King of Kings
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Sermon Notes:
At the 7:26 mark, you’ll hear the audio from this video, titled Coded Spirituals. You can learn more on the topic of hidden messages in African American Spirituals by going to PBS, “Underground Railroad: The William Still Story.”
At the 15:27 mark, we broke into small groups to respond to this question: What are the monsters we face, against whom we have no defense? Some of the group responses included (these are not in the recording): climate change, war, supply chain issues, loneliness, capitalism, work culture – needing to be productive so not able to slow down…
Scripture: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took His throne, His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool; His throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire. Read more…
Looking to Sunday
by Elaine Poproski
The Lord is king, He is robed in majesty
the Lord is robed, He is girded[i] with strength.
He has established the world; it shall never be moved;
Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting.
(Psalm 93:1-2)
When you read those words, what image comes to mind?
You may see in those words, scholar Corrine Carvalho’s tongue-in-cheek description of God as “wise, old but vigorous, male, enthroned above the host of heaven.”[ii] You might picture Michelangelo’s grey-haired, white-skinned, decidedly human-looking God from his famed painting, “The Creation of Adam.” Maybe the image that comes to mind for you is hidden behind shadows of eternity, too big or mysterious to fully imagine.
I think we are so used to Jesus, particularly Jesus’ nearness and present-with-us-ness, that it may be difficult for us not to impose that image over the words from Psalm 93. I think it’s sometimes (often?) the case, that our familiarity with Jesus pushes any other image, especially images that are more foreign or royal, way off to the side where we perhaps even forget that they exist or, if we don’t forget, we at least don’t look too closely and so only see the old, white man of Michelangelo’s imagination. But the reality of the image painted in Psalm 93 is that God is dynamic, majestic, strong, faithful, and eternal. The God we meet in Psalm 93 is a God we can rely on; He is a God of power and might who we can depend on; He is in charge; He is a rock, a fortress, help in times of trouble; He is a God not to be trifled with or glibly written off.
On Sunday, it is this King of kings and Lord of lords we will seek to meet and know as we gather to worship. It is before this Emperor over all creation that we will bow our heads. As you prepare for Sunday, perhaps spend some time reading these first two verses of Psalm 93 out loud over and over again. Pay attention to the images these words raise in your imagination. Examine those images. Are they a true reflection of the God we meet in these verses? How do these words, and the images attached, make you feel about God? How do you feel about approaching the God envisioned in these verses?
[i] to gird: to encircle or bind with a belt or band; to surround; to enclose; to hem in
[ii] “Commentary on Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14”. Working Preacher. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/christ-the-king-2/commentary-on-daniel-79-10-13-14-5 (accessed Nov. 4, 2021).