The Festival of Christ the King

"You're Not the Boss of Me!"

Nov. 23, 2003

The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel

Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Lessons:  Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14;  Revelation 1:4b-8;  St. John 18:33-37

     "You're not the boss of me!"  my daughter, Rebekah, yelled at me once, a number of years ago.  She was little, probably four or five--but, in her frustration, she voiced her feelings as best she could.  And what she said, said it all--in that moment.  "You're not the boss of me!"  Even at four or five, she wanted to run her own life.  She didn't want some--dad, telling her what to do;  from her perspective, "bossing" her around.  So--she let me know, in no uncertain terms, that in spite of what I thought, I was not her boss.

     In some ways, none of us wants a boss.  There was a big ruckus, recently, in the Rosie O'Donnell trial, when she told her former publishers, "You're not the boss of me."  Then she looked at the judge, and said, "You-- are the boss of me."  In our society, we accept the fact that there are some who are boss of us--judges, police officers,  probation officers, yes, maybe our boss at work.  We accept it, but we still chafe against it.  We accept them, but we react against them.  And many of us are always looking for ways to get out from under our--bosses;  ways to work the system to our advantage;  ways to do what we want to do, and not get caught;  a way to be our own boss, call our own shots, be master of our own destiny.  "Be your own boss" is a phrase that has tempted many of us to quit our jobs, buy into get rich quick schemes, go off on our own--so that we don't have to deal with someone else telling us to--do this, don't do that, work harder, blah, blah, blah.  And yes, there's a certain part of that that grows out of our healthy independence, and our adventurous American spirit--that creates new business and industry and initiative that has made our nation great.  But there's also a certain part of that--that's just egotistical and arrogant and unwilling to be an employee rather than, "the boss".  And the difficulty with that is--it translates, also, into a mentality that says to God--"Hey, you're not my boss, either!" That's pretty much what Adam and Eve said to God in the Garden of Eden, when they decided to eat of the forbidden fruit-- against God's specific command to the contrary.  In their decision, they were saying, "You're not the boss of me, God!  You can't tell me what to do and what not to do."  And that's been the hue and cry of much of humanity from that time on.  We don't want a boss--and we don't want a God--involved in our lives, telling us what's right and wrong, telling us what's acceptable and what's unacceptable.  We don't want a boss, and we don't want a God--right there beside us, guiding us, prodding us, challenging us, confronting us.  Oh, most people will tolerate a god--a small "g"--god, who affirms us, and let's us do whatever we want, and doesn't get in our way--that's why new age religions are flourishing today--because they offer "lower case--g" gods and goddesses who are all about making you feel good, and feel right, and feel affirmed, whoever you are and whatever you do.  They affirm that you can believe whatever you want, and nothing will be required of you.  They encourage you to be your own boss--and, why wouldn't that be attractive to post-modern man and woman?  Why wouldn't they seek an alternative to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who gave the Ten Commandments, and called people to obedience?  Why wouldn't they seek a "god" who would not be so demanding as God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit;  a god who would not be so insistent on repentance and righteousness, on dying to self to rise to new life;  a god who wouldn't be trying to show you the error of your ways, and to lead you on the narrow way?  Many people today don't want a god who is "boss" of them.  So they turn to other gods, or if they find none suitable, they create their own, or, better still, they turn away from any notion of god--choosing instead, like Adam and Eve, to be their own god--doing whatever they want, whenever they want, with no one to tell them any different.  I wonder, at times, if that isn't why there are so many men raised in the Church, who, as adults, refuse to participate in the body of Christ--they feel they've got enough bosses already--so why submit to an ultimate, eternal boss?   And while it might make you uncomfortable talking about God, as boss--while you may not want to push that analogy too far--on Christ the King Sunday--on the festival day when we celebrate Christ, as Ruler of the Kings of the earth;  Christ, as Sovereign of all nations and peoples;  Christ, as Lord of all that exists--doesn't that mean-- in a crude, earthy, but honest way, that Christ IS to be boss of us?  That we are indeed, to submit to him, as our ultimate, eternal boss?

     That's what it means for us to not only celebrate Christ the King, but to submit to Christ, as our King--to submit to Christ, as MY King.  In some ways, this festival is a little hard for us Americans, who have never had a king;  who refused to submit to a king, even refused to make George Washington our king.  What we know of kings and kingships, we know, most of us, from the London tabloids, and Entertainment Tonight.  Having a boss, we understand.  And we also understand, that the best bosses, are not those who lord it over those who work under them--but those who inspire, motivate, encourage, and support, those who work under them.  Which is exactly, the kind of king--the kind of boss, if you will, that we have, in Jesus.  Indeed, the kind who, as we read in Revelation, loves us, and freed us from our sins, by his blood, and made us to be his kingdom--priests, serving His God and Father.  The kind of king--as we read in the gospel of John, whose kingdom is not of this world--is not a worldly kingdom--does not run by worldly standards and customs and business practices.  In other words, His kingdom is in the world, but not of the world.  His kingdom exists in this world;  Jesus was born to this world, for the sake of Truth; to testify to God's truth;  so that people could hear his voice, and know the Truth, and belong to the Truth.  As Jesus is this kind of King, and this kind of "boss"-- what does it mean to be Jesus' followers, servants, employees?  What does it mean to "belong to the Truth?"

     To understand that, we have to understand what the Bible means, not what philosophy, or culture means by "truth".  In the Bible, truth is a road one can follow with complete trust, in order to have life-abundantly and eternally.  This truth is contained in God's law, because truth is something to be done--something to commit one's life to.  One must be and walk in--truth--and we do that, by conforming our actions, and our whole life, to the will, the mind, the Word, of God--so that, His Word will be a lamp to our feet, and a light to our path, as it says in Psalm 119.  Jesus was sent by the Father, to testify to that Truth--and He taught it by words, actions, and finally, by His death.  He became, and He is, "The Way, the Truth, and the Life".  Consequently, those who belong to the truth, hear God's truth, in the voice of Jesus, keep God's truth, by following His commandments, and commit ourselves, to staying on the narrow Way--that is, staying obedient to the Truth.  It is to submit ourselves, to Christ the King--who is indeed, "boss of us"--a boss who leads by example;  a boss who leads by serving;  a boss who is committed to the truth;  a boss--who is for us--the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega;  believe it or not, a boss who is all in all for us--for us who will submit to Him, humble ourselves before Him, accept His will, and listen to His voice.  Granted, that's not the kind of boss we're used to--nor is that the kind of king we've heard about in history class.  But that is the kind of King, Jesus Christ is.  That is the boss that we have, when we turn our lives, our fortunes, our futures, over to Jesus Christ.  And as much as we may not want a boss--a king-- let us pray, today, that God grant us the will to submit to Christ our King-- the humility to accept Him, as our Lord and Sovereign, indeed, as our boss!  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.