King of kings and kids
There are two types of kingships. One takes the symbol of a clenched fist. The other is symbolized by open hands and stretched-out arms.
When I was twelve I had the privilege of coming close to meeting the late His Highness King Goodwill Zwelithini. Growing up as an altar boy in the Anglican Church of South Africa(ACSA) meant I often had a privilege to sit in places I otherwise would not. It was for me some sort of status. Meeting the king shaking his hand would have elevated my status even more. Except I could not shake his hand.
As I stretched out my hand to extend peace as is the practice in the ACSA, he looked at me not with a cold kingly face as I expected but with warmth. Except he did not take my hand. Before I could finish processing what was happening, my hand was met with another that came out of nowhere. I looked up to see that it was one of his escorts I believe. His hand was not reaching out to shake mine, but to put me in my place. He gently pushed me aside to make way for priests and bishops. This was a clear sign that I had overstepped my boundary. Melting in shame and disappointment, I could not wait for an explanation, especially since I thought when we exchange peace we do it as equal participants in the kingdom of God.
The explanation I got was that it was for my good. I was made to understand that the king is strong and powerful. Some of the traditional muthi (medicine) he uses may have put my life in danger. I do not know the truthfulness of that explanation. What was clear to me, however, was that the king even if he wanted to take my hand, could not. The authority and the office he serves made it impossible at that time.
We all want strong, powerful, fearful, and courageous kings. We want a king that will live a long and prosperous life. In other words, the king's security is of uttermost importance. He also must not show any signs of weakness. What this inevitably means is, that the kind of king we want is not going to be easily accessible. What we end up with is a king who cares for us yet he does so at a distance. All the kings of the world fall into this category. There is only one king in the other category.
The other category is the king who reigns with open scarred hands. He is not the least powerful. The scars in his hands may have been a sign of weakness to some. But on the contrary, he is the most powerful king the world has ever seen. For this king is "the radiance of His (God) glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:13). While other kings may uphold certain elements of our culture and place in the society, king Jesus upholds all other kings and their kingdoms and the rest of creation. And yet, powerful as he is, he remains the most accessible king.
The same year of the incident with the king of the Zulus is the year I encountered the king of kings. Jesus needs no protection from his enemies. He came to give his life to them. He needs not to fear anything nor inflict fear on anyone for the worst of our fears is what he came to conquer. He came in power to take death upon himself in the stead of those who deserved it but cannot conquer it for themselves. And because he was victorious over death, we can be assured that he is a living king. He is now, more than he ever, accessible to all who would realize their need for him. Nothing or no one stands between those who believe in him and His heart. Kings and subjects alike, with the stretched-out arm of Jesus on the cross, as he takes death upon himself, we’re all invited to fellowship with the King of kings. "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14).
