Christ The King Sunday
One of the great gifts of Netflix is the ability to watch any show, from beginning to end should you so choose by barely moving. It has created this thing called “binge-watching” which many find fulfilling on a day that they may lack energy or drive. You can just sit in your chair and watch an entire series of something. One of the shows I have enjoyed over the past year or so has been The Queen. It is the story of Queen Elizabeth and how she inherited the throne from her father, who inherited it from his brother as his brother chose a different life for himself and followed his love down to South America, reneging on his inherited duties. He in affect said, “No thank you.” The show has been criticized some by the royal family as depicting events inaccurately and of course any show that is attempting to be based on real events you will find that someone does not like how that event is portrayed. But I digress. The beauty of the show is that it shows what it has been like to be Queen, to rule, the joys and the very specific hardships. It reminds us of what ruling, of what having authority of a people has looked like in recent years. It reminds also of the reality of monarchies and authority and that that form of government has been around for a long time. Most people throughout time have been ruled by monarchies and rulers, and monarchies not as kind as the kingdom of Great Britain.
One of the great gifts of the Christian Lectionary is the church calendar and the following of an ordered church year. There is a system and progressive learning in our order of worship – in the ordering of the church year. It is not random. And the flow of the liturgical year through the seasons, through Scripture, has purpose and meaning. And it aids in our Christian walk and understanding as we come together each week and are taught and as we worship together collectively on our individual journeys.
Today we bring this Christian year to a conclusion. In the church’s calendar, today is referred to as Christ the King Sunday. It is a day of closure - an ending to our year. Next Sunday is the beginning of Advent, preparation for the birth of Jesus. Then the celebration of his birth at Christmas, and then his appearances -- to the wise men, at the wedding, in the transfiguration at Epiphany -- and then he sets his face toward Jerusalem. We are then plunged into the days of Lent, suffering, sacrifice and self-denial; the betrayal and death of holy week, but then the miracle of resurrection at Easter, and the season of prayer, over 50 days, for the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost.
And then the church moves through ordinary time again, and we are called to reflect on the Kingdom of God in everyday life, with all of it moving toward the conclusion.
You see it in the imagery of the Book of Revelation in our reading today, Christ the King Sunday is about the Lordship of Christ.
In the words of the Revelation to John, he is the “ruler of the kings of the earth.”
And yet there is a clear distinction in the passage from the Gospel of John between the rule or reign of the leaders on earth, and God’s vision. “My kingdom is not of this world,” Jesus says. Jesus did come upon the earth to establish a kingdom. It is just not what we were expecting.
The kingdom he came to establish was not the same as the kingdoms of this world. In this passage Jesus responds to a person with societal power and shares a different set of values than that of the dominant society. Jesus shares, “My kingdom is not of this world” when questioned by Pilate, “if it were, my followers would be fighting…”
Jesus’ kingdom that He came to establish, the kingdom of his followers, would not be characterized by power and dominance, but something else would be the driving force. Love.
This is a very different driving force than what seems to dictate the leadership embodied in many rulers today. Power and flaunting of power is the norm, the standard of leadership.
Pilate doesn’t seem to like the direction the conversation is going - (which let us point out, he already knew the answer too, he knew Jesus was not a king with a kingdom) and he asks, “So you are a king?” It is posed much like I pose a question to my children when I don’t like something, “What are you doing?” The question is neither neutral nor innocent - it is a question full of biases. (I already know what they are doing).
Pilate wants to act like he is innocent of his prejudiced notions about Jesus while playing along with his constituents. Jesus does not play along or fall for it. “My kingdom is not of this world.”
Jesus’ kingdom, this kingdom that you and I belong to, the values of this kingdom are vastly different from those of this world and yet so often we Christians fail to understand and abide by them. The church should represent Jesus’ kingdom, and should be here to serve in humility rather than seek earthly power.
Jesus is a king who was killed by societal power. He allowed himself to be killed physically for the sake of truth, out of love for humanity. The Christian faith has a God that was crucified.
Let us be reminded that we are serving a king like no other. We do not serve a king who is seeking power and glory but a king that is characterized by humble service to others. And because we serve a different kind of king, we should operate different. We don’t use the world’s methods to accomplish a good result. We don’t believe that the end justifies the means. We know that how we achieve things does matter. How we treat others in the process does matter.
We don’t use our power for personal gain - Jesus used his power for the common good. He reminded his disciples, whoever is greatest among you must be your servant.
Christ the King is the moment toward which the whole Christian story has been moving -- the adoration of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
In the words of Revelation, “to him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father….”
This new kingdom is focused on serving God and one another.
In the dialogue between Pilate and Jesus in the Gospel today, they talked about truth. We live as people of the truth, when we offer ourselves as servants to others.
This does not happen by a sheer act of will. It happens by cultivating our attitudes and behavior through worship, reading and study of Scripture, prayers, and through serving one another. The more we practice these things and cultivate our lives around them, the more truthful our lives become, and less vulnerable to falsehood.
We live as servants of Christ the King. That means we find ways to serve him by serving others both within and without our faith community. If we think we can’t do that because of our limitations or fears, then we need to ask God for courage to show us what we can do. These actions replenish our depleted resolve and strengthen us for living in a chaotic world.
We live as a people who see opportunity in the presence of others. This includes embracing the stranger, the refugee and the homeless, those who have no helper. Just singling out one person in these categories and finding ways to help them are ways to honor Christ the King.
We live as a people who hope in the life of the world to come. That doesn’t mean we discount this world altogether. It is God’s creation, given to us for our joy and benefit. But we know it is not where we are destined.
I will continue to enjoy watching episodes of the Queen on Netflix, and enjoying Queen Elizabeth’s hats. But I know, as I watch the earthly kingdom displayed on Netflix, that our kingdom is not of this world.
We honor Christ the King today and remember that Jesus is relying on us to be partners with him in bringing the truth to a world that tries to shut it out, but desperately needs to hear it and embrace it. In the words of Jesus, …”For this I was born, and for this purpose, I came into the world. “ Amen.
One of the great gifts of the Christian Lectionary is the church calendar and the following of an ordered church year. There is a system and progressive learning in our order of worship – in the ordering of the church year. It is not random. And the flow of the liturgical year through the seasons, through Scripture, has purpose and meaning. And it aids in our Christian walk and understanding as we come together each week and are taught and as we worship together collectively on our individual journeys.
Today we bring this Christian year to a conclusion. In the church’s calendar, today is referred to as Christ the King Sunday. It is a day of closure - an ending to our year. Next Sunday is the beginning of Advent, preparation for the birth of Jesus. Then the celebration of his birth at Christmas, and then his appearances -- to the wise men, at the wedding, in the transfiguration at Epiphany -- and then he sets his face toward Jerusalem. We are then plunged into the days of Lent, suffering, sacrifice and self-denial; the betrayal and death of holy week, but then the miracle of resurrection at Easter, and the season of prayer, over 50 days, for the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost.
And then the church moves through ordinary time again, and we are called to reflect on the Kingdom of God in everyday life, with all of it moving toward the conclusion.
You see it in the imagery of the Book of Revelation in our reading today, Christ the King Sunday is about the Lordship of Christ.
In the words of the Revelation to John, he is the “ruler of the kings of the earth.”
And yet there is a clear distinction in the passage from the Gospel of John between the rule or reign of the leaders on earth, and God’s vision. “My kingdom is not of this world,” Jesus says. Jesus did come upon the earth to establish a kingdom. It is just not what we were expecting.
The kingdom he came to establish was not the same as the kingdoms of this world. In this passage Jesus responds to a person with societal power and shares a different set of values than that of the dominant society. Jesus shares, “My kingdom is not of this world” when questioned by Pilate, “if it were, my followers would be fighting…”
Jesus’ kingdom that He came to establish, the kingdom of his followers, would not be characterized by power and dominance, but something else would be the driving force. Love.
This is a very different driving force than what seems to dictate the leadership embodied in many rulers today. Power and flaunting of power is the norm, the standard of leadership.
Pilate doesn’t seem to like the direction the conversation is going - (which let us point out, he already knew the answer too, he knew Jesus was not a king with a kingdom) and he asks, “So you are a king?” It is posed much like I pose a question to my children when I don’t like something, “What are you doing?” The question is neither neutral nor innocent - it is a question full of biases. (I already know what they are doing).
Pilate wants to act like he is innocent of his prejudiced notions about Jesus while playing along with his constituents. Jesus does not play along or fall for it. “My kingdom is not of this world.”
Jesus’ kingdom, this kingdom that you and I belong to, the values of this kingdom are vastly different from those of this world and yet so often we Christians fail to understand and abide by them. The church should represent Jesus’ kingdom, and should be here to serve in humility rather than seek earthly power.
Jesus is a king who was killed by societal power. He allowed himself to be killed physically for the sake of truth, out of love for humanity. The Christian faith has a God that was crucified.
Let us be reminded that we are serving a king like no other. We do not serve a king who is seeking power and glory but a king that is characterized by humble service to others. And because we serve a different kind of king, we should operate different. We don’t use the world’s methods to accomplish a good result. We don’t believe that the end justifies the means. We know that how we achieve things does matter. How we treat others in the process does matter.
We don’t use our power for personal gain - Jesus used his power for the common good. He reminded his disciples, whoever is greatest among you must be your servant.
Christ the King is the moment toward which the whole Christian story has been moving -- the adoration of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
In the words of Revelation, “to him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father….”
This new kingdom is focused on serving God and one another.
In the dialogue between Pilate and Jesus in the Gospel today, they talked about truth. We live as people of the truth, when we offer ourselves as servants to others.
This does not happen by a sheer act of will. It happens by cultivating our attitudes and behavior through worship, reading and study of Scripture, prayers, and through serving one another. The more we practice these things and cultivate our lives around them, the more truthful our lives become, and less vulnerable to falsehood.
We live as servants of Christ the King. That means we find ways to serve him by serving others both within and without our faith community. If we think we can’t do that because of our limitations or fears, then we need to ask God for courage to show us what we can do. These actions replenish our depleted resolve and strengthen us for living in a chaotic world.
We live as a people who see opportunity in the presence of others. This includes embracing the stranger, the refugee and the homeless, those who have no helper. Just singling out one person in these categories and finding ways to help them are ways to honor Christ the King.
We live as a people who hope in the life of the world to come. That doesn’t mean we discount this world altogether. It is God’s creation, given to us for our joy and benefit. But we know it is not where we are destined.
I will continue to enjoy watching episodes of the Queen on Netflix, and enjoying Queen Elizabeth’s hats. But I know, as I watch the earthly kingdom displayed on Netflix, that our kingdom is not of this world.
We honor Christ the King today and remember that Jesus is relying on us to be partners with him in bringing the truth to a world that tries to shut it out, but desperately needs to hear it and embrace it. In the words of Jesus, …”For this I was born, and for this purpose, I came into the world. “ Amen.