2023 11 26 Sermon
Christ, the Truest Kind of King
Christ the King Sunday
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24; Matthew 25:31-46
Rev. Karl-John N. Stone
I recently went to see the new Napoleon movie, which shows where ambition, ego, love, intelligence and a quest for power take this famous man who shaped history. We see him profess his devotion to the ideals of the French Revolution—Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite, and the end of monarchy. And then we watch him orchestrate a coup d’état to take control of the French Republic, and eventually declare himself Emperor in order to gain more power. We also see him fall spectacularly from power, being defeated during his invasion of Russia, and finally at the Battle of Waterloo. He was sent into exile twice, and died on a remote island far from France. My son recently had to write an essay for his history class, about whether or not Napoleon upheld the ideals of the French Revolution; because Napoleon left a complicated legacy which is still a matter of debate. Modern polls find that 75% of current French people believe that Napoleon and his modernizing reforms were good for France, but during his lifetime many people grew weary of his authoritarian rule, and the 3-million-person death toll of his battles. If you think of a king in the classical sense, and what a king acts like, Napoleon is as good a candidate as any.
In the Bible, however, earthly kings do not get a ringing endorsement. God didn’t even want his people to have a king. But they kept begging and pleading until God finally said, “Fine. You want a king so badly? I’ll give you a king—but you are going to regret it.” Saul was the first king of Israel. He started out good, but over time became paranoid and disobedient to God. David came next. He rose from being an overlooked but talented young shepherd boy to becoming a great hero to the people. David had some pretty big flaws and sins, but in contrast to Saul, he also had the self-awareness to recognize his flaws, to repent of his sins, and to turn to God in humility. For these reasons David was regarded as the ideal king. And the shepherd—his background—became a metaphor for what kings were supposed to be like.
Solomon was the next king. He was the product of David’s low point, being born due to David’s affair with Bathsheba and the arranged death of her first husband. Despite the questionable beginning to his life, Solomon became one of the wisest people to ever live. He also built the first temple in Jerusalem, and controlled the largest amount of territory and wealth in Israel’s history. But after Solomon, it was pretty much all downhill. You can read about the rest of the kings in the Old Testament. Every now and then a good one came along, but most of them were bad and “did what was evil in God’s sight”.
When we come to today’s first reading from Ezekiel 34, we are looking at 400 or so years after King Saul. Israel has been conquered and many of the people and leaders sent into exile in Babylon. Ezekiel was one of them—a priest exiled from Jerusalem who spent the rest of his life far from home. As a prophet, Ezekiel was trying to help people make sense of their situation. And in the verses leading up to our reading for today, God (speaking through Ezekiel) prophesies against the shepherds—that is, the kings and leaders of Israel: You want to know how you got into this mess? “You shepherds of Israel have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?... You have not strengthened the weak, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd… Therefore, I am against the shepherds… no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths…”
Ezekiel is basically saying that the kings and leaders were responsible for being conquered and exiled because they cared more about themselves and their own lavish lifestyles and thirst for power, and they totally ignored the needs of the people and in the process made life harder for them. It’s like the old saying, “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link”. There were so many weak links in society—so many people who were hungry, lost, weak, defenseless, injured, vulnerable. So of course society couldn’t stand when put to the test, and Babylon came knocking.
Then our reading for today picks up in verse 11, with God promising to do for the people all the things that the appointed shepherds failed to do, because God is trustworthy, loving, faithful. And when you put your faith in God, and allow God to be the true shepherd—when you allow God to direct you, and when you are trying to care for the vulnerable just like God would do, then God will “feed people with justice” Ezekiel says. Things will be set right.
Finally, in verse 23 God promises: “I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them.” This being written 400 years after the time of David, it’s not referring to David himself, but to someone in the mold of David—a leader who is humble, strong, caring, connected to God. This promise of God’s is finally fulfilled in Jesus Christ, born into the family line of David. Jesus becomes king by going to the cross, to show that true kingship, divinely-inspired kingship, does not look at all like worldly kings who are driven by ego and lust for power.
True kingship looks like someone who cares for the needs of the world, and who identifies with those who are most vulnerable. It looks like someone who would even willingly die to take the brokenness of the world upon himself—and because of his faithfulness to God, be raised again to bring the ways of heaven down to fix the broken world. True kingship looks like Jesus. And in our gospel for today, Jesus makes a stunning promise that is actually full of good news: that we can meet him today, or any day—not by seeking out the powerful, but by meeting those who are in need around us. Jesus also tells us that we probably won’t even recognize it’s him, because his appearance will be so ordinary and humble. Jesus describes it very simply: “I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me; I was naked and you gave me clothing; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me… Just as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.”
As we put our faith and trust in this Christ, good works freely flow from God through us out into the world, as the Holy Spirit pours the love of God into us. When we stoop down to “see Christ” within our neighbors in need, the Holy Spirit works within us to “be as Christ” to our neighbors in need. And if you are the one in need, you neighbor can “be Christ” to you.
Christ is the truest kind of king because he is the true good shepherd, who always feeds and cares for his people. Jesus has fed us with God’s Word, words that are “sweeter than honey” (as Psalm 119 puts it); words that lead us onto the right path in life. Jesus feeds us with Holy Communion, drawing us into the life of God through Christ’s body and blood given and shed for you. And in Holy Baptism, Jesus has called us to be part of a community of care known as the church.
Because Christ is the true shepherd king, he sets us free to care for each other, and then to go out from here and care for the needs of the world. Amen.