Christ Episcopal Church
November 22, 2015
Christ the King
As many of you know, I served for a number of summers as the chaplain for 4th and 5th graders at Procter Camp, our diocesan camp in Southern Ohio. One of my responsibilities there was to celebrate the Eucharist every morning. The lessons for each day were chosen to correspond to the theme of the camp, so each day I had new readings to work with for the homily. But I needed something more to get the kids' attention. They were 8 and 9 years old, after all. So, each day a different cabin got to put an item into a special bag and bring the bag to chapel. Whatever was in the bag, I had to weave into the very brief homily. The only rule was that whatever went into the bag could not be alive or ever have been alive. That eliminates a lot of things fourth and fifth graders might come up with. But over the years, I found a Barbie, a clock, all sorts of soaps and shampoos, socks- clean, fortunately, a talking stick, a camera, and all kinds of other random things kids bring to camp. One year, on the last day of camp, when all the parents had come to pick up their children and were also at Eucharist, I reached into the bag and pulled out a roll of toilet paper. Now, there are all kinds of ways one could go with a homily on toilet paper, and I am sure the boys' cabin that provided me with the roll had several in mind. I don't remember the theme of the camp that year, or what the Scripture readings were that day, but roll of toilet paper reminded me of the gratitude I see on people's faces at the Food Pantry when they receive this simple, and utterly basic necessity that I totally take for granted. Kelly, our parish administrator, and I experienced this very gratitude on Wednesday after Food Pantry. We saw a woman coming to the door of Hollenbeck after the Food Pantry had closed. We were completely and totally out of food. Kelly grabbed a package of toilet paper, and I headed for the door to greet the woman. The woman had actually come to get the walker she had left, but Kelly handed her the package of toilet paper anyway and said "Would you like some toilet paper." The woman's is clearly not an Episcopalian because she threw her arms up in the air and shouted "Praise Jesus!" This for a package of toilet paper. Kelly and I weren't sure whether to share in her joy, or weep.
What, you might reasonably wonder, does toilet paper have to do with Christ the King Sunday, our patronal feast day? Today, we hear Pilate ask Jesus "Are you the King of the Jews?" And we hear Jesus be less than direct in his reply: "Do you ask this on your own or did others tell you about me?" When Pilate asks Jesus "What have you done?" Jesus replies "My kingdom is not from this world." And he repeats "My kingdom is not from here."
So, is Jesus a king or not? And what does this have to do with toilet paper?
When I think of Christ the King, I think of the resurrected Jesus, the one the reading from Revelation calls "the faithful witness, the first born of the dead, and ruler of the kings of the earth," the one who says at the end of the book of Revelation "Behold, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes....Behold, I am making all things new." But today's gospel reading is part of the gospel reading for Good Friday. Every year on Good Friday, we hear Pilate ask "Are you the king of the Jews?" and we hear Jesus say "You say that I am a king." Jesus does not look like a king when he stands before Pilate and Jesus certainly won't look like a king hanging on a cross. There are no fancy robes, he has no great wealth, no army, no territory over which to rule. Jesus will have a crown, but it will be made of thorns, not gold and jewels. He will be called "King of the Jews" but the people will be mocking him, not honoring him. His followers are not fighting to keep Jesus from being handed over to the authorities. So what kind of king is Jesus?
Earlier in John's gospel, Jesus said "I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep." Jesus knew his Hebrew Bible and he assumed his followers did, too. And those followers who heard Jesus talk about the Good Shepherd would have been reminded of the passage in Ezekiel where God says "I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will feed them himself and be their shepherd." David, of course, was the great King of Israel, who is described in Ezekiel as a shepherd. When Jesus says "I am the Good Shepherd," Jesus is describing his kingship. Jesus is the king who is a shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep, which is what he is about to do when he stands before Pilate this morning.
Jesus' kingship is different. Jesus' kingship is not of this world, and does not hold to the values of this world. Jesus sought no power, wealth, or privilege for himself. Instead Jesus worked to give power to the powerless, hope to those without hope, strength to the weak, and resources to the poor. The last words of King David, Jesus' ancestor, are said to be those we hear in 2 Samuel this morning "One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God, is like the light of morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land." The work of the Shepherd King is to bring the light of morning to the darkness of night, and rain to the dry grass, making all things new for all people.
On Christ the King Sunday, we are reminded that this is the person for whom our church is named. The toilet paper we offer today will be greatly appreciated by those who receive it, I can guarantee that, but the toilet paper will not change their lives. The lives that will be changed by our offering of toilet paper are our lives. Our lives are changed as we see and hear the deep gratitude of those who receive this simple, basic gift. Kelly and I did not know whether to rejoice with our friend at the door on Wednesday, or to weep that someone could be so deeply excited about something so small. I believe God calls us to be weep for all people all over the world who lack the basic things we all take for granted, whether toilet paper, food, shelter, medical care, or physical safety, and be moved to make this world of Christ is the King. As Christ Church, we are called be shaped by a kingship not of this world, and to make our world a place where the light of morning shines through for all people.
Amen.
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