When We Ask For Help, Who Do We Expect?

Blog post by Matt McCoy

5 minute read

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This coming Sunday we’re going to celebrate the last day of the Church Calendar: Christ the King Sunday. As we conclude another year in the Church, we all pause, remember and rejoice that Jesus Christ is King and we get to join him in his kingdom (as opposed to a kingdom of our own making).

But before we get to Christ the King Sunday, we need to talk about my puppy.

We got her a month ago. Her name is Millie.

Everyone loves puppies, because they are so incredibly adorable, cute, fun, and curious. Yet, despite their near-universal adoration, not everyone actually has a puppy. Millie likes to chew on everything. Millie likes to stand underneath my feet when I’m walking. Millie can pee GALLONS of pee every day, everywhere, all the time. I’m amazed that something so small can pee so much.

If you were to come over to my house right now, and you decided you wanted to pee on my floor, I’m exceptionally well prepared.

As much as people love the adorableness of puppies, people don’t get them because they add a lot of work and stress to a home. We know this. And because we know this, in the weeks leading up to Millie’s arrival, when Denise and I would be dealing with something really stressful, I would pause and say, “You know what this situation needs? A PUPPY!” And then we’d laugh, and shudder a little, and wonder if we should really get a puppy because most days life feels hard enough already. Obviously, the very last thing a person needs in the midst of a stressful situation is a puppy.

But let’s continue this thought experiment a little bit longer. Think about one of the challenges we’re facing in life right now, and try to imagine asking someone for help. Now imagine if the person we asked for help gave us a puppy to care for, 24/7, as a solution to our particular challenge. We would be furious.

Obviously, the very last thing a person needs in the midst of a stressful situation is a puppy.

But let’s make another stop on this goofy train of thought. Think about one of the challenges we're facing as a world right now. There’s no shortage of options to choose from: 5M covid deaths, environmental destruction, human suffering, wars, the list goes on. Now imagine if we asked someone for help, and instead of that person giving us a puppy, that person gives us a baby. I’ve heard some people say that having a puppy is just like having a baby, but those people have never actually had to care for a baby full time. Puppies are a lot of work, but babies can be all-consuming. If we asked for help for one of these enormous challenges, and someone gave us a baby, we would be furious. Obviously, the very last thing a person needs in the midst of a stressful situation is a puppy baby.

We don’t want a puppy baby; we want a hero. These are real-world problems that need real-world solutions. I’ve read so many articles connecting our culture’s fascination with Marvel Superheros to our cultural sense that life is unmanageable and out of control. I’ve heard so many preachers talk about a Jesus who shows up as a victorious warrior, giving mercy to the people/culture they like and conquering the people/culture they don’t like, and ignoring the people/culture they are overlooking. We don't want a puppy baby…

So let’s carry this thought experiment with us as we return to Christ the King Sunday. For years and years, the Ancient Israelites were praying for a hero they called ‘Messiah’ in Hebrew and ‘Christ’ in Greek. And they wanted a victorious warrior who would give mercy to them, conquer the Romans, and give them their land back. And Christ the King Sunday is tucked right up against Advent to remind us that God sent us a hero, and that hero was a baby. If we were all looking for Captain America Ancient Israel, we would not notice a baby, either.

But Jesus didn’t stay a baby,

Jesus didn’t stay on the cross,

and Jesus didn’t stay in the grave.

For Christ the King Sunday, we also remember something that hasn’t happened yet: Jesus will fulfill all our longings for a hero. Not by bringing about a kingdom of our own making, where Jesus loves all the same people we love and hates all the same people we hate, but by bringing his kingdom to fulfillment here, on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus isn’t the hero we want, Jesus is the hero he is, and we get to participate with Jesus in his kingdom.

I love how, in Revelation 5, John is told the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is coming, and he looks, and he sees a lamb. Our hero, the one who will save us from this mess we’re in, is the Lion, and that Lion is a Lamb.

And so, even though we know we’re not in heaven yet, Christ the King Sunday is an invitation for us to go on and live as though we already are. We know that King Jesus is good, and we know that King Jesus will bring all things back to the shalom we so desperately long for. But instead of our version of a hero, we get a baby. Our Lion is a Lamb.

May the Holy Spirit animate our lives and allow us to participate with what Jesus is doing in our lives and our neighborhoods today, in this crazy upside-down kingdom that is actually the only thing right-side up.