The Cosmic King
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Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
-Matthew 25:31
The daily lectionary has been taking us through the book of Revelation lately, and so this kind of language - the Son of Man coming in glory, with all the angels with him, sitting on the throne of glory - is feeling rather familiar. It is apocalyptic language about what is beyond our day to day knowing. It is glorious language. It is cosmic and imaginative. It is about things unfamiliar to us, more like dreams than reality.
On December 3, the first Sunday of Advent will start off a new church year. Therefore, this Sunday marks the end of our current church year, and the final Sunday of the year is always “Christ the Sovereign Sunday.” On this Sunday, we hear glorious things about Christ as our sovereign and as the ruler of the whole world - the ruler the whole universe - the ruler of eternity!
What do you do with all the strange imagery of heaven and earth, of eternal rewards (or punishments) and of Christ as cosmic ruler? Because apocalyptic Scripture is very different than any other kind of literature, and a distinct and often uncomfortable genre in the bible, some people discard it as being irrelevant to modern sensibilities. Others approach it as some kind of cryptic code, meant to give us a secret knowledge of the ways of God.
I love how Eugene describes apocalyptic literature. He says it’s meant to inspire awe in us so that our worship will be properly humble and reverent. If Christ is someone or something that we can describe and understand, our worship is merely an idolatry. The fullness of Christ is something we have not yet seen - something we can’t put into any box, categorize or ‘figure out.’ Apocalyptic scripture wakes up our wonder and awe, offering strange images that move us past what we think we already know. It can stir up feelings in us that our minds would rather tamp down.
So the Christian year always ends with this message: Christ is more than you think. More than you can know. So bow down to the mystery of Christ your sovereign as you prepare to start a new year.
I look forward to worshipping alongside you this Sunday as we close out the church year together.
