Sun. July 14, 2013 (Carl Friesen)

On Bastille Day (when the French Revolution began taking steps which would ultimately dethrone Europe's most powerful king, Louis XVI), Carl Friesen spoke on "The Good News of a New King." Whether we like monarchies or not, the New Testament is filled with kingdom imagery. The Song of Mary focuses on the coming of a person who would be king-like. Luke tells of Jesus reading from Isaiah and then having the audacity to claim that he is 'the one'. In the sermon on the Mount, phrases such as, "You have heard it said . . . but I say to you . . ." redefine who is/is not in the kingdom. Contemporaries were naturally aghast at the notion of one man claiming such a role--for they saw it as God's role. Jesus, however, invited people to participate in his kingdom and in the restoration of all creation (for salvation is only one small part of the Good News). We of course prefer to think of Jesus as the Servant or Good Shepherd, rather than as a powerful king with the authority to judge us. And if we are to be judged, some Christians would prefer to be judged by faith rather than by consistency of actions. But apparently, we don't get to chose. That said, the Good News is that if we follow his kingdom ways, our part of society can be changed, the poor can be helped, the lame can walk, and the widows will have nothing to fear. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, July 14th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.