This week we get the annual reminder that kings are always a disappointment. They are human, after all. But more than that, they, above all others, are not allowed to be. They are supposed to be better than the rest, and then, when they are not, we act surprised, confused and bewildered, like some sort of deal has been undermined, as if we have been cheated out of promised riches or, more likely, safety and security. Its what we bartered away freedom for, after all. Safety. Security. Someone who tells us what to do so we never have to figure it out for ourselves.

God warned his people thousands of years ago that kings aren’t worth it. But people keep insisting, throughout history, that one person must come, save us, rule us, make the hard decisions none of us is willing to make, get their hands dirty, destroy our enemies, punish the traitors, reject the outsiders…a whole host of things so unChirstlike. Because we’re afraid of what it means to simply trust in our neighbors as Jesus does, in faith, in love, in service to the whole community.