Christ the King or Reign of Christ, Proper 29 (2)

CALL TO WORSHIP

Come worship our awesome God, our strength and refuge, the one who helps us in times of trouble and change; the king who remains when all other kingdoms fall. Amen.

HYMN

He is exalted (StF 52)

GATHERING PRAYER

Let us gather together to recognise the one enthroned among us, acknowledging our Saviour, joining together in praise and thanks. Amen.

King of kings, we approach your throne in awe of your greatness and thankful for your love. Lift up our eyes to you, strengthen us by your power, and help us to give you first place in everything, for you are the one before all and above all. Amen.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

Lord, forgive us, when we have neglected to acknowledge or profess your importance in our lives. Forgive us when we have prioritised the trivial, when we have enthroned other things in our hearts. Restore our focus on you; help us begin again. Reclaim us and redeem us, God of everything, embedding in us a longing for your kingdom and a sense of your majesty. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name,

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done.

On earth as it is in heaven,

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those that trespass against us,

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,

Forever and ever Amen.

HYMN

The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want (StF 481)

INTRODUCTION

Before Judah’s exile to Babylon, Jeremiah suffered because he was calling out the false religion practiced by the king of Judah’ the nation had ‘abandoned the covenant’ that led to the monarchy’s destruction and the deportation.

But he goes on to look to the restoration of the two kingdoms under one wise and just king.

READING 1

Jeremiah 23.1-8

23 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. 3 “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.

5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David[a] a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.

7 “So then, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ 8 but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”

REFLECTION

You know the old saying power corrupts absolute power corrupts completely.

The thing is earthly leadership, no matter how well intended, will eventually lead to corruption.

The people of Isreal had forgotten God, or just gave lip service, they had if you like found comfort and like many today began to rely on there own ability, they were happy in their lot.

You can understand the reaction to Jeremiah saying that the false religion of shepherds scattering the sheep will give way to the rule of those who recognise that God saves and puts things right.

You see all around how earthly leadership often falls short and leads to oppression and scattering, as described in Jeremiah. These verses speak of just how inadequate human kingship is.

By contrasting this with the promise of a true Shepherd, you can highlight the beauty of God's faithfulness in providing a righteous leader. The hope in this point is realizing that God is committed to a plan that culminates in Christ, who gathers and tends to His people as the ultimate King.

HYMN

Let all the world in every corner sing (StF 57)

INTRODUCTION

Jeremiah says that the false religion of shepherds scattering the sheep will give way to the rule of those who recognise that God saves and puts things right. We can endure because we are secure in the love of God for his Son, and it is by him we are forgiven. And in the crucified criminal, who speaks of the fear of God, finds in Jesus a divine shepherd to bring him into the fold.

READING 2

Luke 23.33-43

33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”[a] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.

39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[b]”

43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

SERMON

I always think it’s a stranger reading for this time of year, as we draw closer to celebrating the birth of Christ.

We are faced with if you like the end of the beginning, we are given an account of Jesus on the cross, his supporters frightened for there lives leave him and even deny him.

And that would have been then end of the story apart from the fact that three days later Christ rose from the grave.

The question that faces us to is this.

Do we truly believe Jesu’s words from the cross, do you believe the promise he made to the man on the cross.

Are we about God’s plans or do we like the Israelites in the OT come with our own ideas?

I have a little story to think about.

There are twins in a mother’s womb:

The two babies and one say’s to the other “do you believe in life after delivery”

The other replies “Well yes of course, there has to something else after delivery, maybe were here to prepare what happens later”

“Nonsense” said the first baby “there no life after delivery, what kind of life would that           be?

“I don’t know” said the second baby “but maybe there will be more light that here, maybe we’ll walk with our legs, and eat with our mouths, maybe we’ll have other senses we can’t understand now.”

The first one says “that’s ridiculous, walking is impossible, eat with our mouths is absurd, the umbilical cord is what scientifically supplies nutrition and all we need, but it’s far too short, life after delivery is to logically be excluded.”

The second said “What if it’s just different than it is here, and we don’t need that physical cord anymore”

The first says Ok “If there were life after delivery, the tell me why has no one ever come back from there.” “Delivery is the end of life, and after the delivery is nothing but darkness, and silence, and oblivion, and it takes us nowhere.”

And the second says “but certainly we’ll meet mother and she’ll take care of us”

And the first goes “Mother? You actually believe in mother? If mother exists where is she now?

The second goes “she’s all around us. We are of her, it is in her that we live, without her this world, would not could not exist.

The first says ”I don’t see her” “it’s only logical she’s not here”

Which the second replies” Sometimes when your in silence and really listen, you can perceive Her presence, you can hear her loving voice calling down from above”

So, what do you think? You and I are called to  bring our burdens to the cross.

HYMN

When I survey the wondrous cross (StF 287)

COLLECTION

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

O God, where voices proclaim other kings and other lords, re-establish your reign; where tyrants and dictators oppress the poor and the hungry, topple their thrones and rescue the oppressed. O God, where so-called prophets and priests abuse their influence, expose their deeds of darkness with your awesome light; bring your justice to reign and may a new integrity be born in places of authority. O God, where your name has been forgotten, where mere lip service remains, where your people have neglected or misunderstood their purpose, make yourself known as king, and with tender mercy, restore those hanging on by a thread. O God, in our lives here today, reveal your heart to us, remind us of your might and of your mercy, you who shepherd us with love and grace. Create in us a kingdom that will change this world. In the name of Christ the King, Amen.

HYMN

King of kings, majesty (StF 331)

BLESSING

Jesus, we go, knowing you are our true king, our Lord and Saviour. May we carry this knowledge with us, equipped by your Spirit to live lives full of praise and service to you. Amen.