[i] Matthew 2:1-12
November 23, 2003; Christ the King, Year B
The Rev. Harold "Skip" Comer, Rector
Each week we gather under a cross to offer our worship, praise, and thanksgiving to God for what he has done for us in Jesus Christ. The cross that hangs behind our altar is one of three basic forms that the cross has taken over the centuries in Christianity. The name for this type of cross is Christus Rex, a Latin title, which literally means Christ King. This form of the cross depicts the risen Christ adored in priestly vestments and was first used in churches beginning in the fifth century. The Christus Rex cross precedes the use of the crucifix in churches by six centuries.
The Christus Rex is the cross of triumph, proclaiming that Christ is our king, even though we live in the midst of another kingdom in this world, our loyalty belongs to him.
This is Christ the King Sunday, the final Sunday of the Church year. It is a concluding testimony to the significance of Jesus Christ for us and for our world, before we embark once again on the Advent journey to Bethlehem.
Our readings this morning emphasize the convergence of two kingdoms, the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of God. This convergence is played out dramatically in the scene from the reading of the Gospel of John. Here some thirty years after a birth that had drawn kings or wise men from the Far East to come and bow down before an infant whom they believed was the king of the Jews,[i] stands Jesus before Pilate. “Are you the King of the Jews?” The questions and statements go back and forth between the two of them, culminating is Jesus stating, “You say I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
I believe that Pilate is baffled by this man who has been brought to him and what he has said. This is emphasized by Pilate’s last question to Jesus, which is not a part of our reading for this morning, “What is truth?” Throughout the interrogation Pilate keeps Jesus at arms length, never to close. One has to wonder what he was afraid of. The stakes were high for Pilate, he was the governor of the region, and it was his responsibility to maintain law and order. He was happy with the way things were, why was this man rocking the boat?
Even today there are people who keep Jesus at an arms length. They are content with their lives and do not want anything or anyone rocking the boat, disrupting their lifestyle. They may come to church and go through all the motions, for them the Christus Rex is just a pretty cross.
In a way I think that Pilate was as a fence sitter. He wanted to keep his position as governor of Judea. In order to keep the peace he allowed the Jewish religious leaders great lead way. Even though he does not find Jesus guilty of anything, he allows the voice of the crowd to speak for him in condemning Jesus to death by crucifixion.
There are a lot of people in this world who are easily influenced by others. They allow others to sway their opinion or make decisions for them, even when deep down they have a feeling that it is not right. They are afraid to voice their convictions. Some of them find their way to the Christus Rex, but afraid of what others might think or what they say, they never embrace the cross and eventually walk away.
There are many people today searching for the messiah of God. They are religious people, who sometimes worship under the Christus Rex. For them it holds the promise of something better. But the closer they get, the more they begin to realize that there are demands being made of them. The word hypocrite flashes through their mind. They wrestle with the teachings of this King who hangs on the cross and his call to take up their cross and follow him. They want the robe and crown without the sacrifice.
At the beginning of my sermon I mentioned that the Christus Rex was one of three basic forms of the cross. If I were to place them in order, it would be as follows. First is the crucifix, the cross that has the crucified body of Christ hanging on it. Second is the empty cross, the cross of Easter, which represents victory and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Third is the Christus Rex that has the body of the resurrected Christ adorned as a king.
There is an importance in this order. To be a Christian, we must first accept the loving sacrifice that was made by Jesus Christ for us. Not just the knowledge that Christ died for our sins, but the gut feeling that Christ died for my sins. It is the acceptance of needing to be saved, of needing someone else, that we cannot do it on our own. It is the acceptance that a terrible price was paid for our salvation by the Son of God.
The empty cross symbolizes victory. It was the victory that Christ did not claim for himself, but for us. It is a victory that is ours when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. The empty cross reminds me that I must make room for Christ in my life. I must shed the old life in order to be transformed into a new life as one of the loyal and obedient people of his kingdom.
Jesus became king after he had received first a crown of thorns and carried the cross, which became his throne. It was love, love of God and love for us, by which he endured the mocking and horrible death. It is only through his sacrifice that he was raised to reign as king for all who turn to him.
It is only by embracing the first two crosses that we get to the third, where Christ is our King.
[i] Matthew 2:1-12