"Guide Our Feet"

Rev. Essie Koenig-Reinke

Luke 1:68-79 Click here to watch the sermon "Guide Our Feet"

When I was living and working in Northern Ireland, one of my jobs was at a Christian youth center. And during the day while the younger ones were still in school. We spent our time trying to win over the young adults. Many of whom had become disillusioned. Rather than trying to build peace, they joined in the streets rioting and causing chaos. They would come in and show us video clips of themselves, masked and in the streets. They were proud of their work, and were mostly surrounded by folks who cheered them on. Rather than voice our disapproval, as youth workers we tried to understand by asking questions. We got curious. I was sitting with one of our young adults as he was excitedly telling us about all the chaos he had been causing when all of a sudden he turned to me and asked, How can you believe in God? Truth be told, I was startled by the question, and couldn’t wrap my mind around a response, so instead I asked, “What brought that question up for you?” And then he proceeded to tell me, about how his brother was killed in the middle of some community violence. He ended by asking, How could I believe in a God that killed my brother, How could you believe in a God that killed my brother? 

I looked into his eyes welled up with tears, and I said, “I don’t think I could believe in a God like that either.” I shared a bit more before the weekly  FIFA tournament called him away, but his story has never left me. I carry it in my heart and in my bones. In world that is ripe with violence, and authoritarian regimes, an insatiable hunger for power and dominance, it can be difficult to separate our experiences from who God is, from who Christ is, and yet days like to today, “Reign of Christ Sunday” is one of those days we are asked to look at the Divine in a way we may never have before. 

Christ the King Sunday, or Reign of Christ Sunday is a contemporary Holy Day. It is not based on an event from scripture, rather it was a papal decree given by Pope Pious XI after world war one, when fascism and authoritarianism was on the rise in Europe. The Pope noticed people were worshipping the kings and leaders of the day more than God, and so he instituted “Christ the King Sunday,” in order to remind people across the globe that our Lord and King and to reject the earthly powers that were sowing seeds of violence and division. It is the day that we celebrate and steep ourselves in the 

And let me tell you, this is my least favorite day of the liturgical year. For me,  aligning Christ with the title of king makes my stomach churn. For me it’s like believing in a God that would kill someone’s brother. It is hard for me because of  my worldly understanding of power and Kingship to see Christ as King. Truth be told, Jesus himself could not get past the violence caused by human kings. The Roman Guards called him King of the Jews, and even as he was dying he rejected this title for himself  by responding “You have said so.” He knew what the word “King” meant to the Roman empire, and at the same time he knew that being Lord of All, was something completely different. So Christ rejected the earthly Kingship and proclaimed how the kingdom of heaven will be and how God will rule, and it looks nothing like what we see on earth. 

A few weeks ago, I was scrolling through TikTok when all of a sudden, I found myself reading familiar words, “Our Father, who art in heaven hallowed be thy name…” Here is the thing though, the graphics behind it, were of aircrafts flying, bombs going off, and battleships sailing toward conflict. It was the most aggressive reading I have ever heard, and it comes from the U.S. Department of Defenses’ social media accounts. Beloved if this is the way we are reading and understanding one of the most formative prayers of our faith, then I am deeply concerned for all of us. This prayer is a radical call to care for the hungry, the poor, the sick and the hurting. It is a prayer we offer each week, from the bottom of our hearts. The Prince of Peace and Lord of all did not come to live by the sword. He paved the way as a peace maker, as the host of many tables, a healer, a bridge builder, but he never swung a sword or pointed a scepter, that was the way of the Empire. Not the way of God. 

He will guide our feet in the way of peace. 

Before Jesus rejected being King of the Jews, before he was even born, his Uncle Zechariah prophesied about the great works of God, and how John the Baptist would prepare the way for the one who was coming. The one who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. The one who is the head of the church, the firstborn of the dead, the reconciler of heaven and earth. The one who shows us the way of peace. 

Both of these texts, the Colossians' reading and Zechariah's prophecy, offer such different takes on who Jesus is and how he will share God with creation, and yet, they both end up talking about how Christ will bring about peace. 

He will guide our feet in the way of peace.

Colossians says: “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.” While the prophecy ends by saying: “Because of the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

These texts come from different times and different experiences and yet, they both tell us that Jesus shows us the way of peace. Peace with the Divine and peace with one another. A peace we so desperately need in this world. 

He will guide our feet in the way of peace.

Last week I was driving in the car as I listened to church historian and author Diana Butler Bass on NPR. During the interview she shares about an experience she had in an Uber while traveling in Europe. She had this hour long conversation with a South African Professional where they talked about all kinds of topics and issues in the world. As their time was ending he turned to her with an earnest face as he asked, “During World War Two, Americans fought against the Nazi’s, what’s it like to side with them now?”  She was taken aback with shock as she said quietly, “It’s confusing and it doesn’t feel good.” The rise of Authoritarianism is not just happening in the United States it is happening globally, and the most vulnerable among us are paying the cost. She goes on to talk about how there is a tension within Christianity itself, and it is a tension we can see through history. Bass says “When people talk about Christianity should be more influential in the United States, my first question is to ask, ‘What kind of Christianity?’ Because right now (and throughout history) there is a stream known as Christianity of Empire. The kind of religion that supports violence, inequality, exclusion and oppression for the sake of power and notoriety. Bass says that is not the radical kind of religion that Christ intended. Rather Christ was always counter-cultural to the ways of the empire. In fact, New Testament Scholars offer a new take on Jesus’ ministry. Rather than the focus being on Miracles or healing, they are asking what if Jesus’ primary ministry was founding supper clubs. Over and over again Christ invites people to sit, eat, and be together. This would have been radical in an Empire where the rich would never sit with the poor, where the sick lived beyond the city walls, and those who were women could not with men. This is the  Kingship of Christ. It is  one where a table extended across barriers, making sure everyone is fed and welcomed. It is the way of peace, true peace, where the lowly are lifted up, the hungry are fed. It is the beloved community where all are fed, and live lives that are safe and whole. It is the peaceable kingdom where the lion lies down with the lamb. When we speak of Christ as King, we are speaking the language of love and the ways of grace. For Christ is the one who will guide our feet in the way of peace. Amen.