The call of the King

Over 200 years ago, an amazing thing happened.  A group of men gathered in Philadelphia to create a new government.  They were steeped in a world where kings were considered to have God-given rights to rule as they saw fit for as long as they lived.  Yet, these men reached back to ancient Greece to craft a democracy – of the people, by the people, for the people.  They realized that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  By spreading power across a wide base – the people – and by checking and balancing the necessary powers of government, they created what today is the most politically free, economically rich and militarily powerful nation on earth.  And, I’m pretty sure most of you here today feel as I do about this accomplishment – thank God we’re part of it.

However, despite these accomplishments - perhaps because of these accomplishments - we live in great danger.  Not just the danger of terrorism, though that is certainly present.  Not just the danger of economic collapse, though that risk is certainly present.   The danger we face is much more tragic.  If we are not careful, our blessings will turn to a curse, our vaunted freedom will turn to slavery and our paradise will turn to damnation.  For the intuition of the founding fathers remains true today – power corrupts.  With so much power on our side, we slip easily down a spiritual dead end.  We assume that since we have political, economic and military power, we have it all.  And, logically enough, what is the sense in having all this power if it goes unused?

Despite our great blessings, we seem to be living in great fear.  How do we live with this fear?

We viewed Osama bin Laden as a serious threat to our lives and our loved ones.  There is no doubt that he hated us as few have hated us before.  Surely we had the power - and the right! - to hunt him down and kill him.  Did we assume that by killing the hater, we also killed the hate?

We watched with great fear as our houses and investments dramatically declined in value.  Unemployment remains uncomfortably high - particularly among the less educated, the less experienced, the less white - and even those who have jobs never seem secure in them.  We jealously protect what is left and turn against others who seem to be threatening our livelihoods.  Have we assumed that our future can only be guaranteed by securing our jobs and our possessions?

We revel in the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution, the freedom to choose our own lifestyle, to maximize our own opportunities and comfort.  We rationalize our actions towards others as our politically granted freedom of choice.  Have we equated freedom with selfishness, liberty with licentiousness?

Christ is our King, as uncomfortably those words may fall on our American ears.  And as King, he demands our obedience to His will – to God’s will.  As our King, he exerts the only power that cannot corrupt – the power of God’s unconditional, everlasting, infinite love.  It cannot corrupt as it comes from the source of all good, the source of all holiness, and the source of all love.  While our forefathers succeeded in establishing a “more perfect union,” Christ has already called us to live in the most perfect union – the kingdom of God.

It uses the only power that can save us from the one whom we should truly fear – the One who can destroy not only our bodies, not only our wallets, not only our political freedoms, but also our very souls.  And Christ has given us this power to conquer evil:  Love your enemies, feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless. 

We experienced and participated in that power in action one year ago.  Faced with unfathomable horror and evil, we responded with love.  Faced with sorrow beyond knowing, we responded with compassion.  Faced with crushing loss, we responded with generosity.  Faced with blackest darkness, we responded with Christ's light.

Our King does not wave a mere flag to rally his troops.  He calls each of us, his faithful subjects, to pick up the cross of salvation and follow Him who loves, Him who serves, Him who saves.  And like kings of old, he will be the ultimate judge of how closely we followed.  He will judge us not by the size and might of our armed forces, but by the size and might of our heart.  He will judge us not by our Constitution, but by our compassion; not by what we have earned, but by what we have given away; not by what we did for a living, but what we did for life.

Our kingdom, the kingdom of God, is besieged by fear and greed.  Our King calls us to his side, to his cross, to love our enemies as He loves us, to care for others as He cares for us, to do His will as it is done in heaven.  How will we answer our King?