Christ the King reminds us who isn’t

Russia President Vladimir Putin again demonstrates the importance of metaphors such as Christ the King and Kingdom of God as a way of exposing the impotency of hierarchies and power systems. From Bloomberg Surveillance, November 29, 2023:

Russia Wants Foreign Visitors to Sign “Loyalty” Pledge to Regime

Russia wants foreigners entering the country to sign a “loyalty agreement” pledging not to challenge the Kremlin on issues like President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine and a ban on promoting LGBT relationships, according to the Tass news service.

Under a draft law prepared by the Interior Ministry, foreign entrants would sign a declaration agreeing to comply with prohibitions “established to protect the national interests of Russia,” the state-run news service reported Wednesday, citing the document.

It would be very revealing to hear how each of the 2024 US presidential candidates would respond to Russia’s proposed “loyalty agreement.” Martin Luther King, Jr. and Reinhold Niebuhr are no longer with us in body, but it’s a learning exercise to explore what they might say.

From “Martin Luther King Jr.: Bearing the Cross and Staring Down the Lynching Tree,” by James H. Cone, Church Life Journal, February 20, 2023.

For a deep dive into King’s thoughts about Niebuhr, see “The Theology of Reinhold Niebuhr,” King’s essay while a student at Boston University, 1953-54, from Stanford University’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute.

The power of “No”

Every young investor benefits from the experience and wisdom of an older family member, friend, colleague or mentor. Warren Buffett (born 1930) was doubly blessed by his relationships with Benjamin Graham (1894-1976) and Charlie Munger (1924-2023). Buffett called Munger the Abominable “No” Man because of his instinctive ability to say “No” to a bad deal and his ability to convince Buffett to avoid problematic investments.

This week’s theme is the “Christ the King,” and as I watched the videos about Munger linked in this post, I became freshly aware that to say “Yes” to the Kingdom of God is de facto a way of saying “No” to the ways of power and “lording it over others” that have been common among earth’s monarchs and tribal/national leaders. Munger understood that if all one accomplishes in life is the accumulation of great wealth, “it’s a failed life.”

From a 9:26 minute conversation between John Fortt and Becky Quick about Charlie Munger, including excerpts from her November 14th interview with Munger

An important, ironic nuance

We grow up learning about human hierarchies and power systems. It’s understandable that we incorporate those hierarchies and power systems into our understanding of God and the Universe.

Christ the King Sunday is a recent addition to the liturgical calendar. Less than 100 years ago, Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King on the Sunday before Advent in 1925 with his encyclical Quas primas (in the first) “to respond to growing secularism and atheism.”

The Pope declared the supremacy of Christ after a devastating world war and the rise of communism in Russia. There’s an important, ironic nuance imbedded in the Feast of Christ the King: Jesus of Nazareth demonstrated to his followers a qualitatively different kind of leadership. He was very unking-like.

His central theme the Kingdom of God relativizes earth’s kingdoms and presents a new way, an alternative to earth’s hierarchies and power systems that emphasized self-giving servanthood.

From “Celebrating Christ the King: 12 Interesting Facts About Christ the Redeemer Statue,” by Alyssa Murphy, National Catholic Register, November 26, 2023

Think Bigger

Yesterday, some Christian traditions observed Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent. This week, I aim to “unpack” the meaning of this admittedly obscure day on the liturgical calendar.

First, anyone who has studied even just a little bit about Jesus of Nazareth will recognize that he would be embarrassed by the high falutin name the church has given this celebration. Christians claim for Jesus the title Christ, which is the Greek word for the Hebrew term Messiah, the anointed.

The claim for Jesus the title Messiah points to an important difference between the Christian community and the Jewish community, which is still looking for the (first) coming of Messiah.

When Christians claim for Jesus the title Christ, especially when we add the words the King, we redefine the meaning of both Christ/Messiah and the word King. We see Jesus as the exact opposite of an earthly king or emperor. Here’s the irony: We understand Christ to be very unking like.

The figure (or metaphor) Christ the King is humble, in contrast to the world’s pompous ways. Christ the King is a humble servant, not a presidential candidate in the South Carolina primary. Some of Jesus’ followers wanted him to lead a revolt against Roman rule. He said, “No, thank you.”

Here’s the thing: Jesus was about a Bigger Reality embodied in the Jewish concept of Messiah. It’s an all-inclusive “kingdom” that comprises the entire Universe.

From thisischurch.com

Think Big

Many Christian traditions observe today as Christ the King Sunday. This week’s posts will focus on the metaphor of Kingdom, or Reign, asking the question, “Who, or What, is Sovereign?” Jesus, consistent with his Jewish tradition, invited his followers to “Think Big” when considering now far to extend love and how inclusive to be as we “treat others the way you want to be treated.”

Last week, Richard Rohr pointed to a couple of worthy “faculty members” to help us in our journey:

The great chain of being was the medieval metaphor for ecology before we spoke of ecosystems. While it was structured as a hierarchy, with each link in the chain “closer” to God, I view it as a philosophical and theological attempt to speak of the interconnectedness of all things on the level of pure “Being.” Today we might call it “the circle of life.” If God is Being Itself (Deus est Ens), as both St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas Aquinas taught in the thirteenth century, then the great chain became a way of teaching and preserving the inherent dignity of all things that participate in that Divine Being in various ways. For me, it speaks of the inherent sacrality, interconnectedness, and communality of creation.

From “God is Being Itself,” a Daily Meditation published by the Center for Action and Contemplation, November 19, 2023

A reminder from Julian

After four days of camping at the beach with our daughter Lindy, we received word that my aunt was on her way to the hospital after getting sick during the night. We made a hurried getaway, but just an hour earlier than we planned.

A call from the hospital ER to confirm some information made the long ride anxiety-free. The ER staff member urged us to take our time. He was comforting in a down home way–more concerned about our traffic than my aunt’s blood pressure. That’s grace!

I’ve spent much of my life encouraging people to lap up abounding grace, but it still surprises me. The more expectant I can be, the more available I will be for the next wave of grace and more adept at sharing life’s undeserved gifts with others.

The day started a little earlier than planned and went a little later than planned, but as our sister (and faculty member) Julian of Norwich (1343-c.1416) said: all shall be well, all shall be well, all manner of things shall be well.

From “Revelations of Divine Love review – Julian of Norwich’s heavenly visions,” a review by Nicholas Lezaard, The Guardian, May 5, 2015

Dual citizenship

Since 1976, I’ve been conscious of a simultaneous dual citizenship. Everyone belongs somewhere, by choice or by circumstances of birth. I just showed up at birth, but attending a naturalization ceremony a few years ago gave me a great appreciation for those who work to acquire US citizenship. My US citizenship is an undeserved gift, for which I’m grateful. I have deep love for America’s ideals.

Like my US citizenship, my citizenship in the Kingdom of God is an undeserved gift which brings with it a sense of kinship with all other human beings–indeed, with all creatures. As Edwin Moses said, “I’m a child of the universe.” For me, the “Kingdom/Reign of God” is a metaphor for the call to transcend one’s ethnic, tribal or national identity and loving one’s neighbor (and one’s enemy) as one’s self.

Jesus expressed a reality inherent in Judaism, that all creation is kin, all humans are brothers and sisters, regardless of our ethnicity, nation or faith. This global/universal consciousness comes with monotheism, which is Judaism’s great contribution. A universal/cosmic faith transcends all earthly identities.

in 1976, Bill Nichols, a member of Congress, spoke at our congregation for a special service commemorating the US Bicentennial. I became more conscious of our 200+ year US heritage and our 2000+ year faith heritage. We’re part of something Big, and we’re part of something Bigger.

From “What is the kingdom of God?“, by Ask The UMC, a ministry of United Methodist Communications. United Methodist Communications

Thanksgiving 2023

This morning, we listened to a brief, encouraging Thanksgiving 2023 video greeting from Robert B. Hubbell and his wife Jill Bickett. We were inspired by his upbeat view of today’s challenges, especially his perspective about Benjamin Franklin, a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention at the age of 81.

Happy Thanksgiving!

From a 9:26 minute video, “Thanksgiving 2023,” by Robert Hubbell and Jill Bickett.

A spirit of thanksgiving

Today, with gratitude for all that gives life meaning, my mind returns to early American thanksgiving celebrations, including proclamations by George Washington in 1789 and Abraham Lincoln in 1863. These are important components of our national identity.

I’m grateful for our Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the US Constitution. The story of these amendments, and James Madison’s leadership, is instructive for us today as some Republican leaders want to re-write the US Constitution. Here’s the First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

May it long endure.

“Baptist Joint Committee gains faith and justice center, grows religious liberty work,” by Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service, March 6, 2023

Brunswick spirituality

Healthy faiths (and healthy nations) allow room for dissent and do not demand uniformity of thought. The 60th anniversary of JFK’s death reminds me of the first break with conformity I remember–that to be elected president one must be a Protestant.

My friend Al is a “cafeteria Catholic,” an easy conversion for a “cafeteria Methodist,” described by a wise priest during Al’s confirmation. The adjective cafeteria likely complements your descriptor, too. You may generally agree with your tribe, but with a few (or many) caveats.

With authoritarian conformity on the rise, let’s affirm our Founders’ vision of religious liberty, which allows for a Brunswick spirituality. Like Brunswick stew, everyone’s faith is a little different. You and your sister may both use Mama’s recipe, but your stews may differ from each other’s and from Mama’s.

Amanda Tyler is Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Freedom. They’re leading Christians Against Christian Nationalism. Tyler and the BJC make me proud of the Baptist DNA in my stew. It’s the DNA of originally persecuted folks who now fervently champion religious freedom.

For the complicated story of Brunswick stew, see “Which state put the Brunswick in Brunswick stew? A history,” by Kelly Kazek, Southern Living, November 9, 2018