This week – starting yesterday – is an in-between time for many Christians. We end the old liturgical year one Sunday and observe the new one the next Sunday. And that last Sunday of the year has, since 1925, been observed as Christ the King or the Reign of Christ Sunday. And while it might seem like a long-established and obvious tradition to celebrate the Reign of Christ for people who follow Jesus, it is rather new to the calendar.
Briefly, in 1925, Pope Pius XI instituted Christ the King Sunday as a response to the horrors of World War I and surging nationalism. Tyrants were rising, people were losing faith in those with power and also losing faith in God. It has been almost 100 years, and we Christians have participated in or led another World War and countless other devastating conflicts around the globe. So it might be worth asking if Christ the King Sunday did us any good. But it is also worth noting that we certainly seem to need the reminder.
In addition to wars, there a a number of movements on the rise right now – in nations and in churches – that challenge our claim that we truly follow Jesus and believe in the Kingdom of God as scripture describes it for us. At the very least, it is worth taking one Sunday a year to remember just what that kingdom is.
One of the most pernicious challenges today is Christian nationalism – it isn’t new, but it is newly popular. Those who promote it want to fuse religious and national identity, at the very least to promote Christian views but usually also to elevate Christians above those of other faiths and in the most common forms today also to exclude those who don’t adhere to a particular strand of the faith. There’s no aspect of this that is okay. Christian nationalism tends to also be racist and sexist, to denigrate the poor and immigrants – the very ones our faith tradition tells us to love and care for. One reason Christian nationalism is so challenging and dangerous is because it contains many of the other challenges in our social and political culture – racism, sexism, antisemitism, heteronormativity, immigrant-blaming, and more.
The question that Christian nationalism poses is, “who belongs?” For Christian nationalists, those who belong are select group who meet the racial, ethnic, gender, social, and religious standards set forth by other Christian nationalists.
And for followers of Jesus the answer is, “Everyone.”
The most basic tenet of Christian nationalism is that there can be borders around faith that are congruent with those of a nation. That a nation can confer status that equals the identity of a person of faith.
For followers of Jesus, this is not true. It is a heresy.
Who belongs? All belong. Who is made in the image of God? Everyone.
I have no doubt that the question of belonging is going to be central to people of faith for the foreseeable future. We’ve had a lot of experience recently to prepare us! How you draw the boundaries around nationhood and around a faith community will say a lot about how seriously you take the teachings of a King who came for all, served for all, and welcomes all.