Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012.

First Reading: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
It might seem a little strange to us as Americans, remembering our 1776 revolution against the British king, to view our God as monarch and Jesus as warrior king. Yet we do so today as we look to the culmination of history and Christ as king. Daniel portrays a mighty God of flame on a fiery throne. Many modern Christians might prefer to visualize a transcendent Creator whose very nature lies beyond our ability to imagine. For early Christians living in a time of empire, though, it must have been reassuring to imagine an all-powerful God giving dominion over all nations and peoples to “one like a human being,” who they would identify as Christ.

Psalm 93
God is king! God is majestic! God is powerful! How this mighty hymn must have thundered through the ancient temple, celebrating the power and the kingship of God in metaphors of sound and fury: Roaring floods and massive ocean waves thundering, calling out the glory of God our king. When we chant this psalm today, sing out in a mighty chorus!

Second Reading: Revelation 1:4b-8
There has been a lot of talk about End Times lately, including the popular “Left Behind” stories, and pop-culture talk of the Mayan Calendar wrapping things up for us all next month. The book of Revelation, originally written as a subversive sermon against ancient Rome and its pagan emperors, actually carries a hint of more rational hope amid the kingly metaphors: God our King, who was with us at the beginning and will be with us at the end, loves us and frees us from our sins through Christ.

Gospel: John 18:33-37
Finally, in John’s Gospel, Jesus makes his kingship clear. Or does he? Accused of declaring himself king of the Jews, an act of treason against the powerful Roman Empire, Jesus tells Pilate that his kingdom is not of this world. Is he a king? “You say so,” Jesus replies. But is his kingdom of this world or the next? That’s not so clear. Will God’s kingdom come in the future with trumpet blasts and fire and brimstone? Or do we build it every day when we act as Christ’s hands in the world?