Sermon by The Very Rev Chris Yaw, 11/24/2024
Centering Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, may your will be done, through me.
When the world comes to an end - I'm going to my closet!
Yes, amidst my 1990's black leather jacket, suede pants, and 'Lucky' brand, wide-leg blue jeans - I'm hiding out in my wardrobe at the end of the world: because everything comes there 25 years late...
Yes folks, it's that final Sunday of the Christian year - and you can tell by our lessons that we're contemplating the 'end times' - "Look! He is coming with the clouds!" says our Revelation reading, "And on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail!"
But, don't be scared! It's not the end of the world - just the end of the year - And - like all New Year's Eves - it's time to party!
Join me in my closet, where it's always 1999 - OR
Join us at Church - where you get free wine every Sunday!
And especially today - Because it's the Feast of Christ the King!
As if we needed another reason to party around here - we do it every week, except in Lent - when we basically take a chill pill for 6 weeks in order to plan for a bigger party!
You could also say that's what we're doing next week - for the 4 weeks of Advent - when we'll also calm things down to plan for that big blowout birthday party!
And like all parties, there's first an invitation -
And the invite to the Feast of Christ the King is what's come in the mail today:
"Hear ye, hear ye! "All within the sound of my voice are hereby invited to the Feast! "To contemplate 'Christ the King.' "What is life like when we call Christ, King? "What does this mean to my behavior, vocabulary, and the amount of time I spend looking at the Gospels versus my Amazon shopping cart? "So all are invited to evaluate and recalibrate goals, expectations, and lifestyles to accommodate the identities we are striving to live into." There are a lot of competing identities inside of us! Maybe a parent, homeowner, employee, business owner, nurse, teacher, retiree, circus clown, or a basketball fan - the list goes on.
But calling Christ the King means putting our Christian identities first! Imagine if we Christians were able to do that?
If we were best known for the Jesus we follow? How much better off the world would be if there was more forgiveness, kindness, and love in the world?
Here's a challenge of Christ the King Sunday: what identity are you living into FIRST in your life? What would it look like to make that moniker 'Christian' - the first identifier you and I had?
What does that look like? And How might we work on that this week?
-----
After all, to call Christ the King means getting two things squared:
First, call Jesus your king and life is going to be hard. Why? You are going to strive to be like Him! To do the right thing - to keep the commandments - to be honest, transparent, and do unto others as you would have done unto you! You are going to try to be selfless and take on the burdens of others as Christ has taken on yours! You are going to try not to worry about anything! This is the hardest work of all for many of us professional worriers!
Or am I the only parent in the room?!? And you will be so filled with compassion that it will be hard to say "no" to anybody who needs your help.
Second, to call Christ the King means getting another thing squared: Your life is going to be incredibly fulfilling! You will be partaking of 'the abundant life.' You will be deeply content, because that's what you get when your focus is on others and you lead a life of service. You can handle anxiety a bit better, breathe a sigh of relief, knowing God has your back, and that no matter where you go or what you do, you can never escape the irresistible love of God. You will no longer need to worry about social standing, acceptance, or popularity because God has accepted you. And you will be fulfilled knowing that you have eternal life which is provision, protection, presence, and purpose.
Call Christ the King and life will be hard - Call Christ the King and there will be no better life to live!
And when we call Christ the King, it means we get to live in God's kingdom! What is that?
Where is that? Is there room service? Does it have a hot tub?
You'd think we'd have an easy time understanding what the Kingdom of God is because it was the most frequent topic of Jesus' preaching! But then again, I'm the most looming figure in my wife's life - and she will readily admit she does not understand me one bit!
Of course, this did not stop Jesus from TRYING to explain the Kingdom to us: How many analogies could he conjure up to penetrate our thick heads? The Kingdom of God is like a tiny seed. It's like a big tree. It's like a pearl you'd sell everything to get. It's like wheat growing alongside the weeds. It's like a camel squeezing through the eye of a needle. It's the way the world looks to children. The Kingdom of God is like: A servant who knows how to spend his master's money. It's like getting a days' pay - for an hour's work. It's like a crooked judge who has fixed the case in your favor. It's like a narrow gate - a difficult road - a lamp on a stand. It's like a wedding party. It's like a wedding party where all the original guests have been disinvited and replaced by random pedestrians. It's like yeast in the dough - treasure in the ground - a harvest in the field. It's like a door that opens whenever you knock - it's like a door you have to bang on for hours in the middle of the night until a grumpy neighbor wakes up to give you a piece of pita bread!
Sometimes Jesus says the kingdom is coming. Sometimes Jesus says it's here.
I like to sum it up like this:
The kingdom of God is that place where everybody has enough - and nobody has to be scared.
Can you live there now?
Of course.
When we're truly content with what we have - and able to hand over our worries to God we experience Kingdom life.
You have been there; I have been there. Maybe for a moment, maybe for a season.
Unfortunately, Kingdom living is a bit like going on vacation- It's a place to visit, but you can't live there. Too much of life beckons - we get distracted, detoured, and lured back to the world we know better. And that's the challenge of Christ the King Sunday - that's the vision of Christ the King Sunday: Permanent vacation! If not that, then to spend a little more time on vacation - as you and I work toward that kingdom - for us and for others - where everybody has enough - and nobody has to be scared.
And that's what creates the dissonance in today's Gospel - a clash of kingdoms! Jesus is before Pontius Pilate - Jesus has been betrayed, arrested, and abandoned by everybody he loved - He's in worse shape than the 2008 Detroit Lions that went 0-16...
And he stands before Pilate as a King in his Kingdom - Yet he does not act like a two-bit criminal before a harsh ruler who holds life and death in his hand!
No! Jesus does not grumble or grovel -
Jesus is content with who he is, where he is, what he's doing - he's not scared - not deterred:
He knows the God he serves - and he suspects that there's a Super Bowl ahead... one he's not going to lose!
This may be why Pilate is flummoxed - Pilate only knows one kind of king and one kind of kingdom - and Jesus certainly does not fit the bill.
'So you are a king?' Pilate asks.
'You say that I am a king,' answers Jesus 'For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.' Friends - you and I are the ones who listen to Jesus' voice - and who know the truth!
That there's a king and a kingdom that's much better than the ones we see around here!
I know that's not a hard sell when we look around at the great job we humans do at setting up just, fair, peaceful, and trusting societies...
So the message is - seek first God's kingdom. Don't get too comfy here!
Don't waste your time building an earthly kingdom. Build God's kingdom.
Don't waste your time investing in things that will rust, rot, and ruin.
Invest in the eternal things that cannot be seen - hope, generosity, forgiveness, kindness, and love. The message of Christ the King Sunday is one of joy and peace - as we remind ourselves of our true citizenship - in a kingdom where everyone has enough and no one is scared.
It is possible only through the immense love God has for us - in giving us a taste of that kingdom here - and a promise of that kingdom to come!
Don't let those worries and strains of this world get you down!
You've already won!
You are God's - and God is yours!
Claim that citizenship!
Put first that Christian identity - And let me close with an invitation: Anybody here want to join me on permanent vacation?
Please say amen!
Amen