king of kings - meditation/rant

Notes: Written for Palm Sunday. The idea was we’d each start by saying what we expect to hear in church on Palm Sunday and then continue with our own thoughts. this is one such set of thoughts that’s somewhere between a meditation and a rant.

King of kings, Lord of lords, almighty God, victorious Christ.

We get so used to rattling off these phrases in church. They always sound a little hollow to me. Some might say that’s because I don’t really believe it, or I might kid myself that I’m just bored with tradition and that’s why they don’t mean anything.

But that isn’t the truth.

I have too many questions to ask before I can say those words from the heart.

Like if God is so all-mighty, how come kids are being sold heroin 200 yards from this building? How come just about everyone on this estate feels alienated or let down in some way? How come I see Asian kids getting stones thrown at them as they leave their homes?

People don’t need to hear empty holy, holys – they need to know that that holiness actually stands for something.

They need to know that God is on their side.

Jesus the king of kings isn’t too relevant round here – we know that any monarchy is always out of touch with real life.

We need Jesus the healer, Jesus the local boy who helps people turn their lives around, Jesus the man who gave up all he had to sit down with the dirty unwashed outcasts of society. That’s the Jesus we need around here.

I don’t want to see Bishops in expensive robes whilst there’re people who can’t feed their kids properly. I don’t want to go to church flower festivals when there’re people made to feel outcasts because they’re from another country.

I don’t want to contribute to the church roof appeal when there’re homeless people living in shop doorways.

I wanna see God walk these streets. And show us we don’t have to take this shit.

If people saw Jesus as the Christ, it wasn’t because he paid lip service to the kingdom of God – it was because he was making it happen. It was because people caught a glimpse of a life filled with justice and joy.

I wanna catch a glimpse of that too.

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