Hope & loyalty
Readings: Daniel 7. 9-14, John 18. 33-37
Christ is our King, but what does that mean? What does that look like in our daily lives? It’s about hope and loyalty.
Our first reading today was an amazing bit from Daniel. Now some context before we dig in. Daniel up until this chapter has been primarily narrative, describing events happening, you might remember Danile being thrown to the lions and the others in the fiery furnace. But now as the book moves to chapter 7 it changes into a series of dreams and prophetic visions. And we pick it up halfway through the first of these. Right before this Daniel has had this vision of four beasts, each terrifying and powerful and violent, the fourth most terrifying of all. And this fourth beast has 10 horns, and then another grows, dislodging three and boasting endlessly.
Now, you can see why the lectionary started where it did, missing out the first part, it’s all rather mystifying, perhaps confusing and certainly rather alien to what we’d expect and I’m not going to focus on it too much. But it’s important context for the portion we have.
Because these beasts represent different empires, different kingdoms which will rise up and conquer and rule. The fourth beast is often associated with the might of Rome, this vast and violent Empire, still a long way off in Daniel’s day, but which will slowly bring the world under its control.
We look around us in our day and we see violence. Rulers, whether presidents or prime ministers or Kings, who chose violence and oppression to meet their goals. Nations that seem intent on crushing any who oppose them, appetites which seem never to be satiated. Our world feels all too much like the first part of Daniel 7 with those beasts destroying and killing, flexing their power seemingly with no way to stop them. And what happens in response to these beasts which are waging war and destruction?
Well Daniel continues to narrate what he sees as our reading for today begins; thrones are set in place and the God of the Universe takes his seat, all shining white and fire, a vision of purity and holiness. And the court sits and the books are opened. What we’re seeing is a picture of judgement, the God of the Universe enacting judgement against these oppressive rulers and regimes. And (in the part we skipped over) this final beast is slain, it’s defeated and cast away, the others live for a time but with their authority stripped. God will not allow violence and oppression to go unchecked forever.
You see over and above every other nation and empire is a different Kingdom, over and above every other ruler is a greater King. A King to which all other rulers must bow, a Kingdom which will overtake and outlast every other Kingdom.
As Daniel watches in the night visions he sees one like a Son of Man comes with the clouds. What Daniel is seeing here is the Ascension of Christ following his resurrection. And what happens as Christ ascends back to his Father? He’s given dominion and glory and kingship. We read that all peoples, every language and nation shall serve him. Now that doesn’t mean that everyone will serve him, rather it’s a picture of the church, of his people ransomed out of every language, tribe, and nation, Revelation picks up that theme. A people who serve him willingly, who rejoice to be his people, not coerced by violence or force, but won to him in heart and soul by his sacrifice for them. And his Kingdom, his reign, will never end.
Which means we can have hope. Because this final Kingdom is not marked by violence and oppression, war and terror. It’s marked by justice and peace, grace and mercy. That’s our hope, evil and destruction don’t win. One day, in the fulness of time, all other Kingdoms and Empires and rulers will pass away, and what shall be left is Christ’s perfect rule and reign. We don’t need to panic, the last word is life, not death.
So that’s the hope that Christ’s Kingship brings us, that he is guiding all things to that day, reigning in the here and now, so that at the last his reign may come in its fulness. But what does that means for us now, we have hope for the future and that will get us through dark days, but what about right now?
The question for us in the here and now is where is your loyalty? Every other Empire will end, that’s the message of Daniel 7, every other ruler and regime will end, will eventually pass away either through destruction or failure or time running out. The people living in the time of the Roman Empire thought it would last forever, go on until the end of time, and yet, long as it lasted, powerful though it was, it collapsed and fractured and is no more. And yet Christ is still on his throne. And what that means is that our loyalty is first and foremost to Christ, for it is his rule and reign which will last. If our loyalty is first to something else and then to Christ we’ll be disappointed, either when it fails in this life, or when Christ overtakes it in the next.
Take nations and empires. If we think of ourselves first as British or Welsh or whatever nationality we may be, and secondly as Christians we’ve got it flipped. We’re first and foremost citizens of heaven. Britain, Wales, they can pass away, they will one day, and yet our citizenship remains secure. If our loyalty is first to British values, whatever that means, and then to Christ, we’ll compromise on our faith to shore up those values. We’ll enact awful laws and find ourselves filled with fear and prejudice as we feel like the walls are closing in.
But there’s a more subtle pull on our loyalty; loyalty to church institutions or tribes or movements. And that loyalty feels a lot like loyalty to Christ, afterall it’s his people, his church. But it’s subtly shifted. And the way you can tell is this: if a new Vicar was appointed here who didn’t preach the Gospel would we stay? Who didn’t preach Christ and him crucified for our sins, would we stay out of loyalty to this place?
If the institution of the Church was compromised, either through false teaching or through scandal and abuse, would we expose it, would we bring those things into the light? Or would we bury them to protect our witness? We’ve seen the latter all too often, it gets covered up to protect the institution or the tribe or the network. And its justified that it has to be because it would damage our witness, stop people listening to us about Jesus. But if we’re doing that we’ve betrayed our loyalty to Jesus. We’ve swapped him for the organisation, and assumed we need to have things covered for Jesus. No, in bringing those things into the light, no matter the cost, we show our ultimate loyalty is to Christ.
St David’s can fall down, the Church in Wales might collapse, scandals destroy your network or theological tribe. But Christ is still on his throne and his church still endures. As Christians, as a people who call Christ King, our loyalties are first and foremost to him, to his Gospel, to being his disciples in obedience to his commands. For all other things will pass away, yet his throne shall endure.
And so we’re to walk with him, in obedience and submission as to our King. Perhaps that idea of Christ as King perhaps grates a little against our own relationship with him. He does after all declare that he won’t call his disciples servants but friends, there’s an intimacy there. And all our ideas about Kings and rulers is about distance, power, separateness.
But we need to understand Christ as our King because it’s at the heart of our discipleship. If our only approach to Jesus is as a friend we undermine something of what our relationship should look like. If it’s our mate Jesus of course we fall into those traps of deciding to do as we want, rather than as Christ calls, because he’ll understand, he’s our mate, he wants us to have a good life. But loyalty to Christ involves submission to him, submitting to his rule and call. That might perhaps grate a little again, perhaps because we’ve seen so often power and submission abused, either on the global stage, in church, in our homes. And yet with Christ it is truly safe to submit and obey. Because Christ isn’t a King who dominates, who is in it for himself, his commands are truly for our good, his rule is for our benefit.
In our Gospel we see Christ stood before Pilate. He’s stood there ready for his execution, in a few moments he’ll be dragged before the crowds baying for his death before being dragged back inside to be beaten until he’s bloody and bruised and then sent off to be crucified. Christ is a King who dies for his people. He doesn’t send his people to die for him and his glory and honour, he dies for them, for us, so that we receive glory and honour. Of course we listen to his voice, of course we obey his commands, this is a King who is truly for us, who has proven it to us to the very end. So let us truly listen to his voice, and in listening do as he calls, as he commands. As he says those who love me do as I command. Let us demonstrate our love for Christ as our King by putting into practice his commands, for in seeing him on the cross we see a King who is fully and solely for our good.
My brothers and sisters Christ is our King, which means we have hope. Even when wars rage and violence and evil seem to be winning, Christ is still on his throne, and he is guiding all things to the day when judgement will come, when those who are truly trusting in Christ, who are living that out, will know the fulness of the forgiveness he has won for us. And yet on that same day those who have done evil, those rulers and peoples who have done violence and cruelty will face the consequences of that.
Jesus says that his Kingdom is not from this world, that’s what he says to Pilate, but that doesn’t mean it has nothing to do with this world, for his Kingdom has been breaking into this world since Christ’s birth 2000 years ago, his Kingdom is breaking in wherever people live as citizens of his Kingdom, live in obedience and trust and love for him. So let our loyalty and obedience be first to him, living faithfully as his people now, revealing his rule and reign in our lives. Because one day, in the fulness of time, his Kingdom will overtake this world, violence and oppression and evil will be burned up, gone forever. Only one ruler will last, and his Kingdom is one of true justice, everlasting peace, unbounded grace and mercy, a Kingdom which shall know no end.
Amen.