Lead Us to the Throne of Grace

In seminary I took a class at the Methodist Seminary in DC by this funny professor from Mississippi.  He had been a pastor for many years and he would tell these stories but they often used language that I was unfamiliar with as an Episcopalian.  One of the memorable phrases he would often use was about when he would visits churches and the other pastors would say, “Lovett, I want you to lead us to the throne of grace.” 

After we all laughed at his animated expressions and stories, he explained that this phrase just means to lead the congregation in prayer.  It was new to me.  And it is royal language.  And while it might not be a term we are accustomed to hearing, at some level it is what we all desire, to be led to the throne of grace.  We come to church not just to learn about God, but to encounter God, to be led to the throne of the great high priest, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, Jesus Christ incarnate.

Today is Christ the King Sunday, the day in the church where we proclaim the reign of Christ.  Our culture sure has a fascination with royalty and especially monarchies.  The cover of Time Magazine this past week was an emotionally captured shot of Prince Charles.  The article was about the legacy he will leave behind and the vision of his leadership. He has started countless charities and foundations and so the article addressed how he will be remembered as a king. I am sure several people in this room watched the royal wedding a few years ago or followed with great interested the baptism of the newest prince of England.  We care about kings and queens, because we are fascinated with royalty.

There are two images of kingship and royalty that I would like to focus on today.  The first one comes before our Gospel reading in Luke today.  We will come back to the account in the 23rd chapter of Luke, but first we need to move back four chapters to understand. 

While a king will be led to the throne, the procession is also very important and so I want to first look at the procession of Jesus into Jerusalem.   In the 19th chapter of Luke, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a colt that has never been ridden.  It is the kingly procession that is to take place. Marcus Borg writes that there were actually two processions that were taking place at that time. At the same time of Jesus’ procession, Pilate would have also been entering Jerusalem.  As a Roman leader, there would have been a strong military escort, leaders of the community that benefited from the Pax Romani standing out in the streets to hail Pilate.  And arguable those Jewish leaders threatened by Jesus who knew exactly why Pilate was in town, would have been cheering the arrival of peace as they understood peace.  Pilate’s arrival would have been announced with trumpets blaring, and festive gatherings, a procession of magnificent glory. 

Jesus’ entry on the other hand would have been quite different.  Where we might easily imagine a procession similar to the beautiful and ornate handmade vestments of the clergy who processed at the baptism of the newest Prince George, suspect we are quite off base.   Jesus’ friends were tax collectors and fisherman.  He was a friend to the Samaritans, the harlots, and the blind man.  He was a friend of the demoniacs, and people who were disabled.  He loved the lepers.   People would not have placed expensive garments on the road.  They would have placed their smelly, shredded and weathered clothes.  It was the sweat stained and tattered rags that became the runway for Jesus.   The beauty of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is the stark irony of kingship. Luke is beginning to change our concept of what the triumphal procession of a king should really look like.

Which leads us to where we are today, being lead to the throne of our King.   There is no doubt that Pilate had a throne or a seat.  You can image Pilate sitting high above the people, looking out, and allowing the vocal crowd to decide the fate of Jesus.  And in our Gospel passage today, Jesus ends up on his own throne.  He is crucified between two common criminals, innocent and completely humiliated, left to die before God’s people.  And Pilate has the inscription placed over him – “This is the King of the Jews.” 

Triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the throne of power, both are juxtapositions of competing ways of life.  We can follow Pilate, marching with our armies, in search of power, or merely trying to maintain the control or power we already exhibit in life.  Pilate was merely trying to keep peace in the Roman Empire as he feared insurrection and violence.  Or we can follow Jesus, over the sweat stained and tattered rags of human existence. We can seek the throne of Pilate that rests high above the multitudes where we are commended to offer judgment on others.  Or we can seek the way of the cross that will surely cause us to be humiliated and humbled beyond measure. 

This Sunday is also Stewardship Sunday.  In a moment you will be invited to march forward and place your offering on the Altar.   As soon as the offering for today is brought forward, and lifted, the ushers will step aside and you will be invited to walk forward and place your offering on the plate on the altar.  While we make a procession forward each week to receive communion, we are making an especially important procession today.

 

In a way what we offer to God, what we offer to the church is a counter cultural offering.  We are choosing to not to make the procession to follow Pilate but instead to follow Jesus.  We say that life is not about what we can acquire, but about what we can give away.  No one will know what we give, we will not receive public recognition for our gifts, we will not receive acclimation from the congregation. Our pledge is between God and us.  It is a way of saying humility is greater than praise. 

At our stewardship gatherings we talked about giving as a spiritual discipline that shapes us.  Each time we give, we become more giving.  Each time we make an offering we are learning to become a more generous person. Each time we give of ourselves, we are taking the other path.   While it might not be the language we use, we can still say, led us to the throne of grace.  Luke however reminds us that the throne is not some fancy royal seat of gold, a place of prestige or power, a place where all can look at us and see how wonderful we are.  Instead it is the cross, a place of ultimate humility and sacrifice.  But it is there that we are promised paradise.  Amen.

Sermon Preached on November 24, 2013

Church of the Annunciation