The Upside Down Kingdom of Jesus

Beloved in Christ,

This Sunday is the feast of Christ the King. It was first added to the Christian calendar by Pope Pius XI in 1925, in the bitterly divided aftermath of World War I, when nationalism and fascism were alarmingly ascendant across Europe. He conceived of it as a way to remind Christians that our primary allegiance is not to any earthly ruler or nation, but to Jesus Christ.

Using word “king” to describe Jesus, or “kingdom” to describe his coming reign, can make us uncomfortable. The word carries a connotation of tyrannical, authoritarian rule, that seems very unlike how Jesus used and described his authority. But Jesus, the New Testament, and the church through the ages knew exactly what they were doing - engaging the subversive act of turning the concepts of king and kingdom on their heads. The point is that Jesus is unlike any and all political and institutional powers in the world. Instead of privileging one tribe, language, or nation, Jesus builds the Beloved Community gathered around God’s feast of love. Instead of making himself big in order to win, Jesus comes to us small and humble. Instead of clinging to his identity with entitlement, Jesus leads by serving. Instead of putting himself first, he lives by dying. That is how the God of all creation presides over the whole cosmos. 

As we find ourselves in a moment when Christian Nationalism—that abomination that equates the dominance of a racially narrow understanding of America with the kingdom of God—is again ascendant, this feast is as important as it has ever been. I, for one, am unwilling to cede the language of God’s kingdom that is given to us in the scripture to such a gross distortion. We cannot allow those who would corrupt the gospel of Jesus to steal from us the way that very gospel speaks of the savior. We are invited in these days, and all days, to follow our spiritual ancestors in pointing to Christ the King of peace. We point to that kingdom  by sowing God’s reckless generosity wherever we go, by meeting the hatred and vitriol all around with God’s love, by standing with those the world’s kingdoms constantly push aside, and by walking day by day the way of the cross of Jesus, which alone can bring true life, true liberation, true peace, and true joy. 

As we gather around our diverse and varied altars this Sunday, proclaim Jesus as king loudly, boldly, without apology or fear, and may we tether our lives to God’s reign of love and justice, until it is gloriously and finally done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Grace and Peace,

The Right Reverend Craig Loya