Serving and leading

Tony Daniels considers the parallels between earthly and heavenly kingship

AS King Charles III is crowned on 6 May, Christians may be wondering how his kingship will compare to that of our Sovereign Lord. Earthly kingship involves a maturation process. There is a line of succession, which means the beloved Queen Elizabeth II had to pass on for King Charles’s sovereignty to be manifested. However, when it comes to heavenly kingship, Jesus has always been King. According to the letter to the Hebrews, Christ is a King without beginning and without end, according to the order of Melchizedek (see Hebrews 5:6). He is thereby the Supreme King and High Priest, the eternal Mediator between us and our Creator.

The Lord’s kingship and sovereignty are evidential; creation itself speaks of his majesty and glory. Psalm 19:2 puts it like this: ‘Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.’

This knowledge substantiates what we are told in Colossians 1:16 about King Jesus: ‘For through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on Earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see – such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him’ (New Living Translation).

This all sounds very grandiose, doesn’t it?! And yet we know that Jesus was, according to Mark 10:45, the ServantKing who came to serve not to be served. His earthly ministry, his servitude as the Son of Man, co-exists with his heavenly kingship. It’s not one or the other. Jesus, as Servant-King, loved God and loved others.

As Charles takes the throne, he is charged with being the Defender of the Faith, as was his mother before him. However, he does so in an epoch where the UK has a plethora of faiths, ideologies, philosophies and humanistic beliefs diametrically opposed to some of the central tenets of the Christian faith.

Will Charles’s wisdom be witnessed in skillfully, ecumenically and purposefully highlighting all the commonalities within the faith and non-faith communities, advocating an altruistic agenda of socialcommunity action?

A sovereign’s capital beyond the walls of their palace lies in their ability to intentionally keep in touch with their people, to listen to their life stories, pray for them, display deep empathy and, where possible, physically be with them. Charles’s mother was an exemplar in this regard and delivered her duty and service often at great personal cost – not unlike the Servant-King of her faith.

The Salvation Army is arranging volunteer opportunities for the coronation through the Big Help Out campaign, so we ourselves are taking an active part in this momentous event, celebrating Charles’s coming of age, if you will, into his earthly kingship. As people of God, perhaps we should all simply pray for this ‘young sovereign’, that wisdom, grace, fortitude and joy be bestowed upon his head as he is crowned.

TONY DANIELS Territorial Director of Community Services