First Presbyterian Church
Christ Reigns
Sermon for November 25, 2007
by Pastor Susan Barnes

Today is the Reign of Christ Sunday, where we speak of Jesus as the king, as sovereign over all.

We don't have royalty here in the US, except in the movies, or at Disneyland or Disney World. I just read that if you want to have breakfast with one of the Disney princesses with a bunch of other tourists, you have to make reservations 180 days in advance. Princesses are still popular. Most of us love fairy tales, where the good princess beats out the bad queen, when the evil threat is eradicated by the hero who gets to be the king. The new Disney movie “Enchanted” is enchanting the critics.

But in politics, we know that some times, all we can hope for is a bad ruler getting replaced by a mediocre ruler. Political alliances become liabilities, not assets, and successful politicians learn to speak about what is expedient as if it is noble. In Jesus' day, rulers were worse.

Luke begins his gospel saying that this happens in the time of King Herod of Judea. That's how they dated events in those days; by what ruler was ruling which region. I want to tell you a little about King Herod of Judea.

King Herod the Great was named King of the Jews by the Roman Senate. Herod named his first-born son Antipater, after his father. But when Herod divorced his wife to marry another woman, he sent his son Antipater away as well. He named two other sons his heirs. But once they finished their education in Rome and returned to the court in Jerusalem, Herod had them executed for treason, and called for Antipater to return, which he did. Two years or so later, Herod executed him, with the approval of the emperor. Antipater was charged with trying to poison his father.

Each time a son died, Herod the Great had to change his will. When Herod died, he named Antipas, Archelaus and Philip as his heirs and he designated the territories they were to inherit. All three sons were also called Herods. The Roman emperor Augustus had to approve these plans, so the three Herods went to Rome, where Antipas tried to persuade the emperor to make him king and give him the whole kingdom and cut out his brothers Archelaus and Philip.

The emperor upheld King Herod's will, rather than Antipas' wishes. No one was named king. Archelaus was made ethnarch of about half of his father's kingdom: Judea, Idumea, and Samaria. Antipas and Philip were just tetrarchs-- they each had a quarter of their father's kingdom. Herod Antipas could rule and collect tribute from Galilee and Perea, and Herod Philip ruled Trachonitis, Batanea and Auranitis.

Soon after, the emperor had to depose Herod Archelaus and replaced him with a prefect.

Herod Antipas built cities and named them after the Roman royal family. He had been declared a tetrarch, which is why the gospels and Acts refer to him mostly as Herod the ruler, and rarely Herod the King. He married a princess from Nabatea in order to insure peace with the Nabateans, from the south. But then he fell in love with Herodias, who was already married to one of his brothers. The family tree of the Herods is so complicated, I couldn't figure out which brother Herodias was first married to. Antipas divorced his first wife and sent her back to Nabatea, leaving him free to marry Herodias. It is Herod Antipas that John the Baptist complained about, and Herod Antipas whom Jesus called ‘that fox.'

About 36 ce the army of Antipas was defeated by his ex-father-in-law's Nabatean army. His ex-father-in-law wasn't happy about the divorce. So, with help from Antipas' brother, tetrarch Philip, he defeated Antipas. Soon after that, the new emperor, Caligula, gave Antipas' territory to his friend Agrippa, and named Agrippa king, and exiled Antipas.

All this history is typical behavior for a king, and would be kings. They marry for power, compete for power, and kill for power routinely. That is what kings are about: keeping power.

Our unison reading is found on page 58. It's called Zechariah's song. In our reading, Zechariah had just won the priestly lottery. He had the honor of going into the sanctuary to offer incense to God. An angel appeared to him there and told him that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a baby and he should name it John. Zechariah doesn't believe the angel, because he and Elizabeth are old, and he says so. So the angel makes him mute, and he can't speak.

When Elizabeth was pregnant with her baby, Mary the mother of Jesus came to visit her. Elizabeth blesses Mary. When Elizabeth gives birth to their baby, she names him John—usually a father named the child, but Zechariah couldn't speak. The relatives didn't think that was a good name because she didn't any relations named John. Zechariah agreed with his wife, and wrote, “his name is John.” And suddenly he was able to speak. His words are called the Song of Zechariah. Listen for the word of God as we read it together in Luke 1:68-79.

68 "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. 69 He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.

72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. 78 By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

This ends our reading from the song of Zechariah.

The word ‘bless' can also mean praise. So when we bless God, we praise God. Zechariah was praising God for his son John, who would prepare the way for the light of God.

One theologian said, “God's redemption isn't just deliverance from political domination…, but the creation of conditions in which God's people can worship and serve God without fear.” 1

John announced that someone would come to give light to those who sat in darkness.

By chapter 3 in Luke, after Jesus was born, Herod the Great has died and his three sons began ruling the area, but one had already been deposed and replaced by a prefect. People still remember Herod the Great, the King of the Jews-- he had kept Judea, Samaria, and the Galilee united.

Our next reading is from the end of the gospel, at the crucifixion.

Listen for the word of God as it is found in Luke 23:33-43.

33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.

34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots to divide his clothing.

35 And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!"

36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, 37 and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!"

38 There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."

39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!"

40 But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." 42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

43 He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

This ends our reading from Luke.

Pilate earlier had asked Jesus if he was the king of the Jews. Jesus gave no answer. Then the soldiers mocked him, calling him King of the Jews.

But it was the condemned criminal who recognized Jesus' sovereignty. He says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” In Luke's gospel, only three people use the word kingdom, besides Jesus. A Pharisee's dinner guest, the angel Gabriel, and the repentant thief. We have an angel, a Pharisee's friend, and a convict. And the convict was given more than he asked for; he was more than remembered, he was accompanied. Jesus tells him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” “With the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame in Jesus parable of the great banquet, the criminal would feast with Jesus.” 2

But for the disciples, Jesus' death is about grief, not hope or joy. For three days they mourned. They didn't lose just a friend and a teacher, but the one they hoped would be the messiah, and be the light leading them through the darkness. And when he died, it was as if they had no hope.

I get a newsletter from the Compassionate Friends, an organization that assists families who are grieving the death of a child of any age. They tell this story in their newsletter.

Harriet Schiff writes;

“One family, trying to avoid Thanksgiving – which was the dead child's birthday as well—decided that family gatherings were no longer for them. They would travel or simply ignore the festivities. One day the mother came up on her ten-year-old daughter crying and asked what was wrong. “All the children in school had talked about their plans and made decorations for the holiday and my daughter felt completely removed from her classmates. She cried that she was not only deprived of her brother who was dead, but she couldn't even have Thanksgiving dinner and a turkey! What she was saying made sense. After all, we still had three living children. They also mattered. That night I talked with my husband and we decided that, no matter how bleak and empty it would be, we would have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

The family sat around the table, very quietly at first. The father said grace and thanked the Lord for the bountiful meal. When he was through, their ten-year-old said she had something to add. “I want to thank Mommy and Daddy for making this very special dinner for our family. And most of all, I want to thank you, God, for having let us have my brother Eric for six years. “ The mother will never forget what her daughter said and told me there was not a dry eye at the table for a few minutes. But gradually, as the meal progressed, they made an effort to discuss why the holiday was celebrated. From there, the parents told amusing experiences at Thanksgiving dinners in their childhood years. By the time the meal was over, the parents discovered that what had built up in their minds as unsurvivable had just become a turning point.” 3

That's what the disciples had to look forward to – finding a way through their grief.

But instead, they discovered Jesus was more than the king of the Jews. He becomes the messiah who saves others only by not saving himself. Only in the powerlessness of the cross can he demonstrate the authority that ultimately rescues criminals, scoffers, and religious leaders. Refusing the voices of temptation, Jesus then defines for us what kind of king he really is, not by sitting on a throne, but by dying on the cross. Saving by losing, living by dying. The righteous branch grown out of disloyalty and broken covenants. The lost restored, the broken made whole. 4

And once the disciples started churches, they sang of Jesus Christ with joy. The first part of Colossians is an ancient hymn. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Colossians 1:11-20.

11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.13 He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers-- all things have been created through him and for him.

17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Amen. Let's listen to the choir.

1New Interpreter's Bible, IX, p. 59.

2New Interpreter's Bible, IX, p. 458.

3 “The Compassionate Friends,” November 2007, Eastern Oregon Chapter, Baker City, p. 4, quoting form The Bereaved Parent, by Harriet Schiff.

4 paraphrased from Texts for Preaching , year C, Cousar et al, p. 607.