Luke 23:33-43
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. [[ Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’]] And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!’ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!’ There was also an inscription over him, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’
One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’
In 1922 Benito Mussolini Marched on Rome and was appointed Prime Minister by King Victor Emmanuel III. In 1923 The Acerbo Law was passed which manipulated election results to favor the Fascist Party. In 1924 the Fascists, unsurprisingly, won the general election. In January of 1925, Mussolini declared himself dictator and then, in December of that same year, Pope Pious XI published the encyclical Quas Primas which is Latin for “In the First” which introduced the Feast of The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Also known by it’s nickname… Christ the King Sunday.
Coincidence? No way! Check out what Pope Pious wrote, “as long as individuals and states refuse to submit to the rule of our Savior, there would be no really hopeful prospect of a lasting peace among nations.” He argued that “we must look for the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ” if the world was to have real peace.
Now at this point we could get really irritated with Pope Pious’ Christian exclusivism. We could roll our eyes at the irony of a Pope who sits on a throne attempting to lead a 1920’s version of a No King’s Rally. We could also be irritated by the very “male” baggage that comes with the word “king” and the fact that many still justify their rabid misogyny by pointing to “Christ the King”.
However, since the primary thing Pope Pious XI saw and reacted to in his day looks FRIGHTENINGLY like what we’re seeing in our country a century later, I’m inclined instead to note that Pope Pious XI was firmly rooted in his particular time and culture and not exactly the Interfaith minded Feminist I would have liked him to be, AND… and… he also wrote in this encyclical that, “bitter enmities and rivalries… hinder the cause of peace” and that “insatiable greed” hides under the “pretense of public spirit and patriotism.” That patriotism, a thing he said was of “noble virtues and so many acts of heroism” could be perverted into an “extreme nationalism” and lead us to forget that we are all part of “one human family” and that nationalism could lead us to dismiss the idea that “all people have the right to life and prosperity.”
Which is why I'm not in favor of just throwing this Pope, his encyclical, and this Feast Day out with the century old bathwater. Because, as I look out the front window of the Rectory I see dozens of American flags planted in the park across the street and grow increasingly concerned that our American Patriotism which was indeed “of noble virtue and acts of heroism” has turned into malignant nationalism. I see our country’s own secret police sowing fear and terror and am forced to conclude, as Pope Pious did in his time, that our extreme and growing nationalism has led this country to forget that all other human beings are our siblings. I see the bitter enmities and rivalries hindering peace in our congress and in our communities. I can’t help but see an insatiable greed among the obscenely wealthy and their political enablers hiding under a pretense of patriotism.
Pope Pious, 100 years ago, was not where I find myself today when it comes to Ecumenism, Interfaith-ism, or Feminism and, I imagine, we'd likely disagree on a number of other “isms” as well! In spite of that, he had some real wisdom we would do well to hear today. He taught that it is not our loyalty to earthly kings, emperors, kaisers, presidents, political parties or doctrines that will lead the world to peace, but it is walking a path of sacrificial love as Jesus did from the seemingly power-less position of hanging on a cross that will guide the world to a genuine and lasting peace.
While I suspect Pope Pious would have said that WAY of walking was a “Jesus exclusive” and must include the confession that “Jesus is Lord” I would argue that it is the DOING of what Jesus did and the LIVING as Jesus lived that makes the actual, world changing difference, regardless of how it gets labeled! So, if confessing “Christ is King and Jesus is Lord” helps you stand up against fascists and tyrants and search out the lost, feed the hungry, embrace the foreigner, lift up the maligned and shelter the demonized, then by all means confess it! If you search out the lost, feed the hungry, embrace the foreigner, lift up the maligned and shelter the demonized but don’t want to make that confession… Okay! Because whatever it is that you need to say or not say, confess or not confess that leads you to speak truth to power, put a candle on a candle stand in defiance of the stormy darkness, advocate for justice, lift up the trampled, heal the sick, reunite the estranged and raise the dead… I say… YES PLEASE! DO THAT!
For me, proclaiming Jesus as Lord and Christ as King helps me push back on the pressures of a nation that demands that I succumb to living in bitter rivalry, embrace a malignant nationalism, abandon civility and honor, and forget that all of humanity is my neighbor. At it’s core, I believe THAT is what Pope Pious meant for the Feast of The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe to do for us. SO, may we take the parts of this Feast that help us resist Fascism’s siren song and embrace radical love and justice… and then… just let the rest of the language that doesn't work for you go. Because in the end, it will not be the words we use, but the lives we live in love for our neighbor that will ultimately change the world. Amen.
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