I love the royal family. Maybe, like most Americans, I am enamored of an ethos beyond my grasp. OK, a woman could pull a “Grace Kelly” and marry into the system. But there is something mythical and mysterious in a royal bloodline – a covenant of leadership and service passed on from generation to generation. I got up in the early hours of morning to watch the wedding of Charles and Dianna Spencer – along with a few million other folks. It’s hard to believe it was almost thirty years ago! But as Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Prince William to Kate Middleton, it seemed like yesterday when the world stood still for a royal wedding.
Today the Church celebrates the last Sunday of the liturgical year with a special feast commonly referred to as, “Christ the King.” Like Trinity Sunday, it’s a tough one to preach. What does it mean that Christ is our “king?” Certainly, he is like no king we’ve ever heard of. Scripture tells a different story. There was no royal entourage – just eleven guys who peeled off and left him in his hour of need. He had no throne – just a tree reserved for criminals and enemies of the state. And the crown? Well, you see where this is going. This Son of David laid aside his power to show us another way. This visible image of the invisible God accepted suffering and death to show us that love will always be the last word. By his wounds we were healed. Now, truly free, truly forgiven…we can choose that love as our guiding star. We can choose to serve a King who knelt to wash feet, who touched the leper and ate with sinners.
I’ll probably watch the next royal wedding. (It will probably be a community event!) I wish William and Kate well. It is a bit of a fairy tale. Every girl wants to be a princess, they say, and most women might long to love a king. My heart wants more. My king is love. My king wants to rule hearts not nations. This king reigns wherever peace is preferred to power, where the least are loved and cared for, where the sinner is welcome at table and the stranger becomes the honored guest. His kingdom is within each of us who claim him as Lord. And that kingdom will come in its fullness when love is the only reason, the only answer, the only way.
Blessings and love to you all...
- Sister Vicki
