God's Rule Is From The Top Down, But It's All About Bringing The Bottom Up

'The rulers of this age lord it over their subjects. But among you, whoever would be greatest must be the servant of all.' - Jesus

At our house church this week we celebrated "Reign of Christ" Sunday, initiated by Pope Pius XI in 1925 and meant to be observed on the last Sunday of the church year. Known as "Christ the King Sunday," it was intended to remind believers of the primacy of God's eternal rule over that of all temporal powers on earth. Not without significance, 1925 was the year Benito Mussolini became Italy's dictator and the Head of its Fascist Party.

For some, metaphors of 'king' and 'kingdom' conjure up negative images of colonialism, despotism and dictatorial rule from the top down. Indeed, God's reign, referred to by Clarence Jordan as the 'God Movement', is not bottom up. Our faith is inspired by something far greater than human-based wisdom alone. Left to ourselves we tend to be driven by what benefits our pocket books and supports our prejudices rather than living by a transcendent vision of what is truly good for all people for all time.

Jesus, along with the Biblical prophets, calls us to that kind of transcendence and transformation, to become an active part of a worldwide movement in which we become colonies of caring dedicated to bringing heaven's ways to earth.

In this season of Advent, we renew our pledge of allegiance to that repentance-based revolution.

For more on the artist who created the above piece http://www.greinermemorials.com/greiner-biography.htm