Christ The King – Reflection 2016

In a waiting room this week I read a silly gossip magazine article about the British Royal family. According to this article Prince Andrew is at loggerheads with his older brother, Charles, regarding the slight on his daughters (Beatrice and Eugenie) who do not have official “royal” jobs or residences – while Kate, the wife of Prince William, is a working royal despite her lack of “royal” blood!!! Apparently Beatrice and Eugenie have been taking their anger and jealousy out on Kate!!

You may well ask, “What has this got to do with us?” The thing is our earthly view of royalty is somewhat different to God’s view. The king he gave us in Christ did not wear the trappings of wealth, sit on a velvet and gold throne or live in a beautiful palace.

Our King was born in a stable, was enthroned on a cross and wore a crown of thorns … We cannot celebrate Christmas or the kingship of Christ, without remembering the events of Holy week. The right of birth did not earn Jesus his place as our King. It was his blood spilt, in death on the cross that brought us eternal life and gave Him the right to be King of all eternity.

The readings from Luke 1 and 23 remind us that Christmas and Easter are not like bookends – a pair is nice but you can live with one. Rather these holy days are symbiotic, dependent on each other. The king heralded by Zachariah is merciful, holy and righteous, and brings light to dark places in order to rescue God’s people from fear. This king holds true to his nature even while dying on the cross. He opens the gates of Paradise to a common thief. In modern Australian life, we may overlook the power in the image of a compassionate and merciful king who keeps faith with his people, people living in North Korea, Syria or Afghanistan.

We are well aware of how one thing is reliant on another and that all creation thrives or fails because of the resilience or impairment of a single link in the system. During this week, let us take a moment to pause at the beginning and end of each day, to consider how we might advance your reign of peace and reconciliation by the giving of ourselves in prayer and service.