How many of you have been in a country where there was a real, live, monarch? I’m not talking about the Queen of England or the Prince of Wales, royalty with honorary titles, but about a King or Queen who is the center of power in the country. A real monarch makes commands that others must follow, and a real monarch demands obedience to the throne.
I recently spent a week in Saudi Arabia, a country that is ruled under a real, live King. I found the sense of political authority there to be much different than what I am used to here in the US. In the United States, I often feel that the government is sort of a wide-ranging, but diffuse organization that administrates much of the country. Although I may not agree with a specific decision by our congress, it was usually made by people who were elected by other folks in our country, and I understand that part of the “deal” in living in the US is that the elected representatives may not be who I wish they were, but that they were (ideally) voted in through a fair process.
The full name of Saudi Arabia is actually “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” and the country makes no effort to hide the fact that King Abdulaziz bin Saud is its ruler. On the contrary, portraits of him are a common sight, and many important buildings and institutions have his name in the title. Examples of this would be “King Abdulaziz Public Library” or “King Abdulaziz University.”
Take a look at a part of what serves as the Saudi Constitution (from Chapter 2, "Monarchy"):
Article 5
(a) The system of government in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is that of a monarchy.
(b) Rule passes to the sons of the founding King, Abd al-Aziz Bin Abd al-Rahman al-Faysal Al Sa'ud, and to their children's children. The most upright among them is to receive allegiance in accordance with the principles of the Holy Koran and the Tradition of the Venerable Prophet.
(c) The King chooses the Heir Apparent and relieves him of his duties by Royal order.
(d) The Heir Apparent is to devote his time to his duties as an Heir Apparent and to whatever missions the King entrusts him with.
(e) The Heir Apparent takes over the powers of the King on the latter's death until the act of allegiance has been carried out.
Article 6 Citizens are to pay allegiance to the King in accordance with the holy Koran and the tradition of the Prophet, in submission and obedience, in times of ease and difficulty, fortune and adversity.
Article 7 Government in Saudi Arabia derives power from the Holy Koran and the Prophet's tradition.
We can see from this example that the Saudi State is very serious about two things, that it is an Islamic state, and that it intentionally centers political power around the King. Article 6 sounds somewhat similar to wedding vows in America, a pledge of allegiance through the best and worst times in our lives.
This Sunday, many Christians around the world will be celebrating Christ the King Sunday, and the question I’d like to ponder this week is this: What would our lives look like if we confessed Article 6 of the Saudi Arabian constitution in this way,
“[We] are to pay allegiance to [Christ] the King in accordance with the holy [Bible] and the tradition of the [Church], in submission and obedience, in times of ease and difficulty, fortune and adversity.”
Christ the King Sunday has a fascinating history, according to this article by Carey Gardiner Mack:
Christ the King Sunday is a relatively new development. It does not bear the history of many long-held church traditions such as All Saints or Christmas or Easter and does not possess the deep and traditional biblical backing of these celebrations. Pope Pius XI brought Christ the King Sunday into the church's liturgical year in 1925. He was attempting to do several things, but mainly to advance the message of God in Christ over and against that of the political forces moving in the world at that time--people like Mussolini and Hitler.
The idea that Christ is King over and against earthly political forces and not just on the side of our own political forces is something we all need a strong reminder of. However, the best reminder comes not from me and my limited experience, but from the appointed Gospel text for Christ the King Sunday. Take a look: Luke 23:33-43
This is a disquieting image of our monarch, a profoundly ironic text in the light of what we normally associate with “Kingship.” To say, as this reading from Luke implies, that the moment of crucifixion is the strongest argument we can make for Christ’s Kingship is to actively subvert a culture that views wealth, power, and fame as the primary markers of success.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote that “The sermon on the mount is there for the purpose of being done. Only in doing can there be submission to the will of God. In doing God’s will we renounce every right and every justification of our own; we deliver ourselves humbly into the hands of the merciful Judge” .
In some ways, these words by Bonhoeffer are the hardest we can ever hear. When we are directed to a passage Matthew Chapters 5-7 that blesses the poor, the peacemakers, the merciful, the meek, and the hungry (among others), we are confronted with a way of life that directly challenges how we are taught to evaluate a “successful” life in American culture.
We often work hard to align the authority of the gospel with our positions, beliefs, and prejudices, making sure that our rock and our foundation is built on nothing less than the "Faith of Our Fathers" .
To proclaim Jesus as our King, we must abandon this and put Christ at the center by proclaiming the painful redemption of a broken world, not the righteousness of our own privilege. Some ideas for reflection this week:
• How do our political and social commitments detract from a life led in allegiance to Christ? How are they shaped by our faith? Do we strive to wed religion and politics as the Saudis do, or do we separate them into different compartments of our lives?
• How can we act differently to proclaim our allegiance to Christ through actions, not just in our creed? Where do we actually place Christ in our pecking order of authorities that influence our lives? How do we keep from letting our boss’s directives or media messages influence our decision making more than our faith?
Please feel free to join in the conversation, by leaving your comments and looking out for the comments of others. You can also join in an audio skype conversation Thursday at 7pm (EST), November 18. You need to have downloaded the program from skype.com and have a microphone with your computer (as most laptops do). Then add "bythewaycommunity" to your contacts list on skype, and call in on Thursday.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Even when it's bad, it's good . . . by Elisabeth Aurand
As the leaves complete their exodus from branch to ground and gaunt November trees therefore appear menacing, and temperatures fall even as we arise in darkness and work the final hours of the day in shadow, we are reminded of dark realities. We can push away the dark thoughts. Or we can talk about them, plunk the fearful realities down on the table. Like Jesus often did.
Take a look at this reading from Luke’s book of the Bible Luke 21:5-19, which comes to us with images of terror: Nations will rise against nation; there will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and plagues, and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. November’s natural imagery of nature’s change into winter, a metaphor for old age and hardship, is mirrored in texts that speak of difficulty and underscore unsettledness and announce again the fact of insecurity in our world.
As if we needed a Bible reading to remind us! Thomas Friedman's column in last Sunday’s New York Times articulately trumpeted a not uncommon message that has been given to the general American public for some months, Long Live Lady Luck. Friedman reminds us that Americans have either foiled or found lacking 5 terror plots executed against citizens since last Christmas, the most recent of which was the package bombs on the cargo planes, timed to go off possibly when the planes were over our country (maybe even over Chicago – the President’s home and symbol relating to Nov. 2nd, I’ve heard.) Friedman states that avoiding these heinous direct attacks is akin to winning the lottery five times in a row, and he plants the logic in the reader’s mind that such luck may run out any time.
Jesus does not stop with the list of calamities in Luke 21, rather corrals the depressing stampede with instructions about a believer’s protocol during such times: When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified, he states, or enlightens with the perspective, This will give you an opportunity to testify (in the case of the calamity of persecution.) Then come his divine assurances: But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.
It behooves us just now to ask, exactly to whom is he speaking. Who will not be harmed when in the midst of such peril, in fact? Who exactly can have this kind of endurance? Is it a group of elite ancient marathoners he is instructing? Visiting Kung Fu practitioners from ancient Chinese civilization? It turns out that the audience is his disciples, though it seems that “all the people” who are nearby in the temple at Jerusalem are overhearing the conversation and, as such, would be a group who wouldn’t display unusual talents or strength or intelligence. Jesus teaches with confidence in this part of Luke and suggests that his followers – any follower- might be likewise self-possessed and a non-anxious presence should threatening events become even more dire. This makes one wonder if Jesus has simply become a little unhinged by now, with his own trials soon upon him, or perhaps just chooses to avoid reality by suggesting a desperate plan to counter worldly turmoil with the confident approach.
Christians do take to heart, though, this approach as an answer to tough times. For we have seen God’s power at work, in fact, even reversing such a calamity at Jesus’ crucifixion -- bested by his resurrection. We believe that the power of God in Christ is truly at work. God’s presence allows for what no one could do by their own skills and therefore people of faith agree with the assessment of Old Testament professor William Holladay: The Bible doesn’t answer why there is darkness, rather offers a vision of how evil in the world is overcome.
Oh God, give us courage that we might stop and let you do what we cannot.
Brother Christ, cheer us with your simple, smiling focus on God’s work and
Holy Spirit, give us the faith to know without doubt that even when it’s bad, it’s good.
(Prayer attributed to Lutheran writer Maude McDaniel)
Please feel free to join in the conversation, by leaving your comment and looking out for the comments of others. You can also join in an audio skype conversation Thursday at 7pm (EST), November 11. You need to have downloaded the program from skype.com and have a microphone with your computer (as most laptops do). Then look for "bythewaycommunity" on skype.
Quick fun fact: By the way has been recognized as being one of the Top 50 Lutheran blogs! Kind of nice to be noticed, yes?
Take a look at this reading from Luke’s book of the Bible Luke 21:5-19, which comes to us with images of terror: Nations will rise against nation; there will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and plagues, and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. November’s natural imagery of nature’s change into winter, a metaphor for old age and hardship, is mirrored in texts that speak of difficulty and underscore unsettledness and announce again the fact of insecurity in our world.
As if we needed a Bible reading to remind us! Thomas Friedman's column in last Sunday’s New York Times articulately trumpeted a not uncommon message that has been given to the general American public for some months, Long Live Lady Luck. Friedman reminds us that Americans have either foiled or found lacking 5 terror plots executed against citizens since last Christmas, the most recent of which was the package bombs on the cargo planes, timed to go off possibly when the planes were over our country (maybe even over Chicago – the President’s home and symbol relating to Nov. 2nd, I’ve heard.) Friedman states that avoiding these heinous direct attacks is akin to winning the lottery five times in a row, and he plants the logic in the reader’s mind that such luck may run out any time.
Jesus does not stop with the list of calamities in Luke 21, rather corrals the depressing stampede with instructions about a believer’s protocol during such times: When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified, he states, or enlightens with the perspective, This will give you an opportunity to testify (in the case of the calamity of persecution.) Then come his divine assurances: But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.
It behooves us just now to ask, exactly to whom is he speaking. Who will not be harmed when in the midst of such peril, in fact? Who exactly can have this kind of endurance? Is it a group of elite ancient marathoners he is instructing? Visiting Kung Fu practitioners from ancient Chinese civilization? It turns out that the audience is his disciples, though it seems that “all the people” who are nearby in the temple at Jerusalem are overhearing the conversation and, as such, would be a group who wouldn’t display unusual talents or strength or intelligence. Jesus teaches with confidence in this part of Luke and suggests that his followers – any follower- might be likewise self-possessed and a non-anxious presence should threatening events become even more dire. This makes one wonder if Jesus has simply become a little unhinged by now, with his own trials soon upon him, or perhaps just chooses to avoid reality by suggesting a desperate plan to counter worldly turmoil with the confident approach.
Christians do take to heart, though, this approach as an answer to tough times. For we have seen God’s power at work, in fact, even reversing such a calamity at Jesus’ crucifixion -- bested by his resurrection. We believe that the power of God in Christ is truly at work. God’s presence allows for what no one could do by their own skills and therefore people of faith agree with the assessment of Old Testament professor William Holladay: The Bible doesn’t answer why there is darkness, rather offers a vision of how evil in the world is overcome.
Oh God, give us courage that we might stop and let you do what we cannot.
Brother Christ, cheer us with your simple, smiling focus on God’s work and
Holy Spirit, give us the faith to know without doubt that even when it’s bad, it’s good.
(Prayer attributed to Lutheran writer Maude McDaniel)
Please feel free to join in the conversation, by leaving your comment and looking out for the comments of others. You can also join in an audio skype conversation Thursday at 7pm (EST), November 11. You need to have downloaded the program from skype.com and have a microphone with your computer (as most laptops do). Then look for "bythewaycommunity" on skype.
Quick fun fact: By the way has been recognized as being one of the Top 50 Lutheran blogs! Kind of nice to be noticed, yes?
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