Christ the King or Reign of Christ, Proper 29

Children’s Moment

Hi everyone, I didn’t know if you knew this, but today is Christ the King sunday, it is the day where we close out the Christian Calendar, and it is the Sunday before the start of the Advent Season. I have a question for you all. What is a King or Queen? If you were ever A King or Queen, what do you think you’d do for a day?

What do you think it Means that Jesus is King? And where do you think his Kingdom lives? That’s right, Jesus Christ rules quite differently. He rules not through power but through love and serving other people. His Kingdom resides in the people who follow him, he lives in your hearts, he’s what keeps you warm and reminds you that everything will be okay when things get tough. So as we go to prayer, I want you all to continue to think about what it means for Christ to rule over your life, and over the entire earth we live on. Prayer: Lord, we thank you that you live in our hearts, and rule a kingdom that is not of this world, that we can find comfort and hope in you when we are down, and that we can always be reminded of the blessed Hope of when you promise to return once again, and heal all the hurting and brokenness in the world. We love you Jesus, in your name I pray, Amen.

Welcome Statement

Christ's reign as King is a present reality not a historical past. I start with this bold statement because I believe we as a church have lost this powerful theological understanding of what it means to live in Christ and follow Christ actively. Debates have raged for centuries regarding eschatology and when Christ's earthly reign will begin. From my point of view in my studies, I've concluded that Christ is already reigning, with a Kingdom of the almost but not yet. Why is this so? Christ has instilled the holy Spirit in our hearts, and that spirit guides us through everything, it's not as if Christ is just sitting up there waiting for a magical day to arbitrarily come and say alright everyone I'm going to clean this all up. It is true there will be a second coming of Christ, but it is not a scary thing, it just means all things will finally be reconciled. But that isn't our present reality. The victory of course is already secured, but we all have to live in this time of the "not yet". Waiting for that promotion, waiting for good news to come about our loved ones in the hospital, waiting to finally catch a break. Yet then in the midst of that dark valley we see a bright light, a light that is adorned with the most beautiful Crown one has ever seen. This light take off this crown, and see a bloody crown of thorns in its place. Representing the atonement, while the golden crown represents this bodily resurrection and his subsequent enthronement

Old Testament Reading - 2 Samuel 23 1-7

2 Samuel 23:1–7 NRSV

Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, son of Jesse, the oracle of the man whom God exalted, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the favorite of the Strong One of Israel: The spirit of the Lord speaks through me, his word is upon my tongue. The God of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel has said to me: One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God, is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land. Is not my house like this with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. Will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire? But the godless are all like thorns that are thrown away; for they cannot be picked up with the hand; to touch them one uses an iron bar or the shaft of a spear. And they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot.

Prophecy of a Just Ruler

David’s final words here prophecy of a ruler greater than him, one that is entirely just, rules with a much different way, not through might but through love and care.

New Testament Reading - John 18:33-37

John 18:33–37 NRSV

Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. 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.”

The Kingdom is not of this World

Christ already rules, but he rules a kingdom we cannot see. Actually, we can see it in some sense. We see the kingdom he rules through the people that follow him, that serve their neighbors, and advocate for the lost, needy, and poor.

When he is asked if he is the King of the Jews, he boldly proclaims that he has a kingdom but it isn’t of this world. These words are confusing for people like Pilate who only understands authority in terms of state figures and governments made up of powerful people who rule by an iron fist. Yet Christ here is showing a different way to lead. We think of Christ when we go to the ballot box, and pray we make the right choice, and we think that Christ must certainly be on our side. Just like when people for whatever reason pray for their team to win in football. But we must realize that Christ transcends worldly politics, he’s building a kingdom all of his own, that does live beside the reality we live in, but it is not of this world. We serve a church community that goes out into the world, and proclaims the good News of Christ our king. He rules not just over our individual lives but throughout our communities and

The reason i said I think we forget this, is because as we saw with this last election, we put too much stake into worldly leaders, we let ourselves get hung up on the world too much. This is only human, but as we get more and more addicted to doomscrolling on facebook, we find ourselves turned further and further away from God.

As it says in Mark 1:15

Mark 1:15 NRSV

and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

I can only believe that the Kingdom is both near, and now. Because if not, who else is ruling in my heart? I certainly pray it is not things that are trivial or don’t matter. I simply want the Holy Spirit to rule my life, and I want others to experience that same joy. We have to turn back around, to our King, who died on the cross, atoned for our sins, after 3 days he resurrected, and then subsequently he was raised up to sit at the right hand of the father. This is serious stuff. We read these texts weekly or even daily, but sometimes we forget, how impactful this is supposed to be on our lives. How we interact with one another, how we serve one another. Just like that phrase WWJD, we start to decide instead, what would I do? But we don’t have that right, there is a King that rules over our hearts now, and he guides our every move. He leads us down that narrow path, that we couldn’t ever possibly reach down, without his grace and mercy he bestows upon us daily. So next time you turn on the TV, and see the next awful news about a war, or things, you must remind yourself and open your heart, that Christ really is our King, he really does reign not just over our hearts, but over this entire world. He is what keeps nature working and functioning as it should be, the Sun that keeps us warm is all because of him. So let us go now in prayer, and reflect, on what it means for Christ to be truly King.

New Testament Point #2

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New Testament Point #3

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Closing Statement

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Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, adfs asdfa

Amen.

Doxology / Benediction / Closing

May you Have a Blessed Sunday, and rest of your Week! Amen!