at All Saints Floreat Uniting Church ‘If you are the King of the Jews’, the soldiers mocked, ‘save yourself’… (and) There was also an inscription over Jesus: ‘This is the King of the Jews.’
What is all this talk of kingship? What is the ‘reign of Christ’ we mark today? And, more generally, what is sovereignty, do you think? For whilst not a new question, sovereignty is certainly a powerful one today. In Australia, for example, their never ceded sovereignty is at the heart of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander struggles. How is it best reconciled with our later colonial and post-colonial formulations? We also see the rise of ‘sovereign citizen’ movements, closely linked to anti-vax, conspiracy, and far-right developments. These also challenge conventional assumptions about law and authority. Today’s wars and violence meanwhile outrageously betray hard-won 20th century international standards and cooperation in sovereignty. For those very concepts of human rights, and self-determination, are undermined, as notions of ‘might is right’ are at the fore once more. What then do today’s scriptures have to say in this context? What does Christ’s ‘sovereignty’ mean today, and what difference might this make to our world’s questions of sovereignty? And what might the Gospel’s use of words like ‘king’ and ‘kingdom’ also have for us today? For, if we are to talk about the reign of God, we also have to ask about who is the sovereign, the one who reigns...
What is all this talk of kingship? What is the ‘reign of Christ’ we mark today? And, more generally, what is sovereignty, do you think? For whilst not a new question, sovereignty is certainly a powerful one today. In Australia, for example, their never ceded sovereignty is at the heart of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander struggles. How is it best reconciled with our later colonial and post-colonial formulations? We also see the rise of ‘sovereign citizen’ movements, closely linked to anti-vax, conspiracy, and far-right developments. These also challenge conventional assumptions about law and authority. Today’s wars and violence meanwhile outrageously betray hard-won 20th century international standards and cooperation in sovereignty. For those very concepts of human rights, and self-determination, are undermined, as notions of ‘might is right’ are at the fore once more. What then do today’s scriptures have to say in this context? What does Christ’s ‘sovereignty’ mean today, and what difference might this make to our world’s questions of sovereignty? And what might the Gospel’s use of words like ‘king’ and ‘kingdom’ also have for us today? For, if we are to talk about the reign of God, we also have to ask about who is the sovereign, the one who reigns...
RSS Feed