MAGICIANS, KINGDOMS & PROCESSIONS

SERMON PREACHED BY FR. TONY NOBLE ON NOVEMBER 25th, 2007

Luke 28:42 "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

A phenomena of recent years has been the success of the Harry Potter movies. Hand in hand with this has been a huge demand for the books. This at a time when educationalists were worried that our children had lost interest in reading proper books. Who would have thought a few years ago that the release of a children's book would see young people camping out overnight and scenes at midnight, as the book was released, more reminiscent of an appearance of Brad Pitt?

Both the books and the movies have been a runaway success. But do you remember when the first Harry Potter movie came out about six years ago? A number of Christian leaders condemned it, and Christian schools banned it from their libraries. Their complaint was that the book encouraged witchcraft amongst children, and was basically satanic.

Now I am as wary about witchcraft as anyone, and I know that evil exists in our world. The saying is true: "All that it needs for evil to exist is for good people to do nothing". And certainly the Bible condemns Saul for going to see the witch of Endor.

Has Harry Potter then, led children on the path to witchcraft and satanic worship? My instinct is "No".

As a child, like many people, I was exposed to stories of the boogy-man in the dark, fairies, goblins, witches and magic. Apart from a period of wanting to do magic tricks, it didn't do me any harm. If anything, it increased my sense of the supernatural. And that was a great help to me in my Christian formation - the sense that there was more to this world than what I could see and touch.

Children, of course, have a far greater sense of the supernatural than we wiser, rational, scientific, logical adults. Probably a children's book or movie like Harry Potter will increase their awareness of the supernatural - and of course Him who inhabits the supernatural - God himself.

If we were to take that controversy about Harry Potter to its logical conclusion, we would have to remove from the Bible all the supernatural things. That would eliminate all of Jesus' miracles, the whole of the Book of Revelation, and half of John's Gospel!! Not only that, but many of the symbols of our faith which point to the supernatural would have to be hidden. And, of course, it would apply to all the sacraments - for in the seven sacraments of the Church we verily and truly touch the supernatural.

Which brings us (you might have been wondering!) to Christ the King.

The image and symbol of Jesus as a King, is almost irrelevant. We might be wondering what is the point of finishing the year on a note of portraying Jesus as an earthly King. Indeed, perhaps the only monarch of significance these days is Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, and although she has a gold crown, she has no political power at all.

Today's Gospel speaks, by contrast, not of kingly power and wealth. It reminds us that Jesus did not live in a palace or wear a gold crown. If he reigned over anyone, it was from the Cross. This is the point of Saint Luke's description of the crucifixion - Jesus in his agony and passion reigns truly as king of the world. Just five days before Good Friday the crowds welcomed him into Jerusalem, saying: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna to the Son of David".

David, of course, was anointed king at Hebron with oil - just as Queen Elizabeth was anointed with oil at her Coronation in Westminster Abbey in 1953. The anointing was what made a person a king or a queen. The word Christ means "Anointed One".

On that Palm Sunday, the crowd equated Jesus with the great King David. A few days later their cries were not "Hosanna" but "Crucify him". Saint Luke wants us to understand that on the Cross Jesus is still the King - the inscription above him reads: "This is the King of the Jews". The thief understands Jesus is a king and says: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom".

Jesus' reply is not of an earthly kingdom. Jesus speaks of a supernatural kingdom. "Today, you will be with me in paradise". Here in this conversation between the thief and our Lord we are confronted with the purely supernatural - but it arises from the fact that Jesus is in fact the king of the world. We believe Jesus is king of heaven and earth, and we lament that people do not seem to behave as though he was king of this world.

Today, on this Sunday called "Christ the King" we proclaim this very truth. At the end of High Mass this morning we will do something which does that, which proclaims him as king. In the procession of the Eucharist and Benediction, we come as close as possible to seeing Jesus physically pass amongst us as our King - and we will worship.

This will be a physical reality, a ceremony in which Jesus moves amongst us. The Sacred Host of the Eucharist is carried in a solemn procession, accompanied by candles, incense and singing. But it is more than just a ceremony - it is also a supernatural experience. It is a supernatural experience - just like that conversation on the Cross.

Our ceremony points to a supernatural encounter that we have at every celebration of the Eucharist. Bread and wine are transformed into his very Body and Blood - as He promised us, and as Saint John declares to us in chapter six of his Gospel. It is the same Jesus in the bread and wine who is alive and reigns in heaven as King of all creation.

The Cross is the scene of his claim to be a true king. St Anselm said: "Thus the Cross became his throne". Dorothy L. Sayers, the great Anglican Writer, said: "Christ took the crown of thorns and twisted it into a crown of glory". St Paul takes up the same theme in our Epistle reading today from Colossians 1. He attributes everything as being under Jesus' kingship both in heaven and on earth.

And why? Because "He made peace by the Blood of his Cross". Saint Paul goes back to the Cross to see Christ as King. Therefore the cry of his subjects will also echo what happened on the Cross:

"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom".