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Proper 29, Year C
November 21, 2004
Christ Church, Covington
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord” (Lk. 19:38).
In August, 1745, Charles Edward Stuart, grandson of the exiled King James
II of Great Britain, landed with a small band of followers on the western
coast of Scotland in order to seize control of Britain. He raised his
banner at Glenfinnan and claimed his hereditary right to the throne.
Joined by Highland supporters, he was in Edinburgh in a month and defeated
the army of King George II at Prestonpans; by November he was advancing
into England and threatening London. The royal family began to pack their
bags, and it seemed that after more than 50 years the Stuarts would return
to power. When the Prince entered the town of Carlisle, he rode a white
horse in procession and was preceded by 100 bagpipers. The people went
wild. The keening of the pipes, the young prince at the head of his
troops, the sense of the unique moment. “The world turned upside down”; an
unlikely throw of the dice that seemed for once to have succeeded.
Perhaps you know the rest of this story. The forces of King George were
really far more powerful than the Prince’s and finally rallied; the Prince
retreated to Scotland and his over-matched army was completely beaten at
Culloden. In the end, Charles Edward Stuart was a fugitive, barely
escaping with his life to die in exile. His followers were scattered or
imprisoned, many of them transported to the American colonies where
perhaps they have a place in your family tree. The Prince lived on for
years after the failed campaign, long enough to see himself irrelevant in
the courts of power and his cause passé.
I hope you have caught the echo of our Gospel reading in this eighteenth
century story. History is full of such stories, of “lost causes” that
begin with success but come to nothing. In the Gospel account, Jesus
entered Jerusalem acclaimed by the crowd as king, the Messiah who was to
free his People from Roman domination. Yet in just a matter of days, he
was arrested and put to death.
So what separates Jesus from Charles Edward Stuart , from a strictly
historical perspective? The answer is easy in one sense, and hard in
another: you. You are the living testimony that Jesus is the Messiah; your
love, your devotion, your presence here today. Nobody else, apart from the
spiritual forebears who were before you. Jesus rose from the dead, while
Bonnie Prince Charlie’s tomb can be seen, still sealed in the Vatican. His
cause is lost, while you gathered here are the proof that Jesus is alive,
seated at the right hand of God. The entrance into Jerusalem was only the
foreshadowing of his return on the last great day. In the meantime, the
campaign for his throne is going on right now, and you are the key players
in the quest. So it seems to those who have faith.
The question for us, as faithful people, is the meaning of his kingship.
What are we willing to stake on the success of this venture? Presumably
our lives, since if he is the king our lives are of great and eternal
consequence. What claim does Jesus’ kingship make on our life? Again, in
the language of stewardship, it has a claim upon our time, talent, and
treasure. I hope we all know what it is to support a good cause, in
politics, in charitable work, in our own private life. But this is far
beyond that, since the cause is human liberation and freedom from sin and
death. What will this mean to us? This is not just another good cause.
There is a lot riding with Jesus into Jerusalem: our salvation, and the
fate of the human race.
Jesus has raised his banner, and called his supporters to rally round. He
brings them together in the fellowship of the Church to work and pray and
give of themselves for the spread of his kingdom. We are the ones who have
responded to the call today, who have been willing to gather under the
banner. God is counting on your response. If not us, who else? We are the
ones on campaign with the king, who acknowledge him as Lord. “Blessed is
the king who comes in the name of the Lord.”
The Rev’d John Bauerschmidt is Rector of Christ Church, Covington.
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