Good morning. It has been several months since I have given a sermon at this pulpit for our community. I am grateful for the opportunity to share words of what I hope will be some spiritual wisdom. As I was reflecting on our Gospel lesson this week for today’s worship, there was one theme that kept coming back to me in my mind. It is the theme of character and it is also this theme of character that I want to highlight for us today.

           Now, I am going to be true to form here and do something that many of you know that I like to do in many of my sermons: I am going to spotlight a film that can help us make some sense of our Gospel lesson today. The film in question is a much more recent film. It was released in the year 2010 and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. I had the opportunity to rewatch this film within the last month or so.

           The movie depicts the period of the 1930s in Great Britain. As the United Kingdom still is today, it was very much under a constitutional monarchy system of government in the 1930s. I think many of us are somewhat familiar with the history of this period, but here is a recap: the UK’s reigning monarch was King George V, who had two sons, both who were grown adults by the 1930s. The oldest, known as David, would inherit the throne and would later become King Edward VIII upon the death of King George V. The second son was known as Albert, the Duke of York, father of the longest monarch in British history: Queen Elizabeth II. Now during this period, it was widely questioned whether the oldest son was up to the task of being the future king. As the film suggests, King George V made it quite known that he thought it would be in the best interests of the UK for the throne to pass to the second son, Albert. But that is not how the rules worked in Britain’s constitutional monarchy; it was the oldest son – David – who would get the throne, despite whether he was prepared for it. Many however, including King George, thought it imperative to get Albert to recognize that he should prepare himself in the unlikely event that David – once he became king – would actually end up abdicating the throne. The film eloquently illustrates that Albert was acutely aware of this possibility and he feared it. Albert was afraid of a stutter he had that made public speaking difficult for him and this fear was an obstacle to him living into his full potential. And what unfolds in the story is the historical reality that Albert eventually ended up having to ascend to the throne, after his brother stepped down from it after a year. Even more importantly, all of this unfolds at precisely the historical moment when Great Britain and the world faced serious threats that would end up beginning World War II. Suddenly, Albert – who takes the throne as King George VI – is tasked with giving perhaps one of the most important speeches in all of human history: a speech that explains why Great Britain has entered World War II. In order to do this he must have the courage to face his fears relating to his stutter and in speaking publicly. With the help of a working class speech therapist who both has a love of Shakespeare and expects to be treated as equal, the King realizes he not only has the character needed to meet the task, but to discover who he truly is. The film in question is called The King’s Speech and it is – in my opinion – a wonderful film that I would recommend everyone watch. It has a lot to say about character and what it means to be a human being who can meet daunting tasks head on with humility, grace, and empathy. And, if any of you are like me, you are looking at our nation and our world today and you are worried about what it all might be telling us about character.

           Which brings us to our Scripture texts this morning. As Christians, we should not be swayed by what the world bombards us with in terms of what makes for good character as a human being. No, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to model ourselves after the life of Christ Himself. Let’s take a look at the Gospel of Mark passage. The first thing we get from Jesus is a concern for the well-being of his apostles and followers; he seeks to have them experience some rest by going to a place of solitude. In a way, I guess Jesus was calling for a first century version of work-life balance. He is telling them that they must have a healthy concern for their own selves. The next thing that sticks out to me is that Christ is depicted as having compassion for people. And as the Gospel lesson for today unravels, this compassion is contextualized in a very specific way: Jesus is portrayed as having a great concern for the least of these in society – the sick who were brought to him from all sorts of villages, cities, farms, and marketplaces – and to treat them with love and equality. To sum it up, our Gospel lesson today illuminates for us that Christ was a human being who believed that one must necessarily take care of oneself – such as making time for solitude – and to have care, compassion, and concern for others that is put into action. And it is these two things that bring out the character in each of us that can shine the light of Christ to a world that desperately needs it more than ever.

           We are in some disturbing days in our world right now. We cannot turn on the television without having the anxieties of the world stare us right in the face. In many ways, our world today appears to be as anxious and unnerved, as that which is depicted in The King’s Speech. Yet, we as Christians have something that has stood the test of time: we have accepted Christ as the way forward for humanity. Time and time again for the last 2000 years of history, it has been Christians just like you and me who have been called to show the world that God compels each of us to love ourselves, love our neighbors, and to love God – to essentially have the character to meet our moment in time. We are called by God to do so today and there is one thing I will always have faith in: when we have the character to live out the way of Jesus Christ in an often bleak, distressing, hurting, struggling world, we can actualize the Kingdom of God for humanity. It will be our way of touching all of those around us in our lives and in our communities that can bring healing; just like Jesus at the end of our Gospel passage this morning.

           As we go forth after today’s worship, it is my hope that each of us will realize our own character as Christians – both individually and collectively – so that we may work to bring healing and transformation in the world all around us. May God fill each of us with the character of Jesus Christ so that we may take care of ourselves, care for our neighbors, and ultimately bring glory to God.