Know the Man, Know the King.
“The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring. Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty! Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore.” (Psalm 93:1–5, ESV)
Heat up the Thanksgiving leftovers, the feasting need not end too quickly!
The Liturgical Calendar marks this Lord’s Day the Feast of Christ the King! This is the consummation of the Church Year. Next Sunday we start a new with the first Sunday of Advent. On this day we commemorate and rejoice that He who came in humility has been exalted in glory. The anointed of God has been enthroned in power, and we no longer wait his exaltation, we await his return with expectation. Christ IS the King!
The question that rises in my heart when I hear about the coronation or inauguration of a new king, president, or leader is, “What kind of king will he be?” Can we really know what we’re dealing with until he begins to govern? I think so. The way we find out is to ask another question, “What kind of man is he?”
It is obvious that power doesn’t transform a man’s character as much as expose it. Whatever the man is when he is given power, that will he be as long as he holds it. Think of Washington, Lincoln, the Roosevelts. All great men, not because they became President of the United States, but because they were great men long before they were given that title. What they were before taking office is what was revealed while they were seated in power. The quality of the person means something. If the person has a long held secrets, he’ll keep more secrets, but what he has tried to hide will eventually be exposed. If he is rash the office will not soften him. John Adams is known to have always struggled with rage and anger, every biography and historical record confirms his struggle. The office did not change his character, it amplified it. The answer we find to the question “What kind of man is he?” will help us answer the question, “What kind of King will he be?”
On this feast of Christ the King ask yourself the the question, “What kind of man was he?”, and you’ll know what kind of King he is.
Is he not the one who blessed the poor, the meek, the suffering, the persecuted, the outcasts? Is he not the one who bids the tired and the heavy laden? Is he not the one who confronts tyranny and anarchy? Is he not the one who bids the zealots to lay down his sword and the disciples to take up his cross? Is he not the one who says he has come to seek and to save by paying the ransom, not with your tax dollars, but with his own life? Is he not the one who has descended into the grave in perceived defeat only to be raised in glory? If this is the man that the apostles bore witness to, having seen and heard the man, what kind of King do we think he is?
I would like to celebrate this feast acknowledging what the Psalmist says about the King, particularly concerning what he does in our distress and fear. The King does not have to avoid or ignore the troubles we face in this world. We need not be aloof to the trials we face. The wrongs, injustices, and terrors that impede our flourishing can be named and appealed to our King, and all the while remembering this: “The LORD reigns…The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring. Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty! Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore.”
The LORD who reigns over our circumstances will act in our distress. We may sense the flood waters rising, we only need to remember the man. When the waters rage, he walks upon them. When the waters hem us in, he speaks and the waters become a highway. When the waters rise, he provides an ark. Behold the man. Behold your King! His decrees are very trustworthy.
For further reflection and meditation read:
Psalm 93; Daniel 7:9-14; Revelation 1:1-8
LONG LIVE THE KING!