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In touch

Up-to-the-minute jumping-off points for sermons, linking the reading to the latest news and global issues

 

Leading like King Jesus

Christ the King shows us the qualities of true government and leadership (John 18.36)

November has been a tumultuous month for leaders. The first week saw, first, Channel 4’s Dispatches report revealing that the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall are receiving tens of millions of pounds in tax-free rent from charities like the RNLI and public services including the NHS: and secondly, a resounding victory for Donald Trump, against the predictions of many political pundits. The second week saw the resignation in unprecedented circumstances of Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury. This last week has seen the International Criminal Court judges issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Israeli Knesset member Yoav Gallant and Hamas commander Mohammed Deif.

Other leaders are struggling, too. Prime Minster Keir Starmer has seen his approval rating fall from +11 to -38 since June’s general election, while Kemi Badenoch’s rating is already lower than Rishi Sunak’s or Boris Johnson’s were at the start of their leadership tenures.

In the context of these and other leadership crises, the World Economic Forum’s annual insight report into the Global Gender Gap makes interesting reading, because it links excellent performance in the field of women’s rights with excellence in democracy, peacefulness and prosperity: three qualities that are also being challenged in most, if not all, of the situations where leadership is in crisis.

 

Ideas for sermons or interactive talks

The Feast of Christ the King is 99-years-old this year, having been instituted by Pope Pius IX in 1925, and adopted by the Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches following the general acceptance of the Revised Common Lectionary in 1992.

To many contemporary Christians (and non-Christians) monarchy seems an outdated and anti-democratic idea, while theocracy - ‘government by God’ - elicits disturbing associations with past and present religious dictatorships.

It is essential, therefore, to return to the Bible and the concepts of kingship and government preserved for us there. We can start right back in Genesis chapter 1, where God instructs Adam to “have dominion” over all living creatures (Genesis 1.26-28). The narrative is set long before any human monarchs, lords or leaders, so God’s own dominion over creation must be Adam’s model for his own dominion over life on earth. God’s dominion involves no destruction nor misuse, but only the divine qualities of creativity and nurture, and this is the blueprint for our dominion over the world. It’s not long, of course, before the divine gift of dominion is abused, and the story of Cain and Abel is reflected in the multiple accounts of violence and violation that make up much of the Old Testament. But every so often, in the words of prophets and teachers, the qualities of creativity and nurture are held up to us again (Isaiah 1.17; 24.4-6; Micah 6.8).

Then we come to Jesus, the Servant King (Luke 22.27), who not only embodies God’s creativity and nurture, but lives and dies to heal the damage that our abuse of the gift of dominion has caused, and whose Spirit lives now to continue that mission, if only we will make room for it in our own lives.

Finally, we have the vision of St John the Divine who presents Jesus as the King who makes us a kingdom of priests to serve God (Revelation 1.6). Now that’s something for our earthly rulers to aspire to!

 

Questions for discussion

• Whom do we look up to as leaders, and in what ethical, spiritual, political or other contexts?
• What qualities inspire us to follow a particular leader or leaders?
• Both religion and politics are about how we behave towards one another and order our society, so what does a healthy relationship between the two look like?

 

Robert Beard is an NHS worker and Church of England priest.

 

 

Check-in

Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people

Last Sunday night saw the first episode of I’m a celebrity, 2024. Apparently, between 7&8 million of us enjoy watching celebrities getting covered in creepy crawlies, coming face to face with more snakes than Indiana Jones, or eating ‘jungle foods’ such as vomit fruit. Of these viewers 82% are aged 16-34, making it the most popular show in this age group.

I suspect that part of the appeal is the patina of authenticity - as the celebrities are placed under pressure through extreme conditions, proximity and constant filming, the ‘real’ person emerges. In a world in which power seems to be increasingly about personal advancement, where promises are easily broken, and even those in the highest of church positions cannot be trusted, young people crave fidelity and honesty in those who wield influence.

As ever, they (and we) look in the wrong direction. While we persist in looking at powerful leaders and celebrities for our inspiration and inevitably are disappointed, the writers of Revelation and Daniel were sustained by God. They derived strength in times of hardship through reminding themselves and their readers, that God is not only all powerful, but faithful and ever loving.

 

Questions for discussion

• Who do the members of your youth group admire and why?
• Why do they think celebrities and leaders often fail to live up to our expectations?
• Are there examples of people who use their power to benefit others? (Suggestions: Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Irena Sendler, Rob Burrow, Sir Chris Hoy).
• What makes these people different?

Victoria Etherington is children’s, youth and family’s ministry leader for the Yorkshire North and East Methodist District.

 

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