On this Christ the King Sunday I am pondering: What does it
mean if Jesus is our King, our Lord, our Master?
First and foremost, I think it means that our primary
identity is found in our relationships and commitment to others and God for
that is what follows from the Great Command: Love the Lord your God and Love
your Neighbor. Our commitment to forming
and maintaining relationships with others and with God is where our identity is
founded. It is our purpose.
So, what does this mean?
It means that people (and God since God’s image is mirrored
in humanity and God dwells in humanity) are our highest priority, our deepest
commitment: the highest, the top, the most important, the most valuable, for
what we are willing to sacrifice. This is what Jesus teaches us.
This means nothing else should outdo the creating,
maintaining and repairing of our relationships.
Not one’s politics, one’s nationality, one’s ethnicity, one’s gender,
one’s sexual orientation, one’s sports team alliance…..you get the picture.
Nothing.
It also means that our relationship with our community
(particularly a faith community?) should take priority over things like space
and location, music preferences, ritual preferences.
Because how much do we truly value our relationship with
others if we are willing to cut ties with those to whom we have bonded
because:
·
we sing music I don’t like
·
we disagree politically
·
we dislike choices that have been made
·
we’ve moved location
·
we liked it better last year? ten years ago?
when someone else was in charge?
Now, I do not profess to know all the answers, and since
these questions I am pondering deal with human beings, it means they are
fraught with complexities and issues not addressed in this writing. But from
where I am sitting now, when we are willing to cut ties and break the bonds of
community over these reasons----as important, valuable, and strong as they
are-----we are turning these reasons into idols. Because these reasons (which
are actually our personal preferences and not “rights” or “wrongs”) become more
important than our relationships with people.
Jesus made it clear: God does not reside in buildings, but
in humanity. It’s not a ritual of sacrifice that God desires, but a life of
sacrifice. God is not seeking our political or musical agreement, but our unity
in the care of one another and of our Creation.
It’s not about our will, our way, or our choice. It’s about God’s will, God’s way and God’s
choice. God doesn’t call us into community to make us happy, but to make us
holy.
I know this isn’t a popular outlook. We like to be able to
choose for ourselves, to be in control, to be comfortable, to be right. I like
all those things too. It is just that,
my experience has been, much of the time Jesus leads me elsewhere. All for the
sake of my brother, my sister, and in the end, for my own sake. For your sake
is my sake and my sake is your sake.
That’s Gospel.
