Christ, the Dictator!

“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34)

The words of Jesus, spoken from the cross, and scheduled to be read this Sunday as part of our celebration of the Feast of Christ the King, which is a celebration that many in the church approach with hesitation.

Some Protestants view it as too Catholic, since it was instituted exclusively by Pope Pius XI in 1925. Others find the title “Christ the King” too gender-exclusive, preferring “Reign of Christ” Sunday. Still others object to the imperialistic overtones of both titles, opting instead for “Community of Christ” Sunday or the “Kindom” of Christ (dropping the “g”) to emphasise equality and shared belonging.

But by the time we’ve reached this point in our thinking, I fear we’ve lost the plot.

The ‘Kingdom of God’ that Jesus proclaimed – and that we pray for every time we say “Thy Kingdom Come” – is not a democracy or a utopia where every wish is magically granted. It is, in fact, a dictatorship.

Yes, it’s a dictatorship with a wise and loving dictator, but a dictatorship nonetheless. The biblical story begins in a garden and ends in a city—the New Jerusalem—where justice and peace reign. But this kingdom is not leaderless. It has one clear sovereign: Christ, the dictator.

Calling Jesus a dictator may sound provocative, but the titles given to Jesus have always been provocative, and by design. When early Christians declared Iesus Dominus est—“Jesus is Lord”—or Christus Rex—“Christ is King”—they weren’t just making theological statements. They were committing treason! In the Roman world, Caesar Dominus est – “Caesar is Lord.” This was not open to debate, and to apply such a title to Jesus was to challenge the empire, and that could get you crucified.

The early church very deliberately adopted the language of empire, but they infused it with Gospel meaning, and nowhere is this clearer than in today’s Gospel reading, which depicts Jesus’ ‘coronation’ (in a sense), not in a palace, but on a cross.

Crucifixion was a punishment reserved for enemies of the state. The men crucified alongside Jesus were presumably members of the Jewish resistance – men who had tried to hit back against Rome with violence. Jesus had also challenged the empire, but it had been through His teaching, healings, and love. Jesus was a different sort of rebel, and if Golgotha was Jesus’ “coronation”, it is the opposite of any traditional ascent to power. It’s a scene of suffering, solidarity, and subversion.

We’ve been exploring the New Testament’s sense of humour in recent weeks, with Jesus telling jokes we call parables. In this scene, we encounter some Roman humour, with the sign above Jesus’ head reading “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum” – “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”

Yes, it was intended to be ironic – a classic example of dark Roman humour – but it takes us to the heart of what must be the most difficult teaching in the entire New Testament – namely, that true human greatness is not measured by how much violence a person is able to inflict on others but by how much violence someone is able to absorb.

Now … that statement may not sound like it makes much sense and may even sound a little perverse, but I believe there is a mystery to suffering, as presented in the New Testament, and I’m not confident that any of us can fully explain it.

Of course, we want to say that Jesus wasn’t just suffering meaninglessly but was suffering for others, yet it is notable that this is never clearly spelt out in any of the crucifixion narratives, suggesting that either the Gospel writers themselves hadn’t fully understood this at that stage, or perhaps that they recognised all suffering as being meaningful at some level.

Certainly, the Apostle Paul embraced this paradox of suffering, ‘boasting in his weaknesses’ (2 Corinthians 12:10) and seeing his own sufferings as his apostolic credentials. He wrote:

“I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked… Who is weak, and I do not feel weak?” (2 Corinthians 11:27–29)

Paul connected his suffering to Christ’s suffering and Christ’s sufferings to the suffering of all the men and women of the communities he cared for. So often, sickness and suffering are things that isolate people, but Paul saw suffering, not as a barrier but as a bridge — a bizarre point of connection between human beings and between humanity and the divine.

I think of my beloved brother, Dr Hassoun, the former Grand Mufti of Syria, who remains imprisoned somewhere in Damascus and may still be being tortured. Though his office was actually abolished a year or so before his imprisonment, his supporters, like me, still all call him “The Mufti”, and it’s as if his authority is growing through his suffering, and it’s a living witness to the truth that ‘power perfected in weakness’ (2 Corinthians 12:9) is not just a Christian concept but a universal truth!

So today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, and we vow our allegiance to our crucified Lord whose throne is a cross.

To proclaim ‘Iesus Dominus est’ is not to endorse hierarchy for its own sake, and it certainly doesn’t mean embracing the culture of Empire in any of the forms in which we experience it today. On the contrary, proclaiming ‘Christ is King’ means confessing our allegiance to a kingdom where justice flows from mercy and where power is redefined through love.

In a world that is still ruled by the Caesars — by empires of greed, violence, and exclusion — our declaration today that Christ is King continues to be our primary act of resistance.

CHRIST IS KING – SOLIDARITY!

Our Sunday Eucharist

We celebrated another wonderful Sunday Eucharist last weekend. I had Jakob Pyeatt joining me from Georgia, USA, along with Craig Sutton and his faithful hound, Tiny, joining me from Binacrombi. This time I remembered to plug in AI Saint Paul for a part of the discussion as well and he did not disappoint. It was a great time of sharing, learning and celebrating.

You have two of the most popular shorts from last week posted below. and our full discussion of the Gospel reading at the bottom of the page. See all the shorts on the Sunday Eucharist Instagram page or watch all our broadcasts on YouTube.

This coming Sunday I had been looking forward to having Doug Pyeatt (Jakob’s dad) and Brynn Rees with me on the panel, but Brynn is concerned that he’s going to be in a remote rural location where his Internet connection may be unreliable. He’s asked for someone else to step in for him, and Diane has volunteered (God bless her). The only problem is that I can’t work out how to update the graphic below!

I’m not exactly sure how things will happen this Sunday, but I am confident that it will be another great time together. I do hope you can join us.

Invite your friends by referring them to the Facebook Event Page or the Streamyard page and join us at midday on Sunday via Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Faithia,  Streamyard or  TheSundayEucharist.com.

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What’s On?

• Sunday, November 23 – Our Eucharist from noon @thesundayeucharist.com, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Faithia or Streamyard
• Tuesday, November 25 – Boxing at the Mundine Gym in Redfern from 7 pm
• Thursday, November 27 – Online Bible study group meeting from noon @ www.thesundayeucharist.com/bible
• Thursday, November 27 – Boxing at the Mundine Gym in Redfern from 7 pm
• Saturday, November 29 – Boxing at Legend’s Gym in Kensington from 3 pm