Introduction
We are jumping across the cosmos from Mark to John for this Christ the King. And so, I’m not going to talk narrative today. Instead, I’m going to be looking at this Sunday as a transition Sunday. One that leads us into good and holy tension. And so, let us jump in fully into Christ the King, Year B.
Christ the King
Christ the King Sunday has an odd tension all the way through it. First, it can be a celebration of the end of the church year. It is the last Sunday in our church cycle before we begin Advent next week and start the process all over. And so, there is this tension of “an end” and “a beginning” butting up right next to each other.
In that tension there is mind bender of seeing Jesus at the end of his ministry standing before Pilate on Good Friday while knowing that next week many in the pews begin to think about 6lb 8oz baby Jesus coming into the world. All the while Christmas music and Hallmark movies have been going since the beginning of November. Which leads us to the last tension. The scene that we are given today from the Gospel of John doesn’t match what most of us are already hearing about Christmas and who the baby Jesus is supposed to be.
Remember many of the words that we will say and sing over the next 5 or 6 weeks in Advent and then Christmas: O come O come Emmanuel, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, Mighty King, Wonderful Counselor. The little Lord Jesus. O come let us adore him. Then compound that with Christmas songs and movies that center on extravagant gifts, decorations, true love, and Santa Clause and we get a very different feeling than the scene in our Gospel text today. That is not to say that we cannot enjoy those movies, or the warmth of time with family. But those feelings immediately put all extra tension into this Sunday. Christ the King Sunday.
Because who is the King that Jesus will be? Who is the King that was promised that we sing so sweetly about on December 24th each year?
In today’s Gospel text we don’t see Jesus on a throne with a crown of gold. We don’t see Jesus as Lord, winning the day. We don’t even hear Jesus call himself a king in a rebellious way that makes us cheer for the underdog.
Instead, we see Jesus standing before Pilate on trial and preparing himself to be crucified. We see Jesus not as the one having authority in the room but being subject to the authority in the room. We see Jesus not conquering but submitting to this power in front of him.
This is our king. This is who was promised to us. This is the Messiah, our Savior.
And it is the tension of this scene that illuminates for us the words that will be described in the Advent weeks ahead. While chestnuts are roasting on an open fire, while Rudolf guides the sleigh, while there are dreams of the perfect Christmas, the world longs for the promise of a different king.
The promise of a King that comes from his mother.
The king that is promised is that of the Magnificat, Mary’s song, that we will hear the 4th Sunday if Advent: “he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”
The king that is promised will not be born in a palace of Kings and Queens, but in a manger, because there was no room in the inn. The king that is promised will not be in charge of armies and generals and have military might, but he will call fishermen, and tax collectors, sinners, the least, the last, and the lost, to be his most trusted disciples and followers. The king that is promised will not eat during lavish banquets in ballrooms with the elite and rich but will eat with unwashed hands along roadsides with those who are homeless, feeding those without food, and ensuring that no one goes unnoticed. The king that is promised will not reign from a throne and issue decrees of punishment and death but will instead be raised onto a cross with a crown of thorns on his head in order to show a different way of ruling, with grace, mercy, and love.
The king that is promised, shows us another way.
Preaching Possibilities
Comes to Us as One of Us
The joy of this season is not from the form of victory that is expected in this world. The joy of this season is that God, loving us so much, came to us as one of us, so that each and every single one of us might know that we are equally beloved by God and that we might witness a different way of being in this world.
I am not trying to quash feelings of joy and hope during this season at all. But instead trying to lift up and articulate the joy and hope of Christ in this season.
One of my favorite quotes during this time of year comes from Martin Luther who once said in a Christmas sermon:
“If Christ had arrived with trumpets and lain in a cradle of gold, his birth would have been a splendid affair. But it would not be a comfort to me. He was rather to lie in the lap of a poor maiden and be thought of as little significance in the eyes of the world. Now I can come to him. Now he reveals himself to the miserable in order not to give any impression that he arrives with great power, splendor, wisdom, and aristocratic manners.”
A Litany of Litanies
But he came as one of us. Not as a conquering warrior but as a vulnerable infant, crying in the night. Not in a palace of marble but in a stable filled with the earthy smell of animals. He came not to be served by countless attendants but to serve and to give his life for others.
He needed a loving mother to cradle him in her arms, as every child does. He needed shelter and hospitality, as every person does. He needed friendship and love, as everyone does.
This is our King: one who came to us in humility rather than grandeur, in vulnerability rather than invincibility, in love rather than domination. He shows us a different way of being human, a way marked not by self-interest but in self-giving, not by power over others but in solidarity with the least, the lost, and the lowly.
This King teaches us that greatness is not in ruling from thrones but in bending to wash feet. That victory is not found in crushing enemies but in forgiving them. That the fullness of life is not about amassing wealth or power but about pouring oneself out for the sake of others.
And if these last few weeks have shown us anything, it is that we desperately need this different way. In a world so often consumed by violence, division, and despair, we need the promise of a King who reigns in peace, justice, and love.
Thank God for the King who does not demand our allegiance but invites us into relationship. Thank God for the King who does not enforce his rule with fear but transforms our hearts with grace. Thank God for Christ our King, who comes to us as one of us, and shows us a different way to live.
Micah Krey 
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