"The Truth About Cats and Dogs"

“The Truth About Cats and Dogs”
John 18:33-37
Todd Buegler
November 21 & 22, 2009
Lord of Life


Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, and from Jesus, the Son of God and King of creation! Amen.

There are two kinds of people in the world. There are dog people, and there are cat people. Ok...just checking...how many people here would define themselves as dog people? What about cat people?

I think that we can draw an entire theological framework around cats and dogs. You see, a dog theology would say say: "You feed me. You pet me. You shelter me. You love me. You must be God!" On the flip side, a cat theology goes like this: "You feed me. You pet me. You shelter me. You love me. I must be God."

So one way of looking at our own sense of identity is to ask ourselves the question theologically, "am I a dog, or am I a cat?"

And really, if we took the question back even one step further, the question we have to ask ourselves is really: "who's in charge?"

Today is Christ the King Sunday. It is the day in the church year that we celebrate the Lordship of Jesus. We recognize and celebrate Jesus as the King of all Creation. We acknowledge Jesus as Lord of our lives. What I have found is that while this is a pretty easy thing for us to talk about, it can be a difficult thing for us to live. In other words, while we talk the talk of the dog theology, oftentimes we live more like a cat.

We are experts at compartmentalizing our lives. We say "God, we totally give you Kingship over this part of my life. But this part over here...I want to maintain control of." We are good at giving God dominion over our Sundays...but we want to maintain control of our Mondays-Fridays." Perhaps it's work life...maybe it's our family life...or it might be a relationship that we are in...or maybe school life...whatever it is, there are parts of our lives that we tend to hold back from God.

But Christ the King Sunday is a day that reminds us that if Christ is King, he is King of all, with nothing held back. In our culture, we are not used to this. We value our independence. We value our ability to make our own decisions. We tend to rebel against anything that limits us. We don't want to be dependent on anyone or anything. If so, then we think we are perceived as weak.

And we're not used to the idea of a King. In our American culture, that's not language we're used to. That's dog language, it gives authority over to someone else. We want to feel more like cats. We want to be independent...we want to be in charge.

But the truth Jesus teaches us is a simple two-fold truth: First, we are not in charge; we are subject to a King. And second: our King is good. In our Gospel text, after Jesus was arrested, Pontius Pilate asked him "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus gives a startling answer: My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would fight for me. But my Kingdom is not here." Pilate, probably a little confused by this answer asks again "So you are a king." Jesus answers "you say that I am...for this I was born and came into the world...to testify to the truth. Those who belong to the truth listen to my voice."

To be honest, this is not an easy text. Jesus isn’t giving a clear, simple answer. But in this text, I believe that Jesus is defining his Kingdom, and his reign. He is saying that he is a different kind of King. He is not interested in the political things of this world. He is coming to bring a different kind of a monarchy. He is coming not to rule with armies...he has no interest in rebelling against the Romans. He is coming to bring truth. While most Kings had a reign over a geographic region, Jesus' reign was over a spiritual region. He is the King of all of who hear his voice, and believe in this truth. Pilate cannot begin to understand what Jesus is talking about.

Kings get mixed reviews throughout history. Certainly there have been many, many good and gracious kings. Likewise, there have been some Kings who were self-serving, or tyrants.

I actually met a King once. While a student, I was a sound tech at Gustavus Adolphus College, and we hosted the King of Sweden on campus. I was the guy who, under the close watch of the Swedish Secret Service, got to clip the King's lapel mic onto his coat. (I bet you didn't even know the King of Sweden had a secret service.) But King Carl Gustav the 16th of Sweden? He was a nice guy. I clipped on his microphone and he said "Thank you."

The role of a King is not just to rule over people. It’s not supposed to be about power. A King is supposed to be someone who “stewards”, or “tends to” the people; who takes care of them and makes sure their needs are met:

In 1940, Nazi Germany invaded Denmark. Like so many other European nations, this small Scandinavian country was very quickly conquered. But the spirit of the Danish people and their king proved unquenchable. Even after the Nazis had taken control of the nation, King Christian the 10th boldly led his people, the Danes, in a quiet but courageous resistance movement.

On one occasion, the King noticed a Nazi flag flying over a public building in Copenhagen. He went to the German kommandant and asked that the flag be removed. "The flag flies", the kommandant replied. "Request denied." "I demand that it come down," said the king. "If you do not have it removed, a Danish soldier will go, will climb the flagpole and remove it." "Then he will be shot", said the kommandant. "I don't think so," said King Christian, "for I shall be that soldier." The flag was removed.

Later, the order came that all Jews were to identify themselves by wearing armbands with the yellow star of David. King Christian said that one Danish person was exactly the same as the next. So the King, who was a Christian, donned the first star of David. The next day in Copenhagen, almost the entire population wore armbands showing the star of David. The King, and his people, saved over 90% of their Jewish population.

King Christian the 10th was a different sort of a King. He may have been born into his position; but ultimately, his people developed a great love and allegiance to him, because of his great love and allegiance to them. Their loyalty to him had no boundary. They would have followed him anywhere. Why? Because the love he had for his people had no boundaries. Christian the 10th was a different sort of King. He stood in the gap between his people, and evil; literally between life and death. He was a King who was a servant. He was a King worthy of being followed.

As Christians, we understand this. We know what it is to follow a different sort of King. Our King didn't climb a flagpole. Instead, our King climbed onto a cross, to give his life for his people. And no matter what kind of boundaries we create...no matter how we try to maintain lordship over our own lives, Jesus reminds us: "no, I am King; over not just a portion of your lives...over all of your lives."

And our King provides all we have, and all we need. Every aspect of our lives: the physical, emotional, relational, social, financial. Everything. This is a good reminder for us during this time of year when our church is thinking and talking about stewardship. Everything we have belongs to God. When we take credit for all the things we have, for our salary, for being able to provide for our families, we are denying the Kingship of Christ, who gives all things to us.

You should have received a stewardship pledge packet this last week. The Stewardship season is when we “steward”, or “tend to” the needs of the church. This year, like every year, Lori and I have been talking about what our pledge to the church is going to be. Over the years, we have developed a strategy: We look at our income...we look at our bills. And then we apply two criteria to our decision on what we are going to pledge: First, every year, our pledge will grow; every year we want to give away a little more of our income. Second, our giving must be a sacrifice. We have to give enough that it makes us a little uncomfortable. I know, based on the uncertainty of the economy, based on what we read in the papers, this doesn't make a lot of sense. Why would someone want to ensure sacrifice? Why would someone seek discomfort?

For us, uncomfortable giving, sacrificial giving, has become a spiritual discipline. It is all about trust. It is about trusting the Lord and King of our lives. We can't hold back and let Jesus be the King of all the parts of our lives except the financial. Jesus calls us to trust. Every year when we've given sacrificially, our King has shown his faithfulness and his trustworthiness. We have never been let down. We have always received more than enough to meet our needs. We haven't always been able to do everything we want...it's forced us to re-think our priorities, but usually, shortly after I stop pouting, I realize that rethinking my priorities is probably a good thing. We have learned to be leaner in our spending, to reduce debt and to refocus spending on our time and our resources together as a family.

It hasn't always been comfortable, but as we have learned to trust more and more, we have grown in our relationship with the God and King who provides. We are more thankful for what God gives us. It reminds us that Thanksgiving is not intended to be just a holiday...it is intended to be a lifestyle.

We have a different kind of a King. He is not distant. He is not aloof. He comes to us and seeks us out. He is approachable. He gives without question and he loves without condition. He cares deeply about each of one of us, without condition.

Yes, we all slip into a cat theology, where we are all the center of our own universe. That is a part of the human condition we call sin. We love to be in charge...we love to be in control...it is all too often all about me.

With all due respect to cat lovers out there, God calls us into a theology of a dog. We can say with faithfulness and confidence "You feed me. You care for me. You shelter me. You love me. You must be God! You are our King!"

The God of grace gives you all that you need...cares for you...gives you shelter in the storms of your life...loves you unconditionally and stands in the gap between life and death, for you. Our King asks that, with confidence, you trust in him.

Amen.