The Rev. Susan Sparks, senior pastor of Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York City has published a wonderful sermon online contrasting two kings, Elvis Presley, the king of Rock ’n Roll and Jesus, the King of all creation. You may remember comedian Adam Sadler’s comparison of the two men: Jesus said: “Love thy neighbor.” . . . Elvis said: “Don’t be cruel.” Jesus is part of the Trinity; Elvis’ first band was a trio. Jesus is the Lord’s shepherd; Elvis dated Cybil Sheppard, etc . . . You will find many more clever comparisons on various websites.
Rev. Sparks notes the devotion that many people still have for Elvis. She says that while in Memphis, she visited Sun Records, where Elvis recorded his first song. In the studio, there was an “X” marked on the floor with duct tape indicating the exact spot where Elvis stood. The tour guide told them that just the week before, Bob Dylan had come into the studio, said not a word to anyone, walked over to the “X,” got down on all fours, kissed it and walked out. Now that’s a tribute from one rock legend to another.
Rev. Sparks also visited Graceland, Presley’s home. As she waited in line to buy tickets she turned to one of the tour guides and asked, “So, how long did Elvis actually live here?” There was an audible gasp from the surrounding crowd. The guide looked at her with shock and whispered, “We don’t use the past tense here.” She then pointed at her tee shirt, which read: “Graceland, where Elvis LIVES.”
“It didn’t matter that she had never actually seen Elvis or that technically Elvis stopped walking the earth over thirty-two years [before]. It didn’t matter. She didn’t care. Elvis fans don’t care. Without any proof, they believe he lives! Elvis lives, baby. The King lives . . .”
Not only that says Rev. Sparks, “Because they believe he lives, Elvis fans go out into in the world and share his message. They play Elvis’ music; they dress up as Elvis impersonators; they decorate their homes with Elvis memorabilia.” She says that one of her favorite things at the Graceland gift shop was an Elvis sprinkler. It was a foot-high plastic Elvis in a sequin jumpsuit, and as he watered your yard, he would swivel his hips. Then she adds this interesting thought, “Whether through word or music, impersonators or sprinklers, Elvis fans proudly proclaim the message of the King.” (1)
Welcome on this last Sunday of the Christian year. In some churches today is celebrated as “Christ the King” Sunday. In others it is celebrated simply as the Reign of Christ. And the simple question I would pose to you this day is this: who is the king of your life?
In our lesson from John’s Gospel, Pilate is interrogating Jesus before his crucifixion. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asks.
“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered him somewhat cryptically, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
If Pilate thought he could intimidate Jesus, he was sorely mistaken. If Pilate thought he was in control of this situation he was also sorely mistaken. He might turn his prisoner over to the mob to be persecuted, but if he did, he would simply be following the script laid out before the beginning of time. The Son of God would give his life that all God’s children might one day find life through him. But I return to the question for the day, “Who’s your king?”
Everybody worships something or somebody. If it is not Christ, it is something or someone less worthy.
We’ve talked about this before, but it is so crucial. One of the twentieth century’s most perceptive theologians, Paul Tillich once said that whatever is our ultimate concern in life, that is our God. It might be our appearance or our bank account; it might be some popular media personality, it might be our allegiance to our country, or the quest for scientific truth, or a host of important concerns.
Everybody worships something or somebody. It might be something as benign as the esteem of your peers. There are some people who are obsessed with what significant people in their lives think about them. This obsession might not even be a conscious thing, but still it rates a higher priority than their family life or even their relationship with God. If standing up for Jesus would embarrass them in front of their peers, they will remain seated, thank you very much.
What is it in life that you value most--that you would not only die for, but also live for? Be careful how you answer. It is a most difficult question. Some people will say, “Why, Jesus is what matters most in my life.” And yet, when the time of testing comes, we discover that it is not Jesus that matters most at all. It is the esteem with which our friends hold us that really matters most. Some of us get along by going along with the attitudes of our friends.
What is it in life that you value most? Some of you will say your family. And that is good. However, do you value your family more than you value God? Tough call, isn’t it? Some missionaries have had to make that decision. It’s one thing to put themselves at risk serving Christ in a dangerous situation, but how about their spouse or--heaven forbid!--their children. Is your family your greatest priority?
Evangelical researcher and author George Barna says that studies show that far more people in this country are willing to die for their country than they are their faith. That is very revealing. Who is your king? Who or what do you worship?
Biblical faith insists that God alone is worthy of our worship. Such faith may demand extraordinary sacrifices.
Michael Maudlin in an article in Christianity Today magazine once told about a person who was willing to make Christ king of his life. Before co‑founding Habitat for Humanity, Millard Fuller was a successful businessman who one day followed his estranged wife Linda to New York to try to convince her to come back to him. She was not easily convinced that he could turn back from his headlong rush for material wealth.
Millard recalls: “We were in a taxi right after Linda and I had a very tearful session. We’d gone to Radio City Music Hall and they showed the movie Never Too Late. It was about a woman getting pregnant after she thought it was too late. The message was that it’s never too late to change anything. I had a sensation of light in that taxi. It was not anything spooky. All I can say is it just came into my head: Give your money away, make yourself poor again and throw yourself on God’s mercy. I turned to Linda and said, ‘I believe that God just gave me the idea to give all our money away; give everything away.’
“She said, ‘I agree. Let’s do it.’”
Friends, family, even pastors tried to talk them out of it. But Millard Fuller believed that God was calling them to live a radical new life, and they ended up building one of the great ministries for helping people of modern times, Habitat for Humanity. (2) Millard Fuller and his wife gave everything away. Not everyone is called to make a sacrifice like that, but would you be willing to if Jesus asked you to? That is the question for the day.
Bishop William Willimon says that he is still haunted by a long conversation he had with a man who was a member of one of his early congregations. This man told Willimon that one evening, returning from a night of poker with some of his pals, he had a stunning vision of the presence of the risen Christ. Christ appeared to him undeniably, vividly, he said.
Yet though this event shook him and stirred him deeply, in ten years he had never told anyone about it before he told Willimon, his pastor. Willimon pressed him on his silence. Was he embarrassed? Was he fearful that others would mock him or fail to believe that this had happened to him?
“No,” the man explained, “the reason why I told no one was I was too afraid that it was true. And if it’s true that Jesus was really real, that he had come personally to me, what then? I’d have to change my whole life. I’d have to become some kind of radical or something. And I love my wife and family and was scared I’d have to change, to be somebody else, and destroy my family, if the vision was real.” (3)
That’s a powerful thought, wouldn’t you agree? If Jesus is real and if we should encounter him, what are the implications of that experience? I guess under such circumstances we would discover who really is the King of our life?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. faced that question. Preaching in front of the Ebenezer Baptist congregation in Atlanta, a congregation that he loved, Dr. King told them--just two months before his untimely funeral--how he would like to be remembered, and in doing so, he zeroed in on that ultimate question: If Christ is King, what does that mean? “If Christ is ruler over our lives,” Dr. King told them, “then my Nobel Peace Prize is less important than my trying to feed the hungry. If Christ is King, then my invitations to the White House are less important than that I visited those in prison. If Christ is Lord, then my being Time magazine’s ‘Man of the Year’ is less important than that I tried to love extravagantly, dangerously, with all my being.” (4)
Dr. King was right, wasn’t he? If Christ is real . . . if he is King . . . then nothing else matters quite as much as that one fact. Why? Because we know we can trust him . . . with our families . . . with our personal destinies . . . with everything that is important to us. We can face the future confidently . . . triumphantly . . . if Christ is King.
On July 20, 1969, U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on the moon. President Richard Nixon acclaimed the event as the greatest one event since the Creation. Armstrong himself, as he took the last step from the ladder of his lunar module onto the moon’s surface, said, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
A devout Christian, Armstrong later visited the Old City of Jerusalem. At the Hulda Gate, which leads to the Temple Mount, Armstrong wanted to know if Jesus had walked on those very steps. Assured that he did, Armstrong said, “I have to tell you, I am more excited stepping on these stones than I was stepping on the moon.” (5) Why was he so excited? Because Christ is King of all creation . . . the moon and the stars.
I understand that in the Berlin art gallery there is a painting by the famous artist Adolph Menzel that is only partially finished. It is supposed to be a painting of King Frederick of Germany. In the painting Frederick is talking to his generals. Menzel painstakingly painted the generals first . . . they were around the outside of the painting. The King was left until last, leaving a bare patch in the middle of the painting with the background of generals. But Menzel died before he could finish the painting. So there was his painting--full of generals but no king. (6)
That is a metaphor for how many people are living their lives . . . with no king. It doesn’t work. Everybody worships something or somebody. Ultimately, if we do not worship Christ, we worship ourselves. The only problem with that is that we cannot save ourselves. Is Christ King of your life? If so, does it show?
1. The Rev. Susan Sparks, senior pastor of Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York, NY, http://day1.org/1870-trust_jesus_and_elvis.
2. Quoted in Homiletics, 10/15/2000. Cited by Dr. Mickey Anders, http://www.pikevillefirstchristianchurch.org/Sermons/Sermon20000910.html.
3. William H. Willimon, The Best of Will Willimon: Acting Up in Jesus’ Name (Abingdon Press. Kindle Edition).
4. I Have a Dream, 191. Cited by Greg Garrett, http://day1.org/3357-if_christ_is_king_what_does_that_mean.
5. Clifton Fadiman, Bartlett’s Book of Anecdotes (Little, Brown and Company, Kindle Edition).
6. Michael O’Neill, http://e4085370aa1c7e35eb92-5b73b32c9b40112d4c0345d6ced86b2e.r2.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/t/0e6773272_1511740762_the-king-is-coming-notes-and-transcript.pdf.