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A Different Sort of King

Our Easter services this year have the theme “The Crown and the Cross”. Lin’s wonderful art work helps us bring together these two strands of the Easter story.

They’re not usually themes we would put alongside one other. Royalty links with images of privilege, of pampered safety and (in days gone by) of power, not of a humiliating and excruciating death... It all seems, on the face of it, entirely inappropriate, even bizarre to think of this Jesus as King!

It was no less bizarre for the people of Jesus' day. Dying the death that Jesus died would have been taken as proof that he was “cursed by God” and most certainly not the Messiah, God’s anointed King. Yet, when Jesus burst back into their lives in the brilliance of his resurrection life, he forced people to rethink their ideas of power and authority.

As they thought back over the life of this man “born to be King”, they saw a different sort of ruler. This was a King born in the humility of a shelter made for animals. He was a King with a crown of twisted thorns dug into his scalp. And yet he was to be the King whose rule was not restricted by limits of geography, nor by the length of his life, military might or financial resources. His was a rule brought in by sacrificing himself, taking on the powers of evil and death in our place and winning.

A Different Sort of Life

All that makes Easter a good time to look at our attitudes to success and power. We can buy the lie that life is about no more than building a career, a reputation or a financially secure life. As a church, too, we could get sucked into a world that sees success in terms of numbers, of influence or of prestige.

Instead, this King who came to die offers us a life that's given to something much bigger, more satisfying and more powerful that will last into eternity. We are called to extend the rule of God by introducing others to Jesus and by being walking signposts to that kingdom.

Walking Signposts

This Easter time, the biggest question we can ask ourselves is “am I pointing people to the King?”. That's our question and prayer as a church, too, as we head into Easter and as we plan the events, meetings and groups for the months between Easter and the Summer. All the time we want to come back to asking, “Are we pointing people to Jesus?”.

All those events after Easter start for us with the most important evening meeting of the whole year for members of All Souls – our Annual Church Meeting on April 26th – if you count this church as your spiritual home, please don't miss this chance for us to look back with gratitude and to look forward with confidence in our King.

On page two you’ll find details of some of the things coming up in the next few months - lots to look forward to!

Richard - March 2007