Here in the birthplace of modern Democracy most Americans remain hopelessly and happily clueless regarding the vagaries of royal rule. While we look fondly across the pond at the tabloid tales of the House of Windsor, never hiding our fascinations and even occasional envies toward kings, queens, and all things royal, the vast majority of us seem to prefer our own form of meritocratic governance, one whose most popular notions of monarchs are safely limited to The Lion King.

So we do not, admittedly, take the same insight or baggage to the table that Brits, Swedes or Ethiopians do when we walk into church this weekend to celebrate the annual feast of Christ the King.

While what it’s like to have that person’s face on our money may be beyond us, most of us probably still have general notions of what it might be like to live under royal rule. We imagine that the citizenry would expect to receive some important things like; protection against malevolents at home and abroad, justice in settling disputes, evenhanded punishment for transgressors, and a general economic framework for living a prosperous life, to name a few.

In exchange we subjects would agree to surrender most everything to the king; our taxes, our obedience, our respect and honor, and our ultimate loyalties, which, in times of unrest, would mean consignment to the military and perhaps the gift of our lives for our king.

Calling Christ our King is a bit like that. For this Sunday is ultimately a feast of surrender. It is our annual invitation to contemplate our deepest loyalties, our obedience, our respect, our possessions, honor, and ultimate commitments. What does it mean, for example, to truly honor Jesus – in our drive to work, our water cooler conversations, and the way we treat telemarketers? What does it mean to respect the things that we freely admit do not belong to us; our homes, cars and our bodies? In what ways do we give the king his due – do we really consider that a portion of our money and possessions might belong to Someone else?

This feast comes at a fitting time for me, and maybe you too, because there are so many things in my life vying for this same allegiance and commitment. So this Sunday I will ask; how can I surrender more? How might I bring more honor, respect and loyalty to the One whom all this, and more, is due?

Reading
Tefillin – Martin Sandberg
The Bottom Billion – Paul Collier
Inclusion: Making Room for Grace – Eric Law