Nov. 24 | Last Sunday After Pentecost, Year B
2 Sam. 23:1-7 or Dan. 7:9-10, 13-14
Ps. 132:1-13 [14-19] or Ps. 93
Rev. 1:4b-8
John 18:33-37
Contrary to the human-centered view that each generation evolves to a higher state of enlightenment than the previous one, Daniel’s vision from God is that nations devolve, becoming increasingly inhuman and ungodly manifestations of corrupted power. They devour one another and then begin to consume themselves.
But there is an answer to the descent into chaos. God will ultimately reign as King through his Son in peace and order by the perfect exercise of power and authority.
To help us gain an understanding of Jesus as the King, we can look to three literary works. The first is T.H. White’s novel about King Arthur, The Once and Future King. The second is J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Return of the King, the last book of the Ring Trilogy. And finally, the Bible’s story of the King of Heaven working in the world to reconcile humankind to himself so that we might live with him forever.
These three books have great similarities. In each case the story centers on a “hidden” king. The King Arthur legend begins with an orphaned boy called “Wart,” who is only recognizable as the king when he pulls the sword Excalibur from the stone. In Tolkien’s Middle-earth, the mysterious and wandering ranger, Strider, is revealed to the hobbits and the reader as Aragorn — one of the “Old Kings from over the Sea” — by Gandalf the wizard. And in Holy Scripture, a child is born in a stall to peasant parents and raised in Galilee of the Gentiles. Only by the power of the Holy Spirit is he revealed to be the King of Heaven.
In each of the stories, the major task of all three kings is the same. Their mission is to confront evil in their world and deliver the world’s inhabitants from bondage to that evil. Arthur attempts to drive out the might-makes-right way of governing, or rather oppressing, the people by introducing the Round Table and the discipline of self-sacrificial service for the good. Aragorn leads the Fellowship of the Ring on a journey to unmake the ring, vanquish evil in Middle-earth, and establish a kingdom of peace. And Jesus said of himself, “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16-17).
While Arthur sought to rid men of the evil within them, and Aragorn the external threat of evil, Jesus dealt with both. On the cross, he vanquished the powers and principalities of a fallen creation, and he dealt with the sin within men’s souls. Jesus brought reconciliation with God and a peace that lasts forever.
But there is another very important similarity in the stories: The king returns. The title of T.H. White’s Arthurian chronicle comes from Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur and King Arthur’s gravestone, on which was written, “Here lies Arthur, king once, and king to be.” The story of Arthur ends with the hope of his future return and restoration of peace and justice. In Tolkien’s Ring Trilogy, Aragorn the king returns as king to close out the anthology and restore justice. The promise is fulfilled, peace established in Middle-earth, and a new era begins. Likewise, Scripture ends with the promise of Jesus’ return as the eternally reigning monarch of the restored and redeemed creation — the kingdom of Heaven.
Since Jesus’ ascension into Heaven, the Church has been living in anticipation of his return and his reign over the new creation. Jesus is the King of Heaven as well as the Son of David. When he returns, his true identity will be recognized by all people. He has saved us from our sins, is “the firstborn of the dead, and [is] the ruler of the kings of the earth … the Alpha and the Omega … who is, and was and who is to come” (Rev. 1:5, 8).
Look It Up
John 18:37
Think About It
“Everyone on the side of the truth listens to [Jesus].”