What King do you see?

Today is the feast day of Christ the King. I wonder what kind of picture comes into our heads when we hear the word, “King”. I wonder how we react to the idea of someone being King over us? What does it mean to have a King? These questions are difficult enough when we’re thinking about a King here on earth, but I think that sometimes they seem even more difficult to answer when we are talking about Jesus as King. But that is what I’d like to do this morning. We’re going to have a look at the three readings, at the things that they show us about Jesus as King, and think about what that means for our lives now.

The first reading we heard is part of the book of Daniel. You probably know him best from the story of Daniel and the Lion’s Den. Daniel was an Israelite, probably from one of the ruling families in Jerusalem, who had been carried off into exile in Babylon when Jerusalem had been defeated about 600 years before Jesus was born. He was a faithful worshipper of God, who, throughout his exile proved the practical wisdom of following God faithfully.

A few years before the incident with the lions, Daniel had a series of dreams or visions, in which he was shown things that were to come about in the future. The descriptions of the things that he was shown sound foreign and strange, even when they’ve been translated into English. What is it with all these beasts and horns, and wheels on a throne?

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A Call to Action

On the 13th of May, 1940, a new Prime Minister stood up to speak in the Palace of Westminster. It was his first speech to the House of Commons, having replaced the previous leader of the government three days earlier. As the United Kingdom prepared to enter perhaps the most dangerous period of the war, this is part of what he said:

“I would say to the House as I said to those who have joined this government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering.

You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory. Victory at all costs — Victory in spite of all terror — Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.”

The response to this call to action, and others like it, is part of what we remember today. The response by ordinary people, a response of strength and courage. A response that took the call to action seriously, and did something about it. People responded by shedding blood, tears and sweat. And in the end that response did lead to victory.

There was a call to action. There was a response. There was a victory.

In our readings today we heard about other calls to action and the responses that they provoked.

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