Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2023 Blog #19
May 8, 2023
The Story of Two Kings
On Saturday two celebrations of Kings were both held. One in a small rural area in lower New York State and the other in London. One was great publicized on news media outlets and the other was unknown to anyone outside of a very small circle of participants and interested people. One proclaimed that Charles was King of England while the other affirmed that God was the King of England and the rest of all creation as well.
I can’t help but wonder why we get so excited over the monarch of one particular nation when our enthusiasm for the King and owner of everything gets such a low level of excitement. Which is more important, the king of a small nation and a commonwealth that continues to shrink, or the creator of the universe whose power over creation goes beyond life in this world.
Charles is being proclaimed king of England because his mother, Queen Elizabeth died. By all accounts she was a wonderful and devout woman who was a blessing to this earth during her lifetime. She, however, did die and did not rise from the dead three days later. Likewise, Charles will someday die and he will not rise either. Citizens of England as well as the British Commonwealth pledged allegiance to Charles as they did to Elizabeth. They pledge allegiance to mortals.
On Saturday, the Regional Synod of the Mid-Atlantic’s of the Reformed Church in America met in Warwick, NY. This gathering celebrated the sovereignty of Jesus who did die but was also raised from the dead. I can’t help but wonder why so many people are willing to pledge allegiance to a mortal who will one day die and ignore the immortal one who died and rose again.
We all grew up with the Disney movies about royalty. I have heard many women tell me that they fantasized as children about being Disney princesses. One of the books that I most enjoyed as a child was Mark Twain’s “The Prince and the Pauper.” Some of my favorite literature to this day include the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the “Chronicles of Narnia.” These all have royal earthly people as main characters. At the end of the day, all of the royal characters die and their wealth and power means nothing.
Who do we pledge allegiance to? Ourselves? Our prosperity? Capitalism? Our jobs? Our families? I hope we pledge allegiance to King Jesus and live in a way that gives Jesus great joy. Someday each of us will die. We will take nothing with us out of this world. Who and what we are aligned with will determine our futures in the next world. I hope and pray that all who are reading this will pledge allegiance to King Jesus so that your futures will be secure.
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