Inaugurating the Kingdom
Rev. Mark Schaefer
Kay Spiritual Life Center
January 18, 2009
1 Samuel 3:1-10; John 1:43-51

1Samuel 3:1-10 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. The word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.
At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. Then the LORD called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I am!" and ran to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call; lie down again." So he went and lay down. The LORD called again, "Samuel!" Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, my son; lie down again." Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. The LORD called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."

John 1:43-51 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth." Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" Nathanael asked him, "Where did you get to know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you." Nathanael replied, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus answered, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these." And he said to him, "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

I. BEGINNING

You know, when we kicked out the British 232 years ago, we got rid of a lot of the trappings of monarchy in favor of more republican traditions. In fact, George Washington had a lot to do with that. They suggested all kinds of titles for President of the United States, but Washington preferred the simple title of "Mr. President" and that one stuck. Washington paid attention to the ceremonial duties of office but made sure that all the ritual was sufficiently republican and didn't look like the grand ceremonies of European monarchies.

That being said, an Inauguration is a big deal. It's probably the closest thing we have to a coronation in this country, not counting the Oscars. There is a lot of ceremony. A lot of pomp. The President is sworn in by the Chief Justice of the United States in his robes. There are poems by the poet laureate, inaugural addresses, military honors, and a parade. There are balls all night long. And that's just an ordinary inauguration.

The one that's taking place here in a couple days is already breaking the mold. Millions of people are expected to be in attendance. The City Council has passed legislation allowing restaurants to stay open twenty-four hours a day, and bars and nightclubs open until 4 a.m. This inauguration is turning out to be a big deal .

II. The Text

So, why doesn't Jesus have anything like this? They never have a coronation party for Jesus as King. In tonight's lesson, Nathanael simply proclaims, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" And that's it. And I'm not even sure that scene is meant to count as a coronation. In fact, the closest thing to Jesus' coronation in any of the Gospel accounts is the report of the Roman soldiers affixing a crown of thorns to his head while mocking him and beating him.

A person could be forgiven for being suspicious of the claim that Jesus was a king. Perhaps wishful thinking by ardent Christians. There is no pomp and circumstance about him. There is no glory in the way we're used to seeing it. He doesn't even have auspicious origins or claims to inherited power. When told by Philip that they have found the one "about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph of Nazareth", Nathanael's first response is, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" It doesn't seem like there's anything impressive about his background or credentials.

III. The Glory of the Kingdom

An odd thing, when we so often associate God's Kingdom with glory and majesty. The hymnal is full of references like that:

All glory, laud, and honor to thee redeemer King...
Blessed redeemer, Jesus is mine/ O what a foretaste of glory divine...
God of grace and God of glory, on thy people pour thy power...
Hark the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn king..."

And one that's really on point:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord

The coming of God, the inauguration of the Kingdom of God will be a glorious event.

That's how we know something is God-ordained here on earth, right? Because it's glorious. That's how we know that God is on something's side--when it's got all the power and all the money and all the glory.

Like the Roman Empire. They had God's favor and that's why they were so powerful. After Constantine's conversion, they were number one in God's book. They flourished and got richer and richer. Well, until they collapsed anyway.

But we saw it again in the Holy Roman Empire. We saw it in the British Empire. In the Spanish Empire. All signs of God's glory and favor.

We even see it in the United States, right? Both as a nation and as individuals. There are preachers out there who will tell you--God wants for you to be rich. Because that's how God blesses people--with riches. How can you prove that? Look how rich the evangelist is! See? That's how you know someone has God on their side--they're rolling in cash! The richer, more glorious you are, the holier you are. What a great deal!

Except for the part where that isn't actually how the Gospel works.

IV. Glimpses of the Kingdom

Because while the Gospel--particularly the gospel of John--talks about glory, it's not talking about wealth, or riches, or coronations, or even inaugurations. It's not even talking about parades. The glory that the gospel talks about is in self-sacrifice and in love, and the glory of revealing the work of God in love.

Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus talks about glory. And yet, it is not a glory that you and I would easily recognize. For, John's Jesus refers to his coming crucifixion as the "hour when the Son of Man will be glorified." Friends, a crucifixion is many things, but it is not glorious, at least not by any ordinary definition of the word.

And yet, it is with this act of rejection, this cruel act of capital punishment, that the kingdom is inaugurated. But not by Roman arms or might. Not even by priestly glory. But by self-sacrifice and love. The only ceremony Jesus gets is his mocking treatment by the Roman soldiers. The only parade , his march to the Cross. The kingdom is not inaugurated in what the world would call "glory".

And in our best moments, we have remembered that. We have remembered that we show glimpses of the kingdom not in splendor but in humility, not in force, but in love and hope.

A. Martin Luther King

A young preacher from Atlanta understood that. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke often of the "promised land"--that place we would get to, that Kingdom place where all would be free, all would be equal, all would be united by bonds of fellowship--but it was not a place we could get to by force of arms, not even through hatred of the oppressor, but only through love and humble service.

Our hopes and dreams as a people would not be achieved by edict of law or action of the state, but by the transformation of the heart. That was something that Dr. King, knew, and preached with his very life.

B. Inauguration

We also see signs of the kingdom breaking through even now. This very weekend there are glimpses of it.

Now, I want to be careful about saying that, lest people get the wrong idea. I am reminded that this year for Halloween, a friend of mine dressed up in a costume where he was half-Jesus, half-Superman. When people asked him who he was, he answered, "I'm Barack Obama." Now, that funny and ironic take is meant to poke fun at the somewhat messianic tone that some people have ascribed to Mr. Obama and his candidacy. I'm not talking about that.

Indeed, this afternoon, I had a few minutes to watch some of the concert from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Two things struck me: (1) U2 is still getting it done after all these years. I mean, they were wailing out Pride (In the Name of Love) since before I was in college; and (2) there were definitely glimpses of the Kingdom there.

Now, it wasn't in the bright decorations. It wasn't in the performances of the rock stars. It wasn't in the Navy glee club, or any of the dignitaries there. It wasn't even when Mr. Obama got up to make a speech at the end. It was when the camera turned off of Bono and onto the crowds. It reminded me of that line from Revelation, of "a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages..." (Rev. 7:9). Black, white, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, gay, straight, young, old... and they were singing. They were joyful. Now, even that is not the Kingdom--I am not saying that the Kingdom is contingent on political victories of one party or another. But that crowd was a glimpse of what that Kingdom will be like . Kingdom not built on power, but on fellowship and love. A kingdom that does not erect battlements and fortresses, but that tears down barriers.

Throughout our history, we have best represented what the Kingdom of God, when we have defined it not in the ways the world defines a kingdom--imperial, majestic, oppressive, patriarchal, driven by wealth and privilege--but the way that Christ defines a kingdom: a realm governed by love of God and neighbor, a place where the powers and principalities of this world have been overthrown by grace.

V. END

We are standing on the verge of a really big deal here in Washington. This Inauguration is going to be one of the biggest parties the city has ever seen. There will be pomp. There will be circumstance. There will be glory and splendor and the grand ceremonies of state. Because that's how we inaugurate Presidents of the United States.

But that's not how the Kingdom of God is inaugurated. The Kingdom is inaugurated when we forego glory for humility. When we forego acclaim and credit for humble service. When we turn away from power for ourselves and seek to empower others. When we act not in our own self-interest, but out of self-sacrifice give fully of ourselves for the sake of others.

The Kingdom of God comes not from the halls of the mighty, but from the love of the humble. Not from the marbled edifices of Washington, but from the carpentry shops of the small backwaters like Nazareth. It comes not with earthly glory, but with a heavenly grace. It comes not in the arms of the mighty, but in the stirrings of our hearts.