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Jeremiah 23:1-6, Colossians 1:11-20, Luke 23:35-43, Psalm 46
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, West Valley City, UT
The Rev. Deacon Dan Herron
Each year we hear this person, this son of a Carpenter called a King. In Scriptures He is called the King of the Jews, in the movies we hear the term The King of Kings, and today we celebrate Christ the King.
Some of us, from across the great pond may have seen a King or Queen or another person related to royalty, but very few of us Americans have. No, seeing them on TV doesn’t count. So I thought I’d do a bit or research and find out what are the qualities of a king (or Queen).
While thinking about this I remembered a story I heard a long time ago. I have no idea who wrote it or where it came from and because I heard it several years ago I had to fill in some of the gaps of my memory, and I do have some gaps.
Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away lived a king that every one loved.
Although he was still in very good health, the kingdom had not been at war for many years, and because he had no children, he thought it was time to look for an heir to the throne. After all, he was hardly a spring chicken.
So word went out to the far reaches of the kingdom; anyone who thought they’d like to be king needed to send a letter to the king telling him why, and those selected for an audience with the king would receive a letter in return with additional instructions.
In the furthest reaches, of the farthest corner, of the hilliest section of the part of the country, where the sun had not shone for the longest time (ever wonder why these people never live right around the corner?) lived a young man whose name is longer than I have paper for, so I’ll call him Lad.
Now Lad’s parents had died when he was very young, but a kindly, old blacksmith had taken Lad under his wing, and taught the boy his trade.
One day while walking through the town square Lad heard a commotion. When he asked what was going on he heard the story about the king. Later that night Lad sat down and began to write the king a letter. When he finished he attached it to an email and sent it off. Yes, I said email. He lived the furthest reaches, of the farthest corner, of the hilliest section of the part of the country where the sun has not shone for the longest time, but they still had the internet. Besides, it’s my story and I’ll tell it anyway I want.
Sometime later Lad received a letter inviting him to the king’s castle in six months time. But because he had not really expected to hear from the king he did not begin to prepare for the month long journey. Besides having to travel a long distance to the castle, the roads left a lot to be desired. Their town didn’t even show up on mapquest.com.
Lad began to work overtime for extra money and a seamstress in the town donated her time to make him a beautiful manly suite of clothing.
At long last the day for his departure came. He had three bags with him: one had the beautiful clothing the seamstress made for him, another had enough food for the journey to and fro, and the third had a few coins—just in case.
After he had been traveling about four weeks he began to see signs
(no, not Barbasol) but closely knit farms indicating he was coming
closer. This lifted his spirits because he knew his journey was
coming to a close. One day he came across a beggar along the side
of the road. Lad reached into the bag that contained the coins
and gave the beggar a couple. He thought to himself, I have
plenty of food for the rest of my journey and for my trip back.
A few coins won’t be a problem.
A bit later he came across a family begging for food. He reached
into his bag and gave them some thinking, What will I need of
this food if the king wants me as heir. Even if I do go home,
I can skip a day or two but they already look like they haven’t
eaten in days.
Just as he had the king’s castle in sight he spotted another beggar shivering on the side of the road. He was almost naked. Lad changed his clothing putting on his brand new suite of clothes the seamstress in his home town had sown for him and gave his old clothing to the almost naked beggar.
Finally he came to the gates of the castle. He presented the letter
of introduction to the guard who welcomed him with a big smile.
Then the Guard said, His highness has been called out of town
on business so you may have to wait a day or so till he returns.
But there is a really nice Holiday Inn right around the corner.
Lad went to the hotel and inquired what the rates for a small room
might be. When the told him $85.00 per night he checked his money
bag and found he only had $67.00. And, this was the only hotel
in town. He thought to himself, Well, I could go to Denny’s
and spend the night there and be careful not to spill anything on
my suite.
So off to Denny’s he went. While in Denny’s a
not so sober man spilled a milkshake on Lad that seemed to cover
him from head to toe. After expressing himself to the inebriated
gentleman, he took some of the money he had left and hailed him
a cab to take him home. Lad returned to Denny’s and spent the
night dozing from time to time.
The next morning when Lad left Denny’s he found a place when he was able to clean most of the milkshake stain from his clothing but he noticed a bit of an order from the remaining dairy product. As he reached into his bag of food he saw another family who seemed to be hungry so he gave them some of his food too.
As he arrived at the gate he talked to the guard he had spoken to the day before. The guard told him the king was still not available and he was not sure when he would be.
After a few days of this Lad decided to seek employment in the castle town since he may be there for a while. The local blacksmith hired him right away when he saw the skills Lad possessed.
As time went on Lad began to feel at home in his new surroundings and began to help some of the locals with their bills or donate free labor if they couldn’t pay for his blacksmithing skills. Soon he became well known and loved in his new surroundings. Months passed and one day, as you may have guessed, he received a letter from the king asking him to come to the castle right away. Needless to say his new suite of clothing was not much more than rags by now, and he was certainly not the cleanest human being in the world.
As he walked into the great room where the king’s throne could
be seen at the very end, Lad began to notice some of the people
who lined the hall. He noticed the seamstress who made his
suite of clothing. He noticed the two blacksmiths the one who
taught him his trade and the one who hired him in this new town.
He noticed the person he gave money to, the families he shared his
food with, the drunk he helped in the cab and the kindly waitress
from Denny’s who didn’t ask him to leave. When he came to the
throne he noticed it was empty. He turned to the guard who had
accompanied him to ask where the king was. The guard removed his
outer cloak to reveal a magnificent royal robe underneath. As the
king took his seat on the throne and placed his crown on his head,
Lad, a bit upset at this charade asked the king What is going on?
Why have I had to endure this game for the last several months?
The kindly king said to him, Many have answered my call and all
but you have been from royal linage. I needed to ensure you were
ready, willing and able to serve your fellow human being before you
took the throne, because a true king serves more than he is served.
If you could not take the cloak off your back, the food out of your
mouth and the money out of your pocket for those who serve you,
you in turn would not be fit to be served.
With that, the king stood, approached Lad placed his hands on his
shoulders and asked Lad if he would be his heir. After Lad said
yes the king turned Lad around to the people and said with a loud
voice, Behold your king!
Then he whispered into Lad’s ear, Now go take a bath, your
highness.
When we take a look at what we know about the life of our Savior, Jesus fits the roll of servant King in every way even more so then Lad.
Today you will be with me in Paradise.
So, where does all this put us today on a cold November morning in 2007? Where do we see ourselves in the kingdom of God?