With Christianity’s moral authority losing credibility and influence, notorious fascist dictators rising to ascendancy, and the looming threat of another world war, how should the Church respond?
This was the question before Pope Pius XI in 1925, the year that Stalin took control of the Soviet Union and Mussolini disbanded the Italian Parliament. Meanwhile, Hitler was on the rise in Germany with his populist message and appeal.
The pope’s answer: The Solemnity of Christ the King. Established in 1925, it was the first new feast day to be created by the Roman Catholic Church in centuries and became the grand finale of the liturgical year. The feast, which we celebrate this Sunday, has since been adopted by the Episcopal Church and other protestants. In it, we are called to recognize Christ as sovereign of the universe — the Lord of Lords, and King of Kings.
However, the Messiah revealed in scripture does not reign as an earthly monarch with a golden palace (or an oval office). He rules as one who washed feet, welcomed strangers, and died on a cross with a crown of thorns. Our Gospel this Sunday flashes back to Jesus’ trial on Palm Sunday, when Pilate asks him: “What is truth?”
In the “post-truth’ era of soundbites, social media, and distrust in journalism, notice that Jesus responds with a timely and poignant silence that pierces through the noise. Jesus himself is Truth with a capital “T,” which cannot be co-opted by easy answers or witty comebacks — a Truth that transcends language itself.
In times of anxiety, it may be tempting for us to placate ourselves with spiritual platitudes, such as “God is on the throne.” Such trite sentiments do not provide sufficient explanation for human atrocities nor demand for accountability. And yet cliches become as such precisely because they are true. God IS on the throne. Love WILL win. Truth WILL prevail.
The Christian vocation is to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves." We must stay rooted in God’s abiding promises without being easily lured by human trickery into complicity with the powers that be. We who know the joy and peace of Jesus walk the tightrope of faith between confidence and naiveté, alarmism and being alert.
How then should the church respond in our time?
Sunday’s Gospel ends with Jesus proclaiming, “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Like every Sunday, this Sunday at St. Bart’s will be one of listening for the voice of Jesus in scripture, through our neighbors, and in the world.
Please consider joining us for The Forum at 10 am, when we will hear from The Episcopal Church’s first appointed Officer for Gender Justice, Aaron Scott. Our 11 am liturgy will be a special service of Choral Morning Prayer, in which we will be immersed in the ancient and ethereal canticles of the Bible, set to the music of composers including Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Gerre Hancock and others. Afterwards, you are invited to our post-election listening circles in-person and online.
Over and above every power and principality of falsehood, corruption, and despair in our world, it is Coronation Day for the God of Truth and Love — enthroned in heaven and in our hearts as we listen, learn, and worship together.
