Crib, Cross and Crown

Festival of Christ the King: Last Sunday in the Church Year

November 24, 2024

Daniel 7:14

 “Crib, Cross and Crown”

Today is the day when we affirm that Christ reigns over all things. That’s big picture stuff. Sometimes we struggle to see and understand that Christ reigns over all things when everything around us indicates otherwise. So often in life and in faith we fail to see the big picture. We are easily distracted by the ups and downs of daily life. It is all too easy to become mired down in the day-to-day nitty gritty stuff of life so that all we can see is what’s directly in front of us. Sound familiar? There is a phrase often used in parenting, which you’ve probably heard many times: “The days are long, but the years are short.” Any parent will tell you how true that is. Once you bring that little baby home from the hospital, your time is not your own anymore. Your time is now marked by parental responsibilities in caring for that child. Your own life becomes entwined with that child’s life. Suddenly, often without our even realizing it, those long days become transformed into very short years. On this final Sunday of the church year, we look back on the year that has unfolded, and we see how those days and seasons all point us to Christ our King. That is the big picture that we are called to see. Using that final verse from today’s Old Testament lesson (Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14), we affirm the rule and reign of Christ our King: “And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” The theme for today’s sermon is entitled “Crib, Cross and Crown.” May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.

A week from today the Advent season begins, preparing us for the coming of Christ. Jesus’ first coming may well have looked something like what is portrayed on the Christmas cards that we send to one another. It was a very humble beginning. Christ the King began life, as we did, as a helpless Infant in a crib. Jesus’ earthly parents, Mary and Joseph, provided for him and took care of him, even as our own parents did for us. Sometimes we want to hold onto the Infant Jesus. He’s so beautiful lying there in the manger that we don’t want him to grow up. We just want him to stay there, cute and cuddly in that  manger crib. Sometimes parents want to do this with their own children, but that’s not a good thing. Parents who actually do this to their children do incredible harm to them, and there is a word for this: “infantilize.” Infantilization is when an adult is being treated like a child, even though nothing about their mental, physical, social, or intellectual wellbeing requires such treatment” (Infantilization in Your Relationships). Jesus took on our flesh and blood, becoming God Incarnate. Because Jesus joined us in our humanity, he understands what it’s like to be a human being; what it means to experience life in this world. Exactly thirty days from now is Christmas Eve, when this great mystery unfolds once more and we gather to worship God-made-flesh, who became like us in every respect except for sin (Hebrews 4:15).

From the crib of his manger bed, Jesus grew up to accomplish the mission that the Father had given him to do. That mission would take Jesus to the cross. From the joy of the Christmas season, the church year moves on to ponder the suffering and death of Christ during the Lenten season, culminating in Holy Week and the most somber day of the Christian year, Good Friday: the life-giving death of Jesus on the cross. Today’s Gospel lesson might seem a strange choice for Christ the King Sunday with Jesus on trial before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. Standing serenely before human authority on false charges, Jesus spoke to Pilate and he speaks to us today, reminding us all: “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36a). We would do well to remember that, for there are always those who are seeking to make the kingdom of Christ a kingdom of this world, wedding the political to the spiritual. Yes, there are areas where the two overlap, but the functions of each are very different and not to be confused. Jesus’ kingship is revealed at the cross. His crown is one of thorns and his throne is the wood of the cross. We worship and serve a different kind of king – One who would willingly suffer and die for the sake of his people. This king came to offer his very life as the once-for-all atoning sacrifice for all our sins (Hebrews 10:11-18). Through this, Christ our King came to inaugurate a different kind of kingdom – an upside-down kingdom; a kingdom not rooted in self, but in self-giving, sacrificial love. As Jesus has done for us, so we are to do for others that they might come to know and experience this same love that we ourselves have received. What we have received by grace, we are to give in grace. The cross itself pictures this very thing: Jesus’ suffering and death has restored our relationship with our heavenly Father – the vertical part of the cross. Because of what Jesus has done, we now share this good news with those around us – the horizontal part of the cross.

Notice that the cross is empty. Jesus is no longer nailed to that cross, but he is risen from the dead. He lives and reigns to all eternity. We worship and serve a risen Savior, Christ our King, who has brought life and immortality to life. Because he lives, we, too, shall live (John 11:25-26). Death could not hold Jesus, and it cannot hold those who trust in Jesus. The crown of thorns gives way to the crown of him who is the Alpha and the Omega, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). The manger crib of Jesus and the cross on which he paid the price of our salvation lead to the crown of Christ our King. This is the big picture of our faith that we must never lose sight of. Until the day of his coming, we have been given work to do. We are to serve as the hands and feet and mouth of Christ our King, pointing others to him through our words and actions. Jesus’ concern is for all people – not just a select few, but everyone. Jesus shed his blood and gave his life for the sins of the whole world, and so the whole world is our mission field, beginning with the street we live on and our own neighborhood. As Greg Finke, author of Joining Jesus on His Mission, reminds us, we are everyday missionaries for Christ our King. Wherever the Lord has placed us in this life, that is our mission field.

As we gather this week for the Thanksgiving holiday, some are looking forward to this celebration while others are dreading it. The prospect of uncomfortable conversations, strained relationships, heated  political disagreements – how do we recast all of this? Could it be that our Thanksgiving table might be our mission field? Could it be that Jesus himself is present at our very table? With Jesus as our honored though unseen guest, how will we speak and conduct ourselves, not just at Thanksgiving, but every day? As we wait and watch for the coming of Christ our King, let us strive to see all of life through the lens of his redeeming love, holding fast to him and remembering his words: “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10b).

From crib to cross to crown – we rejoice in Christ our King. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.