christ the king part deux

So pretend you are taking Jesus to a cocktail party (this is what I tried to have the congregation do on Sunday) and you have to introduce Jesus to your friends, colleagues, whoever, with one thoughtful detail from all of the birth life, death and resurrection of Jesus that will reflect your relationship to him AND who he is.

What a task.

So, on Christ the King Sunday, traditionally the thoughtful detail we would add is that Christ is the King of Kings. This may not ring true for all of us. I found in my own study of the lectionary texts for the week, that there were many many metaphors, names and details about Jesus, many of which ring truer for me than king (oh the irony, seeing how I am a king of one sort). This drawing reflects the names I found for him in those texts, and they way I see them weaving together.

So what about this king deal? Here is the bottom line for me... rather than let the earthly metaphor of king (which is LOADED with the cultural and social baggage we bring to it) limit Jesus, let Jesus expand out notion of king, of leadership.

I think Jesus subverts monarchy, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross (Colossians 1:20) rather than by shedding the blood of others. He subverts hierarchy by hanging out with the lowest of the low rather than ruling from on high. He held no political office yet changed history (I know some of y'all might argue with that). So for me, the power in thinking of Jesus as a king lies in the way its challenges my notions of how leaders should lead.

One more thing... what we call Jesus is about whether or not it facilitates our relationship with Jesus. We should critically reflect on the names we use and whether or not they are appropriate for us. If king does not let me grow in my understanding of Jesus, maybe I can find another name that does. If king does not challenge me, maybe I can find another name that does. If the title of king does not draw me closer to Jesus, then I NEED to find another name that does. I will give credit to Bruce RC for this... Language should expand our faith, not restrict it.

So if you were wondering what I was gonna do with the whole Christ the King dilemma, that was the shortish version.