Crown Him

This last Sunday in the church year is sometimes called Christ the King Sunday. More importantly, today is the Last Sunday after Pentecost. Today is the last of those many, many "green" Sundays after Pentecost that have led us through the summer and most of fall. This week the old year ends, and next Sunday we begin anew with the First Sunday of Advent. On this culminating Sunday of the church year, every year the themes put before us are those of judgment, especially the final judgment of the end times, and of the coming of Christ’s Kingdom.

The informal title, Christ the King Sunday, comes to us from the Roman Catholic Church and is certainly not universally remembered or commemorated among Episcopal churches. It was not a big part of my own past history within the church until I served at St. Patrick’s Church in Maine where the figure of Christ that hung over the altar was a Christus Rex, Christ on the cross, but the living Christ, robed as a priest and crowned as a king.  Christ the King reigned over the church every Sunday.  (Here at St. John's, Christ crowned as a King looks down only upon the sacristy.)

I had imagined that the feast day of Christ the King came out of the medieval history of the Roman Catholic Church, from a time when kingship was common in the world, and all the images of kings and kingdoms would have had vibrant and personal meaning for common Christians. I was surprised to read recently that Pope Pius the XI invented Christ the King Sunday in 1925. Were there any powerful secular kings left in the world in 1925? Were there any Christians in 1925 for whom a king had more than just symbolic or nostalgic meaning? Evidently, the Pope needed a feast day in late fall as a finale for a Jubilee celebration. So, with a pontifical pen stroke, Christ the King Sunday was created. It wasn’t officially designated as the last Sunday before Advent until 1970. This might seem the church at its worst—inventing a holy day based upon symbols and images that are already meaningless and out of date. But, I suppose we could say it is the church at its best when even something as irrelevant as a 20^th century feast day about kings has the power to teach and inspire. And Christ the King Sunday can teach and inspire, even for us 21^st century Episcopalians.

What makes a king a king? There are many answers to that question, of course. Think of the symbols of kingship. Is it the crown that makes a king a king? Every king or queen has a crown. At least in our western culture a crown is the ubiquitous symbol for a monarch. To be crowned is to become king. I’m not sure how this came to be a symbol of kingship, but as I explored the subject a bit, over and over I read that the crown is a symbol of sovereignty, a symbol of personal authority. And surely that is one of the most important aspects of kingship… sovereignty, authority over others. A king is someone who has power, authority over others. Being a king is about much more than just government. It really is about personal power or authority. It is about ruling other people. The authority of one person over another person. And the one who wears the crown has the authority.

This idea that one person automatically has authority over others just because he wears the crown does seem anachronistic in the 21^st century. By what right does a king wear a crown? Surely none of us here this morning believes in the divine right of secular kings to rule their subjects. In America, we fought the revolution to free ourselves from that very yoke. By what right does a king have power and authority over others? How can this possibly be a positive image for Christ?

A bit later we will sing one of the classic hymns of the English Church: Crown him with many crowns. Listen to the words. "Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon the throne… Crown him the Son of God before the worlds began… Crown him the Lord of life, who triumphed o’er the grave… Crown him of lords the Lord, who over all doth reign… Crown him the Lord of heaven, enthroned in worlds above; crown him the King, to whom is given, the wondrous name of Love." We will sing these words, and it is easy to get swept up in the majesty of this hymn. But stop and think for a moment. To whom are these words addressed? Who has the right or the power to establish Jesus as king, as ruler over us? Who is being asked to place the crown of authority upon the brow of Jesus? We are. These words are addressed to us. It is we who are encouraged to crown the Lord with many crowns. It is our privilege, our choice, whether or not to grant a crown, or many crowns, to Jesus. We may make him King, or not.

Jesus does not, of course, need our approval or our help to become all that is named in the hymn. With or without us, Jesus is the Son of God, the Lord of life who triumphed o’er the grave. He is already Lord of all other lords, enthroned in heaven. But for Jesus to really be any of those things in our lives, we must grant him that status. We must offer him the crown before he can reign as Lord in our lives. Christ the King is about Jesus’ power and authority in our lives, but Jesus will not, can not, exercise that power through force or coercion. He will reign with authority in our lives only at our invitation, only if we willingly crown him as our King.

Do you wish to have such a Lord, such a King in your life? He is an unusual King. He is often depicted wearing a crown. All Kings do, it seems. Yet much more often his figure hangs upon a cross. Remember the gospel reading we heard this morning—the gospel appointed this year to be read on Christ the King Sunday. It is the story of the crucifixion. And the reading from the letter to the Colossians ends with praise for Jesus’ work on the cross. This one whom we are invited to crown as our King died, his flesh bound and nailed to a rough and ugly cross. On this day that we remember him as King, we also remember how he was, through our sin, mocked, taunted and killed. Yes, Christ the King wears a crown, but the primary symbol of Jesus’ kingship is the cross.

The cross. Jesus upon the cross. Jesus choosing to die upon the cross for us. Think about what that symbol of kingship means. The cross reminds us that this king rules with a love infinitely more powerful than might. The cross reminds us that in Christ’s Kingdom forgiveness and reconciliation and restoration are the ultimate victory. And Jesus’ life and death upon the cross show that service to God and others, not domination over them, brings true life. The ultimate sign of kingly failure and defeat—death—is the greatest gift of Christ the King. An earthly king’s death ends his reign, ends his kingship. Jesus’ acceptance of death’s defeat begins his reign, and enables us to know and participate in God’s own life, to become citizens of the kingdom of God. It is from the cross that Jesus invites the penitent criminal to join him in paradise.  Jesus' death upon the cross is our passport to the eternal paradise of God's kingdom.

So, will you crown this most unusual King to be Lord in your life? Will you grant him the authority and power to rule in your life?

Will you grant authority to one who gave his life for yours? To one who accepted death so that you might live?

Will you submit to the power of one whose rule is one of love and reconciliation?

Will you give up service to earthly powers and serve the one who is King of heaven?

If so, crown him. You. Stand face to face with Jesus and put the crown upon his brow. Grant him power and authority in your life, so that he may rule and guide your hearts and minds and souls. Crown him with many crowns.

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