 hymnal that we use now. The tune required a lot of range to sing, and wasn’t all that “sing-able” when compared to other thanksgiving hymns, like “We Gather Together to Ask the Lord’s Blessing.”
If you have heard of this hymn at all, it was likely from the musical “Godspell,” where Stephen Schwartz reduced it to just two verses and gave it a new tune – which is also kind of hard to sing, unless you are in costume. The first time I sang this hymn in public, I was wearing a Mickey Mouse t-shirt, suspenders, white face, and a tear drop painted on one cheek. I can’t hit always hit the high notes anymore – at least, not without a costume – so we’ll just listen to it as it was sung in the movie: (show video clip)
We plow the fields, and scatter the good seed on the land,
But it is fed and watered by God’s almighty hand;
He sends the snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain,
The breezes and the sunshine, and soft refreshing rain.
Refrain
All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above,
Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord for all His love.
We thank Thee, then, O Father, for all things bright and good,
The seed time and the harvest, our life, our health, and food;
No gifts have we to offer, for all Thy love imparts,
But that which Thou desirest, our humble, thankful hearts. (Refrain)
The version we had in our 1966 hymnal changed two lines from that original lyric. Instead of “no gifts have we to offer,” we sang “accept the gifts we offer.” In the next line, instead of “but that which thou desirest,” we sang, “and what thou most desirest.” I think the reason for the change reflects our reluctance, like those Pilgrims, to accept the authority of anyone as king.
When we sing “no gifts have we to offer” we are affirming the second half of that line: “for all thy love imparts” – that everything that is, comes from God. We are affirming that “all that we face can be good in God’s grace.” We are affirming that we are the stewards of the creation, and not the owners.
When we sing “no gifts have we to offer,” it means that returning a portion to God is what God requires of us, that it is not a gift. Returning a portion to God is what we must do if we recognize that we are only stewards, who are accountable to God. Stewardship becomes about obedience, not generosity.
This helps us understand the last line. If all we have to offer to God is already God’s, then there is nothing left to give, except for our hearts. We can give our hearts because God does not force us or require us to love God. Love is our response to God. Love is our gift to God, in response to God’s love for us.
Kings, at least in the English tradition, believed that they ruled by divine right. Kings held a similar belief about stewardship when it came to their kingdoms. They believed that everything in the kingdom belonged to the king. The people were the stewards, and not the owners. The people had nothing to offer to the king except their loyalty – which the king could not force, but which he could enforce through punishments and favors.
When we in America made the change from “no gifts have we to offer” to “accept the gifts we offer,” it was a rejection of that divine right of kings to claim ownership over everything. It was a declaration that these were our gifts we offered, the fruits of our labor. It was a declaration that when we give our gifts, it is because we are generous. It was a declaration that when we give our hearts, it is because we choose God. And while that may be good policy for a democratic republic which depends upon the consent of the governed, it is bad theology for living in the kingdom of God.
Of course, this hymn is not the only sign that we have trouble with even the concept of kings. You can hear this rejection in the ways we talk about Jesus. We are much more comfortable talking about Jesus as our friend, than as our king – because we see this friendship as a personal relationship. We are much more comfortable talking about Jesus as our savior, than as our king – because we see salvation as a personal gift. We are much more comfortable talking about Jesus as our redeemer, than as our king – because we see redemption as a personal benefit. There is no need for a king over all if our faith is primarily personal.
But if our relationship with Jesus is only personal, then our sin is that we would rather be king or queen over our own life. And it is important that we have some say, some control, over what we do and who we are in the community. Following Jesus does not mean that we become slaves stripped of our free will. But it also doesn’t mean that we are free to do whatever seems good to us, apart from God’s will.
But what if our relationship with Jesus was more than personal? What if Jesus really is the king of kings, the Lord of lords? What difference would it make in our discipleship if we believed that Jesus was more than our friend who comforts us? What difference would it make in our theology if we believed that Jesus didn’t just save us from the wrath of God? What difference would it make in our community if we believed that Jesus redeemed all people to be part of his kingdom? Pontius Pilate should not be the only person to ask, “What if Jesus really is the king?”
I think we will find our answer if we first know the kind of kingdom over which Jesus reigns.
One recurring theme is that the kingdom Jesus proclaimed is a kingdom of vulnerability. Jesus has committed the future of his kingdom to people who know that it is in their weakness that God’s strength is revealed. It is a kingdom where the only weapons for confronting the evils of the world are love, compassion, self-sacrifice, forgiveness, and mercy.
Another theme is that his kingdom is quite unlike the kingdoms of the world. It is a kingdom without any castle or palace. It is a kingdom without any need for a congress or parliament because he has already given the two laws which cover it all: Love God, and love your neighbor. It is a kingdom that has no need for a military to enforce the borders, or to make enemies afraid. It is a kingdom where strangers are not only expected but sought after.
Our citizenship in the kingdom of God is revealed when we share Jesus’ grace and love with the least, the last, and the lost. Discipleship in the kingdom of God takes flesh when we share his mercy and forgiveness with those who have the greatest need to be shown mercy and forgiveness. When Jesus reigns from his throne in our hearts, we are enabled to offer love and compassion, forgiveness and mercy to the world – and the kingdom of God comes near!
From our vantage point in time, there is one other thing we know about the kingdom of Jesus that would have interested Pilate. Of all the kingdoms of the world that were around in the time of Pilate, the kingdom of Jesus is the only one still around. Two thousand years from now, it will still be the only kingdom that endures.
We tend to forget that, at the peril of our faith. A lot of religious people today, who identify first with one of the political kingdoms of this world, might want to remember this. One of the many things the life of Jesus tells us is that he was not brought down by atheism and anarchy, but by religion aligned with political power. Jesus was brought before Pilate, the Roman governor, because the people of faith trusted the reign of the Romans more than the reign of God.
When Jesus is our king, we have reason to celebrate our faithful past. We give thanks for all that has been done, which has brought us to this day. We give thanks that Jesus, as the Word, has formed and shaped us, to reveal the image of God. We give thanks that his mercy and grace have forgiven us and freed us to be who we are. This is a kingdom worth celebrating, and a king worth following.
When Jesus is our king, we can declare with the psalmist, “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Kingdom life is a call to live under the reign of Jesus every day, in every moment. When we live in the kingdom, we will be able to say with the Apostle Paul, “See, now this is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation.” This is a kingdom worth celebrating, and a king worth following.
When Jesus is our king, we are called “to serve the present age, our calling to fulfill,” as we sing in Charles Wesley’s hymn. Pilate couldn’t see the kingdom of Jesus because Pilate was committed to serving the kingdoms of this world. To see the kingdom of Jesus, we first have to let God be God in our hearts. It is only then that we will let God be God in our church. It is only then that we will let God be God in our neighborhood. It is only then that we will let God be God in our jobs, in our families, and in our communities. When we let Jesus rule over our hearts, we can see the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. This is a kingdom worth celebrating, and a king worth following.
When Jesus is our king, we know the Way because God is always leading us forward. Jesus, as the Son of God, give us the vision of what our life together will be like in heaven, so that we can live into that life in the here and now. That is why we sing, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her king.” This is a kingdom worth celebrating, and a king worth following.
When Jesus is our king, we work towards the future glory of the kingdom. We give thanks because the promise of his reign is not only for today but for tomorrow. Our thanksgiving is not only for what God has done but for what God will do. Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” The Pilates of this world will disappear, and most will be forgotten, but the reign of Jesus Christ is forever and ever. This is a kingdom worth celebrating, and a king worth following.
When Jesus is our king, we are declaring that we believe that Jesus is faithful enough, and powerful enough, to bring his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. When we pray for peace and reconciliation, instead of fighting for power and protection, we are living into the coming kingdom. When we humble ourselves in worship, rather than exalt ourselves in pleasure, we are living into the coming kingdom. When we spend and are spent in helping others, rather than working to satisfy our own appetites, we are living into the coming kingdom. When our every thought, word, and work brings glory to God, and hope to those who are in need, we are living into the coming kingdom. This is a kingdom worth celebrating, and a king worth following.
When Jesus is our king, we can take the oath of kingdom citizenship. When Jesus is our king, we can declare “no gifts have we to offer, for all Thy love imparts, but that which Thou desirest, our humble, thankful hearts. All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above, then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord for all His love.”
UMH 715 “Rejoice, the Lord is King”