November
24, 2019
Christ
the King
Jeremiah
23:1-6
Psalm
46
Colossians
1:11-20
Luke
23:33-43
Please pray with me,
May the words of my mouth and the
meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our rock,
our strength and our redeemer.
Amen.
The alarm goes off.
You get out of bed.
As you are ready to take your
first sip of hot coffee on a crisp fall morning you see your phone showing
missed calls, multiple voicemails, urgent text messages and you take a deep
breath and think, oh rats (although if you’re like me, you probably didn’t say
rats)but you still think to yourself, “I have just woken up and the rest of the
world is half a day (if not a whole day) ahead of me. Oh boy.”
Ever have one of those mornings?
One of those days?
They happen, don’t they?
It happened to me this week and
when I arrived at pericope (our weekly clergy Bible study) I sat down and heard
today’s gospel reading for the first time.
Usually when attending I have
already read through the text, looked into some commentaries and listened to a
trusted podcast to prepare. Yet with the
pace of this week I had not yet done that.
And BAM!
I’m hit with Jesus’
crucifixion.
Maybe you thought that, too, as
you listened to the reading today.
We are getting ready for
Advent…preparing for Christmas and Christ’s birth…why the crucifixion? Did I fall asleep in November and wake up in
April?
It’s one of those passages that
wakes us up, and reminds us that the Jesus – the messiah – is a king like no
other. Jesus – the messiah – rules
through humble service, through teaching and healing, through turning the other
check and by showing power by dying on a cross.
This is one of those passages
that wakes us up, and reminds us again and again, that the kingdom of God, the
one in which Jesus reigns is NOT one that we expect to see in our world every
day.
We live in a world where power is
treasured, and when you have power, the last thing you want to do is give it
away or show weakness.
In the world in which we live, it
can be a struggle to recognize and follow a leader, a king, even, who leads and
teaches as Jesus does.
We gather together today and celebrate
Christ the King Sunday.
“It is sometimes known as Reign
of Christ Sunday and is a relatively recent holy day in the church
calendar. It was established by Pope
Pius XI in 1925 in response to the increasing threat of the rise of fascism.
Authoritarian leaders of fascist
regimes were being lifted up as all powerful demigods, and the Roman Catholic
Church created this holy day in an attempt to reclaim power for the church as
opposed to the secular nation-state.” (disruptworship.com)
The reason we celebrate Christ as
King is because throughout history, humankind has put more stakes in human
rulers than Christ as our king.
Let me say that again the reason
we celebrate Christ as King is because throughout history, humankind, you and
me included, has put more stakes in human rulers than Christ as our king.
It’s nothing new.
Power, control and authority are
lifted up in our world and it seems that when you have it, you grasp it and
hold onto it, so no one else can have it.
In the case of worldly leaders this is often seen because they do not
wish to show weakness or lack of knowledge or inexperience. Yet, as Princess Leia so boldly said to the Governor
Tarkin in Star Wars (A New Hope) “The more your tighten your grip, the
more star systems will slip through your fingers.” Knowing that when power is held and gripped,
it is not always maintained or kept in control.
So here we are on Christ the
King, wrestling with the image of Jesus as King.
A king who walks with the sick,
the oppressed and the untouchable.
A king who speaks of love and
peace, grace and forgiveness.
A king who enters the city riding
on a donkey.
A king whose crown is one of
thorns.
A king who shows power by dying
on a cross.
In a day and age when we struggle
to seek power, to claim power and to know in whom we can and should put our
trust, we need this King of Kings. We
need Jesus, this savior whose kingdom is going to transform the world as we
know it.
Because that’s the reality, this
Jesus, this King, will reign in a way that we cannot comprehend in our world
today, because he is flipping the world upside down. Throughout the gospel of Luke we hear of
Jesus’ kingdom as one that lifts up the lowly, puts the wealthy in their place
and is one where Jesus continues to reach out to teach, touch and love the
least of those in the communities through which he travels.
Think of those who are cast aside
in our world today.
Think of those who are not
treated fairly, not welcomed in, not given the time of day, or respect or
health care or a fair wage.
These are the folks that Jesus is
welcoming into the kingdom here and now.
Yup. Jesus is like, hey you, feeling lost, lonely,
forgotten, come, sit with me.
Hey you, have you been treated
unfairly throughout history?
Have you been hurt and neglected
because of who you love or who God created and calls you to be?
Have you been cast aside because
people do not understand your mental illness?
Come,
sit here,
with me
in the kingdom,
right now.
Friends, that is what the reign
of Christ looks like.
Every so often we get glimpses of
it.
It creeps into our world, and
reveals itself in a way that we do not expect it to and when it does it is holy
and beautiful and sometimes causes us to say, NO WAY! Because it is a place of love and welcome,
grace and forgiveness that does not fit into the structure of the world as we
know it.
When I was serving a congregation
in Indiana, I was not always able to make it home to New England for
Thanksgiving. One year I drove up to
Chicago to spend a few days with my friend Casey from high school. He and his partner hosted an orphan
Thanksgiving.
The turkey brined overnight on
the porch, Casey, Ira and I stayed up late on Wednesday peeling apples, making
pies, watching Food Network videos on how to properly truss a turkey, and fit
as many chairs around their extended kitchen table as we could.
As Thanksgiving afternoon
approached, the apartment was filled with friends, food, laughter, some bubbly
drinks and warmth.
We sat around the table ready to
eat, and I was the one asked to say the prayer.
I was ‘the’ pray-er. I remember
blessing our gathering, the people around the table which included people of
the Jewish faith, people who did not believe in God, people in partnered
relationships, people who had no family, and our hosts who opened their
apartment to us all, no questions asked.
I prayed for the food, the
friends, the overflowing glasses (to which one person chimed in – she means the
drinks! and I said, you bet I do!) we all chuckled and were thankful to be together, to be fed and to
just be ourselves.
That, to me, was one of those
kingdom moments. The motley crew
gathered around that table…Jesus was there.
Joining us in the toast and the feast.
It happened in spite of a wild
mix of people each accepting invitations on their own.
The kingdom of God is meant to
transform the world.
Jesus, our king, is transforming
our world.
Through his life, death and
resurrection, Jesus has made a place for you….at this table with a feast of bread and wine - the body and blood of Christ.
Led by Jesus’ model of welcome,
grace, peace and love, may we be so bold and empowered to seek spaces and places to
model that welcome, grace, peace and love this day and all days.
And now may the peace of Christ
which surpasses all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus and
let all God’s people say, amen.
