This is the last Sunday of the Christian year, a day on which Christians worldwide celebrate the reign of Christ. Whereas Advent, which begins next Sunday, celebrates the potential lordship of Christ that his birth prefigures, Christ the King Sunday, as this Sunday is often called, recognizes the realized lordship of Christ. One of the enduring symbols of royalty is the throne, the elaborate chair on which rulers sit to discharge their duties of office. This week we will look at four of those duties, represented by four different thrones. In today's reading from Daniel, God is seated on a throne of judgment. Depicted as the Ancient of Days, God is portrayed as infinitely wise, one from whose view no human deeds can escape notice. Written during the Seleucid period of the second century B.C.E., the passage reflects a time when Antiochus Epiphanes, king of the Seleucid Empire, was doing his best to stamp out the religious observation of Judaism. The author envisions God seated as a judge on the throne, meting out justice to those who warrant it. The message is clear: atrocities committed against the faithful and the weak will not go unnoticed or unpunished. In a day when such atrocities multiply seemingly without bound, the image of God on the throne of judgment is one the world, especially those who wield the power of the sword, needs to hear.
The preamble to the U.S. Constitution says that the government is established, in part, to "promote the general welfare." Unlike governments that are set up primarily to enrich the rulers at the expense of the common people, legitimate governments act for the benefit of all. The idea that kings exist for the benefit of their subjects goes back to Voltaire, but its roots can be traced much earlier to the Roman republic, the democratic government of Athens, and even to the descriptions of royal responsibility in the book of Psalms. Psalm 132 portrays the throne of provision, the duty that the leader has to provide for the people, especially for those least able to provide for themselves. After alluding to the faithfulness of David, the psalmist recalls God's promise to establish David's throne forever. In the wake of the Babylonian exile, Davidic kings have ceased to occupy the throne of Israel. In fact, no such throne exists any more, since the nation has been absorbed into the Persian empire. Nevertheless, hope remains, but it is a hope that is tempered by sometimes jaded memories of the past. Many who sat on the throne ruled primarily for their own benefit rather than the benefit of the people, so the psalmist expresses the hope that the future king will remember his obligation to the poor and needy. Too often today governments function for the benefit of only a small part of society. In military dictatorships, it is the dictator's family and the military who receive the lion's share of the country's wealth. In democracies, it is often the wealthy supporters of the ruling party that divide the lion's share of the nation's resources. This psalm reminds those in power, and those who put them there, that one of the foremost duties of the ruler is to promote the general welfare, especially for those least able to care for themselves.
Like Daniel, the book of Revelation is set in a period of political turmoil and persecution of the faithful. Set probably at the end of the first century C.E., Revelation speaks to communities that were enduring persecution for their faith, even to the extent that some among them had suffered martyrdom. The author, who identifies himself only as John, encourages his readers with the reminder that Jesus Christ himself sits on the throne of testimony as the prototypical witness/martyr to the faith. The Greek word for witness is martyros, the root of our word "martyr." In English, the word "witness" indicates a person who has observed an event and is capable of bearing testimony to it. In common parlance the word carries with it no intimation that the witness will in fact bear testimony. When used in a courtroom setting, however, a witness is one who provides public testimony concerning his or her personal knowledge of an event. The word "martyr" in English connotes one who has given public testimony about some event or situation, either in or out of a courtroom, and has been killed as a direct result of the willingness to speak out. John portrays Jesus as a witness to God's truth and justice who willingly speaks out and who has suffered death as a result of his testimony. Nevertheless, the testimony of Jesus remains effective, for he now speaks from the throne of testimony in heaven, bearing witness to all God's faithful on earth that God is in control of circumstances and will ultimately reign triumphant. Many who speak about the book of Revelation today emphasize fanciful, nonsensical interpretations that attempt to identify current people and events with details of the text. In so doing, they miss the overall message of the book, which is one of hope for those who are faithful to God. Rather than worrying about possible interpretations of 666 or the mark of the beast, people of faith today need to hear the message that God continues to love them, that God cares for all those who suffer for the sake of righteousness, and that Jesus provides an example of a faithful witness for all who would follow.
The Gospel of John presents a short interview between Jesus and Pilate that occurs just before Jesus' crucifixion. Pilate raises the question of Jesus' claim to kingship, and Jesus responds by explaining that his reign is not based on geographical boundaries or national identity but rather on ultimate truth. The fourth throne in today's series of reading is the throne of challenge. Jesus' claim that his reign transcends traditional notions of a kingdom presents a challenge to Pilate, the governor of Judea. Pilate was a man who had a vast amount of temporal power, but his power was not absolute. In his conversation with Jesus, he confronted an individual who claims were more than he could make about himself. Although the kingdom Jesus described was not a military challenge to Rome, it was something even greater: a philosophical, moral challenge. A kingdom established on truth is a challenge to all who gain power through deceit, force or arms, or wealth. It is a challenge to all who rule by immoral means. It is a challenge to all who seek to enrich themselves through the accumulation of power and position. Pilate's final comment to Jesus was probably intended to be dismissive, but when presented in a serious manner, it becomes the starting point for a journey to God that all who want to experience the reign of God must ask: "What is truth?"