“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and
scatter the sheep of my pasture! Says the
Lord.”
I thought I would do a little Jim Campbell
history lesson today on why we have Christ
the King Sunday as our last Sunday of
Ordinary Time. I obtained this information
from Sojourners magazine and the article was
written by T. Denise Anderson who is the
acting director of Racial Equity and Women’s
Intercultural Ministries of the Presbyterian
Church (USA).
Denise notes that “Reign of Christ Sunday has
resonance for any church leader accused in
these times of being “too political” in their
preaching and teaching. Pope Pius XI
instituted this feast day in December 1925.”
Then Denise lists the following events that
might explain why he did this.
“In July 1925, Adolf Hitler published the first
volume of his manifesto, Mein Kampf. In
August 1925, approximately 40,000 members
of the Ku Klux Klan marched on Washington,
D.C. With membership of nearly 5 million, the
KKK was reputed to be the largest fraternal
organization in the U.S. at the time. In
October, the Locarno Treaties divided Europe
into eastern and western sections. The
aftermath of World War I saw growing
nationalist sentiment throughout the world.
That same year, Mussolini became the fascist
head of the Italian Republic and was actively
trying to win over Italy’s Roman Catholic
majority through several religious
appeasements. Pope Pius XI wanted to
counter what he perceived to be unhealthy
nationalism and called the church to declare
Christ’s kingship over all of creation. In other
words, no matter one’s nation of citizenship,
the first identity and allegiance of a Christian
is to Jesus.”
The Jeremiah passage we read refers to the
fall of Jerusalem to Babylonian forces. Even
though the leaders of the Jewish nation were
guilty of bad shepherding, God would redeem
them eventually. Jeremiah is admonishing the
people to recognize that the power wielded
by Nebudchadnezzar, Cyrus and any other
king or emperor is temporary and does not
compare to the power held by God. And
calling Jesus a king in first century Palestine
was also a political statement that recognized
the impermanence of the Roman Empire.
Pope Pius XI was taking his cues from
Jeremiah and Jesus. Now we are living in
another time when nationalism, populism,
and fear of the other have raised their heads.
And, we are reminded this day that Christ is
King and God has power over all of Creation.
This knowledge doesn’t mean we can sit back
and assume it will all work out without any
input from us. After all, Jeremiah took to the
streets and warned people of the corruption
in leadership, of God’s displeasure in the way
marginalized folks were being treated: the
widow, the orphan, the alien, and the poor.
And Jesus, in his kingship, did the same.
Though, all through the gospels we hear Jesus
rejecting earthly kingship. And, that ultimate
rejection is his crucifixion-he chose not to
defend himself. Those who taunted him were
perhaps referring to the sign above his head
declaring him the “king of the Jews”. The
whole world came into being through him.
Yet, he set that aside to live as a human being
and all the dangers that manifests. He
rejected kingship-he avoided those who
would make him a king. We, like Jesus and
Jeremiah, must remember who we follow who is important in our lives and how we live.
I don’t think any of us here are ignoring the
plights of the widow, the orphan, the alien or
the poor. Although, we may become
overwhelmed at times. And, I hope with the
information we all have, that we are talking to
others about these issues. That we are
pointing out when our leaders destroy and
scatter the sheep.
Christ our King reigns this day and for all
eternity.