A little country boy named Joey pushed the family outhouse over an embankment and into the river. Later that day, his father found him and asked, “Who pushed the outhouse into the river?” 

“Daddy, I cannot tell a lie,” said little Joey. “I did it.” 

The boy’s dad started scolding him. 

“But daddy,” cried the little boy. “George Washington told the truth when his daddy asked him, ‘Who chopped down the cherry tree?’ And his daddy did not scold him.” 

The father answered, “Son, you’re absolutely right. But George Washington’s daddy wasn’t in the cherry tree at the time.” 

[Laughter] 

I really like that one. Life is filled with so many surprises. And sometimes things in life don’t always turn out what we had hoped, planned, or expected.  

There’s a great line that says from John Lennon, “Life is what happened while I was making other plans.” We think we’re in control. We’re not. God is in control. But this feast we celebrate today, The Feast of Christ the king, is also filled with the unexpected and with surprises. 

In some ways, this celebration and title are very misleading. We tend to think of the word king and connect it with power, control, and position. But Jesus is not a kingship of power, but rather a kingship of love and servant to all. 

We are then challenged to live a life of service and together to love this world back into life. Jesus projected himself as messiah, but he came as a serving king, not a ruling king. The way of Jesus tells us that we know who God is by looking at the life of Jesus. Christ enlarges the boundaries. God is ultimate compassion. God is ultimate forgiveness. 

What a funny king. The people he invites are outcasts and sinners. The Lord invites all of us. 

This last Sunday of the liturgical year is about legacies. What do we want our legacies to be? What do we want our lives to mean? Our answer begins with embracing in our own lives the reign of God, a kingdom not of power, but a reign of human hearts dedicated to justice, reconciliation, mercy, and peace. Think about this for a moment. 

In life, Jesus promises us two things. Our life has meaning, and we are going to live forever. If you get a better offer, take it.