Tag Archives: power

How God likes to use power (Christ the King, 11/23/2025)

Leave a reply

Readings (Track 1)

“May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power” Paul writes. On this Feast of Christ the King that “glorious power” is worth wondering about.

How does God use this “glorious power”? In our first reading from Jeremiah, “I will attend to you [the shepherds] for your evil doings,” which, as Jeremiah had been warning, meant bringing in the Babylonian army to destroy Jerusalem. “Then I myself will gather the remnant”—through the various leaders who brought waves of exiles back to Jerusalem. And through “a righteous Branch” for David—which turns out to point forward to our other readings.

In Zechariah’s song “He has raised up for us a mighty savior, / born of the house of his servant David. / … save us from our enemies, / from the hands of all who hate us.” That sounds like military power.

In the Gospel the “righteous Branch” of whom Jeremiah spoke, the “mighty savior” Zechariah celebrated, is on stage for… the crucifixion? At first glance, profoundly disturbing, and we’re there with the two disciples leaving (fleeing?) Jerusalem on the road to Emmaus: “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel” (Luk 24:21). It took Jesus’ resurrection and post-resurrection teaching to enable us to see that Friday as “Good.” There, as Paul puts it, God “was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.” Or, as Paul puts it to the Corinthians “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself” (2Co 5:19). So Jesus’ words (“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”), expressions of weakness, or power? Recall Jesus’ words from John’s Gospel: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (12:32).

What does God use power for? Clearly, when necessary, to attend violently to the shepherds destroying and scattering the sheep. But our readings—as well as the rest of Scripture—suggest that God would greatly prefer to use that power, as Paul puts it, “to reconcile to himself all things.” Will God succeed, succeed in turning all enemies into friends? Scripture leaves that question open, much to the dismay of the commentators who’ve tried to find a clear answer in the Book of Revelation. Why does Scripture leave the question open? Perhaps because our desires and decisions also matter. The story is still being written.

What Scripture does not leave open is how God wants us to use that power. Back to Paul: “May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father…” This may be why Paul calls love the greatest of God’s gifts, for it is love that “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1Co 13:7).

We have, obviously, enemies, and we want God to do something about them. “Love your enemies” is no easier now than when Moses (Exodus 23:4-5) and Jesus (Matt 5:44) first said it. It may help to recall another of Paul’s observations in that “Love Chapter”: “now we see in a mirror, dimly” (1Co 13:12). That applies both to us and our enemies, so sometimes they’re seeing things that we don’t, that we need to see. In any case, as today’s Collect celebrates, “the King of kings and Lord of lords” is about freeing and bringing together all those divided and enslaved by sin, and calls us to be part of that. (And the weekly General Confession reminds us that “those divided and enslaved by sin” is not entirely in our rearview mirror!)

God’s glorious power. The Holy Eucharist is many-faceted. Today’s Feast and readings might remind us that it, and, precisely, the words of institution, is also a celebration of that glorious power. “This is my Body.… This is my Blood.” Royal words, royal gifts, to empower us to share in our King’s work.

Much of what I’ve been exploring in these texts is captured in one of the prayers buried toward the back of the Book of Common Prayer on p.816. So I invite you to turn to it, stand as you are able, so that in celebration of this Feast of Christ the King we can pray “6. For our enemies” together:

O God, the Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love our enemies: Lead them and us from prejudice to truth; deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Cristo Rey: ¿Y estamos celebrando qué precisamente? (24 de noviembre, 2024)

Leave a reply

Hoy estamos celebrando la fiesta de Cristo Rey. Pero, ¿qué estamos celebrando exactamente?

Nuestro salmo ofrece una respuesta: poder. “Más potente que la voz de muchas aguas, / más potente que los rompientes del mar, / más potente es el Señor en las alturas.” Y, bueno, la cuestión de poder es bien presente en las otras lecturas.

Recordemos el contexto de la primera lectura. En una visión Daniel veía cuatro bestias saliendo de un mar turbulento, cada bestia más espantosa que las previas, y la última bestia luchando contra y venciendo al pueblo de Dios. Entonces la llegada del Anciano, con “un hijo de hombre” recibiendo “el poder, la gloria, y el reino.”

Escuchamos el mismo tema en la Revelación: “Jesucristo… tiene autoridad sobre los reyes de la tierra.”

Y en el Evangelio, Pilato ostentando su poder sobre el preso. Si hubiéramos leído un versículo más, habríamos escuchado la réplica de Pilato: “¿Y qué es la verdad?” En el mundo de Pilato, con suficiente poder, la verdad no importa. Y este es el mundo que nos aguarda afuera.

Bueno. Con inmensa gratitud celebramos el poder de nuestro Dios. Sin este poder no hay salida. Entonces, aprovechemos las oportunidades de fortalecer nuestro sentido de su poder, o en estas lecturas o en nuestras experiencias con la grandeza de su creación.

Sin embargo, si estamos celebrando solamente este poder, tenemos un problema. ¿Por qué tenemos que vivir en la parte de Daniel 7 donde la bestia lucha contra y vence al pueblo de Dios y no en la parte donde el poder, la gloria, y el reino de este hijo de hombre es obvio? ¿Por qué tenemos que vivir en el mundo de Pilato donde Pilato tiene la última palabra?

No tengo la respuesta. En las palabras de Dios por Isaías: “mis ideas no son como las de ustedes” (55:8). Pero en nuestros textos sí hay un indicio. La bestia lucha contra el pueblo de Dios. Y ¿qué sabemos de este pueblo de Dios? En la Revelación: “Cristo nos ama, y nos ha librado de nuestros pecados.” ¿Quiénes somos? Amados, pecadores librados. Entonces, aunque podemos hablar—como hablan muchos de los salmos—de los justos y los malos, debemos hablar también de pecadores recibiendo la libertad que Dios ofrece y de pecadores rechazándola. Jesucristo ama a Pedro…y a Pilato. En la primera carta de Pablo a Timoteo: Dios “quiere que todos se salven y lleguen a conocer la verdad” (2:4). O, como Jesús ben Sirac lo expresa en Eclesiástico, “El hombre se compadece solo de su prójimo, pero el Señor se compadece de todo ser viviente; él reprende, corrige, enseña, y guía como un pastor a su rebaño” (18:13).

Por eso, el poder de Dios es buenas noticias para nosotros los pecadores porque Dios es—primero—Amor, y emplea su poder con paciencia. Paciencia con nosotros, paciencia con nuestros enemigos. Y quizá—quizá—esta es una parte de la respuesta a nuestra pregunta. ¿Por qué seguimos diciendo “Cristo volverá”? También porque Dios es paciente.

Y si Dios es paciente, que nosotros—pecadores recibiendo la libertad que Dios ofrece—seamos pacientes, compasivos, con nuestros prójimos, también con nuestros enemigos. No como una expresión de resignación o de impotencia, sino porque así se comparta nuestro Dios. ¡Viva Cristo Rey!