Who is your King?

A Sermon for the 2^nd Sunday after Pentecost (RCL B) 6-10-2012

Offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

Texts:                          1 Samuel 8:4-20, 11:14-15; Psalm 138; Mark 3:20-35

Themes:                     craving for a king, the family of Jesus

Title:                           Who is Your King?

Today, my friends, as we begin “Ordinary Time” here in the Church, we enter into the stories of the Kings of Israel – the classic period of the Israelite monarchy. Samuel, Saul, David, Solomon – this on-going drama will carry us right through the summer.

So today, we begin this series by considering the underlying desire of the Israelites for a King and the contrasting desire of God to be their only King! There is a deep conflict here that is important to the rest of the biblical story and to the Gospel.  

And this morning, what I want you to consider is this question: Who is your King? Who is your King?

This entire drama about the kings is, of course, a story about power and trust and hope.

It’s also about politics, of course, and that is a dangerous topic to bring up in polite society, I know!

But we must. In the church, we must deal with reality as it is.

And this is the real problem with politics is this: people place their hope and their trust in the exercise of power.

Power is so alluring, so tempting. It promises so much, but nearly always delivers so little.

People tend to think that if they can only change WHO happens to be the leader, then everything will get better.

Isn’t this why so many people will invest weeks and months and years of their lives, not even to mention their money, in order to get THEIR candidate elected?

I haven’t seen too many political ads here in New Jersey yet, but I’m sure the flood is coming soon.

And I say that it’s sad: sad that so many people get caught in the same alluring trap of power.

They say “if only MY leader will win, then everything will get better!”

You would think that humanity now would know better. There are thousands of years of evidence now which clearly show that this is false! Each new political leader can make some positive changes and each will also make some negative changes.  

Perhaps each new generation of human beings needs to learn this lesson for themselves.

Just look at the movement of younger people who were SO excited about the Obama administration, some with hopes and dreams which seemed almost to be messianic!

Change is coming! Everything will be different now that OUR guy is in the White House!

And look at how disillusioned most of these young supporters are now.

Elect this person or that one; recall this person or that one. It makes so little difference in the long run.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. The Church must be involved in politics on some level.

We have a clear calling to advocate for a just society which functions honestly and treats all citizens with equality and which cares for those who have no other means of support, which protects the weak and the powerless.

No, it is not politics which the Church opposes, but rather politicians! 

Because we know better, right?!

We know that every person is a sinner, even the glamorous celebrity politician who is so smooth and polished. We know that they are all sinners, and we know that power and sin mix together to create a very nasty concoction.

We can spot a bit of this ancient naiveté among the Israelites here in the books of Samuel.

The people are longing for a king, because they are convinced that their lives will be so much better if they can only get a good man to be their king!

For hundreds of years now, they had been ruled by judges. Some of these judges had been strong and had been able to keep their enemies, the Philistines, at bay. Other were not, and some were corrupt and ruled with capricious force.

But if they could only replace their judges with a king, just like all of the other nations, well then this would solve their problems, right? This king would be stronger and able to fight against the Philistines and to protect the people from their enemies.

But wise, old Samuel knew better. And he tried to warn the people, and he said: Yes, in some ways a king will make your lives better, but in other ways a king will make your lives worse! Because once a man is given this kind of royal power, then he will take and take and take what is yours and enjoy it for himself.

The people would not listen. And it grieved the heart of God.

What did the Lord say to Samuel? “They have not rejected you [Samuel], but they have rejected me from being King over them.”

Often, in our Lectionary readings, there is very little, if any, connection between the different readings, but today there is a good, strong connection. Or rather, there is a striking contrast!

Samuel warns the people in advance about the behavior of their coming King: he will take from them in order to enrich his house and his family at their expense!

Now, we know that the kings of Israel serve in one sense as prophetic signs which point toward the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the coming Messiah, the anointed One.

Well, here in the Gospel of Mark we find the true and rightful King operating within his Kingdom.

And how does he exercise his power?

Because it may be so familiar, we tend to forget how radical and revolutionary his teaching truly is!

The Lord Jesus is ministering within the realm of the Roman Empire, under the authority of the Emperor and under the direct authority of Herod Antipas who claims to be the King of Galilee.

Jesus comes as the rightful King, and he looks around at the ragtag band of people who have gathered around him and he says, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother!”

He says, in effect: Forget about Caesar, forget about the Emperor, forget about King Herod, forget about all of the people sitting on thrones, wielding worldly power.

Forget about them, because these people here are the truly important ones!

Whoever does the will of God is important to the true King, not those who can get things done within the realm of politics!

No wonder his family and others thought that he was crazy!

But he was simply restoring that original divine intention for the people of God place their hopes and the trust in God alone, who was to be their only true King.

And so it comes back to us who are citizens of this kingdom of the Messiah.

Who is your King? Where do you place your trust? Where do you find your hope?

It is my prayer that tomorrow morning, and every morning of your life, you can begin your day by saying to the Lord these words, by saying them with trust and confidence and hope.

Say: “Lord, you are my King.” Go ahead. Try it out now. Ready? Let's say it together: "Lord, You are my King."

Good! Learn to say it! 

Lord, you are my Prophet. Lord, you are my Judge. Lord, you are my Commander-in-Chief.

If you will but let God be the one who governs and guides your life, if you will but place your trust in God alone, if you will find your hope for the future in God alone, then you will live above the fray, above the changing tides of power in this world. Then you will not be disappointed by the failures of human leaders, which are bound to happen.

Because if you can live with this awareness, if you allow God to be your King, then you are in fact doing the will of God and living as members of the family of Jesus. Amen.