Taken by John Stephen Dwyer.
I don’t think many, if any, of us can be unaware of the shenanigans that have been going on across the Atlantic since the US presidential election earlier this month. I’m sure many of us have been following the developments with some interest, and that we’ve been both appalled and concerned about what has, and is, happening there. But, having said that, can any of us really say that we’re shocked or surprised by what’s happened?
For some time before the election, the incumbent President hinted very strongly that he would only accept the result of the presidential election if he won it. It’s also been widely reported that the president is a narcissist. A narcissist is usually described as an extremely self-centred person who has a greatly exaggerated sense of their own importance, but the origin of the term, in Greek mythology, refers to someone who is in love with themselves. The President has also been described as someone who simply cannot accept even the possibility of defeat or of not getting his own way. And so, having lost the election, and with it his high office and much of his power and importance, can we really be surprised that he has acted in the way that he has?
I don’t think we can. But as appalling as we might find the spectacle of a US President trying to subvert the democracy and constitution of the nation he leads so that he can cling on to power, illegally, I think what is worse is the number of people who are willing, not only to go along with such nefarious activities, but who are ready and willing to actively participate in them in order to curry favour with such a leader, presumably, so that they’ll be rewarded by him in some way. But again, can we really be surprised that this is happening too?
I think we can be surprised perhaps about how open those involved in these things are about what can only be described as their attempts to turn a democracy into an autocracy. I think we can be surprised perhaps about the scale of the problem; about the number of people who are willing to be actively involved in such goings on. We might be surprised about these things too because, in what we sometimes call the democratic West, we’re not used to seeing our leaders act in this way, at least so openly. But I don’t think we can really be surprised that such things are going on because, in the final analysis, they all stem from nothing more than human pride, greed and selfishness, and those are problems that affect all people, in all walks of life, in all countries.
What is happening in the USA at the moment is really the result of people who think that they are more important than anyone else, being willing to put themselves and what they want before all other considerations. It’s the result of a person who wants power, and who no doubt thinks that they should have power, being willing to do whatever it takes to hold on to power, regardless of how wrong what they do might be, regardless of how much harm what they do might do to other people, to their own nation, or to the world. And it’s the result of people who are willing to aid and abet the person they see as their leader in whatever nefarious activities he might engage in to keep hold of the reins of power so that they can enjoy his favour, share just a little of his power, and no doubt bask in the reflection of his glory. We might be surprised to see it happening on such a grand scale in the USA today, but we shouldn’t be surprised that it happens because it’s something that happens whenever and wherever human pride, greed and selfishness show themselves and are allowed free rein to reign. And that’s something that’s happened on both large and small scales, throughout human history.
We all have our own share of pride, greed and selfishness and, through human history, there have been people who have used, or perhaps exploited, that fact for their own ends. People who have held power have used the pride, greed and selfishness of those around them to help them to consolidate their power and keep it. They’ve done this by promising to reward those around them in some way if they do what’s asked of them. And because all people have their own share of pride, greed and selfishness, there has never been a shortage of people who are more than willing to do what’s asked of them, whatever it might be, in return for a reward, whether that be in terms of wealth, a share of power, or simply to bask in the reflected glory of the one in charge. We read about this happening, repeatedly, in the pages of history books.
History books though, tend to tell the story of great people and great events, of kings and queens and nations. But don’t we also see this kind of thing happening on much smaller scales too? Don’t we see this kind of thing happening in the workplace, for example, where people will do whatever their boss asks them to in return for a pay rise or a promotion, or simply to be in their bosses good books? And if someone else ends up being overlooked for promotion or in the bosses bad books or even out of a job because of it, well that’s just too bad but after all, it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there and you have to look after number one and get what you can while you can. Don’t we see it in the Church too? After all, what is that bane of parish life, the clique, other than a group of people who’ve taken power, taken control of a parish, and do all they can to keep their control, regardless of the damage to the parish or hurt to the parishioners they cause? What else can we make of one very common saying amongst parish cliques, ‘We don’t want their sort here’? Something that’s very often said after the clique has driven someone away from the church. Don’t we see it in individual lives too? How often, these days, do we hear people say something along the lines of, ‘No one’s telling me what to do. It’s my life and I’ll do what I want with it.’? How many of us have wardrobes bursting at the seams with clothes or cupboards, fridges and freezers full to overflowing with food, and then see the poverty and deprivation in the world and even in our own society and communities, see people who have little, or nothing, and yet, having seen that, then go out and buy more clothes because they’re nice or fashionable, and more food because we fancy that for dinner or tea today, and think nothing about throwing food away that’s gone out of date because we’ve bought far more than we can eat? We know all these things happen, they all stem from human pride, greed and selfishness, and they all involve doing things, regardless of the consequences for others, in return for those who have power and authority over our lives, whether that be a king or a queen, a president, a work’s manager, or simply ourselves.
But whatever power and authority we think that we, or anyone else has over our lives, that power and authority is only temporary. That power will inevitably come to an end. Rulers and politicians lose their power, sometimes to people who are just as, if not even more proud and greedy and selfish, amongst their one-time supporters. The same is true of mangers in the workplace. They also have to retire eventually and lose their power that way. People who have usurped or abused power can lose it when others decide enough is enough and decide to stand up to them and take it from them. We can lose power over our own lives too, not least if we become too infirm to look after ourselves. And of course, all human power, and pride, and greed, and selfishness comes to an end when we die. And then, no matter how great or grand we’ve been, or think we are, in this life, we will all become subject to the one who has ultimate power over us; to God.
When that happens, just how great and good we’ve really been, will be brought to light. And that won’t be judged according to our standards of greatness and goodness, distorted as they are by pride and greed and selfishness, but according God’s standards. And because we’ll all be judged by the same standard, we won’t be able to claim that we’re being unfairly treated if we’re found wanting. Neither will we be able to argue about the judgement and appeal to a higher authority because there isn’t one. And we won’t be able to claim ignorance either because we’ve been told what we have to do to measure up to God’s standard. God has made sure of that through the teaching of prophets and through the words and example of his own Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, whom he sent to us and whom he has appointed to be our judge. So, whatever the decision of that judgement is, we will have no choice but to accept it. If we’re found worthy, we have God’s promise that we’ll be elected, we’ll be chosen, and we’ll be entitled to a reward. The reward for those who are elected is that they will have a share in God’s power, they’ll reign with Christ and live forever in the reflected glory of God.
But to do that, to gain our reward, we have to do what God asks of us. That means, that in this life, we have to do what Christ taught us to do, and our Gospel reading this morning makes it clear that there is no place for human pride, greed and selfishness in the lives of those who want to be his followers and earn the reward God has promised them. On the contrary, rather than the human way of seeking a reward from those we follow, which is so often done at the expense of others, to earn our reward as Christ’s followers, we have to make the love and care of others our priority, even if that means we have to act at our own expense at times.
It means we have do something about the plight of the hungry and thirsty, even if that means denying ourselves a little food or drink at times. That’s not so much of a hardship is it? After all, most of us have more than enough to eat and drink. It means we need to extend a hand of friendship to those strangers and newcomers to our communities and churches, to try to get to know a little better, those we don’t know well, even if we find that difficult or uncomfortable. Most of us will have been strangers and newcomers at sometime in our lives so we’ll know how much it means and how much easier life can be when someone does make that effort to welcome or befriend us. It means we need to do something about the plight of those who have nothing in terms of worldly possessions, sometimes not even adequate clothing. And if that means we have to wear something ourselves that we’ve worn a few times before or that went out of fashion last week, is that really such a hardship for us to bear, or wear even? It means we should make time to visit those who are sick, even if that means putting off something we were going to do. Is it so hard to rearrange the timetable of our busy lives to find the time to do that? We’re limited in what we can do in terms of visiting at the moment, of course, but if we can’t visit, we all have telephones don’t we? And there are so many who are in prisons, at least of a kind, at the moment. People can’t go out or are afraid to go out. How much would it mean to them to receive a phone call at this time? And how much would making that call cost us? A few pence and a few minutes of our time?
If we think about it, there are so many ways, and really very simple ways that we can do what Jesus is asking us to do in this morning’s Gospel. If we were asked to do so little and such simple things by someone who had the means to grant us an earthly reward for such small, simple services, how many of us would even think twice about it before we did it? And yet we so often fail to do these, and other things that Jesus asks us to do, even though the reward we’re offered for serving him is so much greater.
We often do what those who have power in this life ask us to do, for the short-term reward they offer us. Today, as we celebrate the feast day of Christ the King, let’s try to remember that he is our King. Let’s try to remember that his kingship is universal and eternal, that his power over us extends beyond the short time of our earthly lives and into the eternity of a promised life after our time on earth has ended. Let’s make an effort to offer him, as our universal and eternal King, the same service we offer those who have power in this life so that, when the time come to find out whether we have been elected or not, he will know us as his true and loyal subjects and servants and welcome us into our promised reward.
Amen.
You will find the Propers for Christ the King here.
Parish Church of St Mark Chadderton 