This is the very last Sunday in the church liturgical year, and it is called Christ the King Sunday. This may seem like a strange and antiquated idea for us since the last time we had a king was in 1776, and probably many of us are thinking about what is going on in our own democracy during midterm elections. A king?? What use do we have for a king? Well, the thing is that, even with all the chaos and violence and division in our world, this Sunday reminds us that it is all under the rule of Jesus. We are not the ones in charge of it all. Even Presidents or earthly kings like Charles are not in charge of all of it. It is not up to us to save the world. Everything we see and everything we are afraid of is under control of the reign of Christ.
And furthermore, He is a different kind of ruler than any ruler in our world, so much so that we may not recognize His power at first. This is the last week of our series on What Disciples Do, and this last week reminds us that one thing we must do is to give our ultimate allegiance to Christ over and above all the other powers that be competing for our attention and loyalty. This week leads into Advent season, where we meditate on a ruler who chose to come into this world as a vulnerable baby, and that sets the tone for the rest of His reign. Are our hearts open to this kind of upside down power?