(Homily for Gayton Road Christian Church's Worship on October 29, 2017, Proper 25)
Once upon a time, there lived a
great king whose kingdom spread all over the world. He boasted the largest army history had known. He triumphed in battle after battle,
conquering many lands and peoples.
Ruling his growing kingdom with an iron fist, he left no challenge
unpunished. It was said that he
had eyes and ears in every corner of his kingdom. Not only was he all-powerful. He was also all-knowing. Some people had begun to whisper that perhaps he was even divine.
One night, the king had a
disturbing dream. He was making a
great tour through his kingdom.
But no one paid him any attention.
They did not cheer for him, bow down to him, or offer any gifts of
tribute. Then the king heard a
small, weak voice, although he could not see who was speaking. The voice said: “They live for another
king now.” The king looked
frantically around him but saw no rival.
Who was this other king?
The next morning, the king woke
in an anxious sweat. Immediately
he gathered his advisors—his eyes and ears—and instructed them to be on the
lookout for any rivals. Month
after month they looked but had nothing to report. There were no castles as big as his, no armies that could
challenge his, no lords who would not pay tribute. There was no rival king.
Far away from all this royal
commotion, a foreign peasant, gaunt and ragged, crossed the border and entered
the kingdom. She knocked at the
first house she saw. The occupants
of the home were frightened. They
knew the law against immigrants.
But they also saw that this stranger was in need. So they took her in for the night. The next day, the farmers next door
stopped by and met the woman.
Their hearts too were moved by her need, so they shared from their
harvest and had a great feast. Soon
enough, the authorities heard about this breach of the law, and they imprisoned
the stranger. But even then, her
hosts and their neighbors visited her daily, doing all they could to ensure her
needs were met.
All of this, of course, was not
even a blip on the king’s radar.
He and his advisors were keeping their eyes peeled for the power of the
hand. Not the power of the
heart. Little did they know, that
day by day this incident was being replayed all across the kingdom. People were no longer living simply by
the rule of law. They were living
according to a deeper call. A
knock on the door. A hungry
mouth. A ragged body. A helpless stranger. The lack of others ruled their hearts
more than the law of the king did.
The king never detected the
revolution that would one day overturn his kingdom. He never saw coming his new rival. He was looking for Power. But what was coming, was Love.
A Revolution
I’ve taken great liberties with
today’s scripture. So before I say
any more, let me invite you to revisit it later: Matthew 25:31-46. Perhaps your interpretation will render
the story very different from the one I’ve shared.
What captures my imagination in
today’s parable, is the imagery that Jesus uses of a king and a kingdom. Because when I think of a king, I think
of castles and armies and great power.
When I think of a kingdom, I think of a dominion that has borders and
grows by conquest.
But Jesus overturns these images
of kings and kingdoms. His parable
paints a revolution: the king is not prominent and powerful but poor and
powerless; the kingdom comes not by way of battles but by way of beggars. It is not a story of strength but
rather a story of weakness.
And that’s just the point. Christ reigns not through greatness but through
the least of these, who are calling us to love.
Our King Needs Us
As our Visioning Team has shared,
and as our youth have illustrated so well, Gayton Road feels called to share
the life of faith around tables, in small groups, and with the needful. Over the last four weeks, we’ve
explored our calling toward tables and small groups. Today, we reflect on our calling toward the needful. If tables suggest where we often find God’s love, and small groups how we often share God’s love, then the
needful suggest with whom love often happens.
In today’s parable, Jesus portrays
a king whose kingdom is not established in power but is rather born in the care
that we share for others. It’s a
picture much like the story that we will celebrate in a month’s time, in Advent
and Christmas, when Christ the king comes not in conquest but in a lowly birth. Our king rules not by hand but by the
heart. Our king does not stand strong
and sovereign over us. Our king needs
us.
I’ve invited a couple of folks today
to share their experience of encountering Christ in the needful, or as Jesus
puts it, “the least of these.” As
they share, I’d invite you to continue reflecting on the revolution of the
kingdom. Do you believe in a
kingdom that comes by power or by love?
Does your king come conquering or calling out in need? In whom have you met our king? Where have you seen our king’s kingdom?
Prayer
Powerless Christ,
Our king so often unseen—
Overturn our world
Through your lack and your need.
Call us and invite us,
Disturb us and draw us
To love,
That your kingdom would be
On earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
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