Kingship Makes No Sense

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
May 20th 2007
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53
“Kingship Makes No Sense”

I still remember the day, if you can call it day, that my mother woke me well before dawn so my brother and I could, in her words, “witness history.” And, because of that early wake up call, I was a witness to the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. While I was not all that impressed with the royal pageantry, I can at least claim to have “witnessed history.” Fascination with the British royal family is strong for many people. The royal family gets to live a life of luxury but it does come at the expense of personal privacy. The tabloid press is always on top of the latest bit of news from who is cheating on whom and whether or not the youngest prince will see combat in Iraq. Over the last few weeks the arrival of the Queen at Jamestown was the talk of the nation.
When we talk about kings and queens and royalty it is safe to say that our modern reference point for many people is the British royal family. They are very wealthy, they do receive many benefits at the hands of the British taxpayers, but they actually have very little political power. In other words, when we talk about kings today, we are talking about people of leisure who are fodder for front page news, who often prove useful for national unity, but at the end of the day have little impact on day-to-day life. Maybe this is why I have little interest in the British Royal family. I share this information because it is critical for followers of Jesus to recognize this reality when we refer to Jesus as King or Lord. This issue becomes particularly important on Ascension Sunday.
The Ascension, which was actually celebrated Thursday this past week, is the day we remember that Jesus went sit at the right hand of God. The ascension is not a new phenomenon in the history of God. It is a day that is meant to parallel the enthronement of Jesus with the enthronement of God in the Old Testament. So celebrating the Ascension is an affirmation of the divinity of Jesus and the affirmation that Jesus is King.
In practice, celebrating the ascension is not the high point of the Christian year. It is not a day where when church attendance will dramatically rise. I do not pretend to have the solution which will change this reality. However, I believe some of the lack of interest in the ascension has to do with language. The church uses language which we have inherited from those who have gone before us. However, we have not always done a good job at explaining that language or expanding it to include more culturally accessible language. As a result, the church risks placing an unintended barrier in the way of people hearing the good news. For many in our culture who have not grown up in the church referring to Jesus as Lord or King might lead some to equate the kingship of Jesus with the British royal family.
In fact, I believe this is a risk for even those of us who grew up church as well. Using royal language, however careful we might be, runs the risk of creating an understanding of Jesus which, in practice, is comparable to the British Royal family. This is what I mean: Many people are curious about the Royal family, so too many curious about Jesus. Much like the Royal family, Jesus makes for good headlines. In fact, Jesus can even be inserted at the proper social occasions, and even function as a good will ambassador. Ok, maybe that last one was pushing the analogy too far, but the result is the same. While it may be too much to try and blame this on language, I believe it is worth considering carefully. For many people, Jesus, like the modern British Royal family, has little or no impact on our day-to-day life. As a result, we can end up with a religion which can serve important social functions but does not have the power to transform lives. And, this type of Jesus is one for which I have little use. Fortunately, that Jesus is nothing like we one revealed to us in the scriptures.
The Ephesians passage asserts that Jesus ascension into heaven means he stands above all rules, all authorities, and all powers. These words are a powerful statement that has wide-reaching implications which is simply not conveyed by limited royal language. So if we want our faith to have more impact on our daily lives, a more comprehensive understanding of Jesus would move us to measure our lives, our work and our decisions through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This understanding of the ascension would lead us to place loyalty to Jesus Christ over all other claims even, political, economic claims.
As those who live in the shadow of the Ascension, we are called to live faithfully and to give witness to our faith. Expressing our faith means we must say no to the Jesus who looks like the modern day Royal family. Instead, we are called to witness to the transforming power of Jesus in our lives and in our world. And this is most authentic when we are able to share how the one who, “ascended into heaven and sitteth upon the right hand of God,” has impacted our life.
We know that faith in Jesus Christ has the power to transform lives. However, this truth, this message, seems to be trapped by language people no longer understand. It is time that we do what we can to avoid Jesus being seen as having as much impact on our daily lives as a member of the British Royal family. I wish I could give new language to replace that which has become a stumbling block but I cannot provide and easy substitution. However, the goal is not to find easy answers but to seek ways to give witness to our faith in Jesus Christ so that all will know the transforming love of God. May God grant us the wisdom, the courage, the intelligence, and the imagination for this critical work. Amen.