Trinity 21st Nov 2021

Order of service

Welcome

We come today to acknowledge Christ as King.

His throne is a cross, and he reigns from high heaven.

Beauty and holiness are the marks of his kingdom.

He is the face of God revealed in human form.

Let us keep our eyes fixed on him:

King Jesus – the Way, the Truth and the Life.

HYMN

STF 44: Majesty Worship his Majesty

Prayers

God of mystery and magnificence, we see you as our king.

We read of visions of your throne, flaming and ethereal.

You are beyond our imagining,

beyond our dreams and visions and wildest hopes.

You are in us and with us and among us.

You are all we could imagine and wish for and more.

You are our God, our king of all creation.

Amen.

O Lord our mighty God,

we have heard but not always listened to you:

with sorrow and sadness, we confess our sin.

We have seen need and closed our eyes to it:

with sorrow and sadness, we confess our sin.

We have closed our ears to cries for help:

with sorrow and sadness, we confess our sin.

We have known your truth and yet followed lies and falsehoods:

with sorrow and sadness, we confess our sin.

Amen.

The Lord God says:

be assured your sins are forgiven,

your slate is wiped clean.

Listen to the word of God and know its truth.

Amen.

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 today our daily bread

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us

And deliver us from all evil

For thine is the kingdom the power and the glory,

Forever and ever Amen

HYMN

StF 158: Lord you sometimes speak in wonders

Readings

Daniel 7.9-10,13-14

9 “As I looked,

“thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. 10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,[a] coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

John 18.33-37

33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You, say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

HYMN

StF 50: Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise

Sermon

There is a well-known story about Queen Elizabeth II when she was a young girl. One day she was wandering around one of the royal estates when a stranger asked her ‘Who are you?’ ‘Oh, I’m no one,’ she replied, ‘but my father is the King.’ Knowing the truth of who we are and who we belong to can be really empowering. Today we can celebrate the fact that we serve Christ the King, and the truth of who we are when we belong to him. This knowledge can give us strength whatever challenges life may bring.

In today’s reading Pilate asked Jesus outright, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ He wanted to know the truth from the mouth of Jesus. Have you ever wondered if someone was telling the truth? We only have to think back to the issue we faced over Brexit even if you were for or against, with what was presented to us did you wonder about truth, and who was speaking it, as the accusations and counteraccusations were being thrown around. And, more generally, over the past few years, fake news seems to have come to the fore. How do we know which ‘truth’ is true? Previously, Jesus had said that he was the way, the truth, and the life. In this week’s passage, he goes on to say that if we care for the truth, if we have any feeling for the truth, then we will hear his voice.

Have you ever been in a situation where you were trying to listen out for someone’s voice? For example, in a busy shopping outlet with your wife, and you have as usual got separated. And it can be embarrassing I have, more than once gone up to a stranger thinking it is Karon, my excuse is they looked very similar at least from behind, some people may just sound like someone else. Have you ever been mistaken – thinking you heard someone’s voice, but it wasn’t them? Fortunately, in everyday life, this doesn’t happen very often. Especially if we know someone really well, we can tell the real voice from the someone who has a similar accent – it is hard to impersonate someone perfectly.

Jesus says that those who belong to him, who seek to follow the truth, listen to his voice. We will only be able to do that if we can recognise his voice in a world of competing voices. This isn’t something that will happen overnight. But it can and will happen if we work at it; if we listen to his voice often enough that we begin to know its rhythms and patterns. We do that mainly through engaging with Scripture.

Four Gospels give us four windows into the things Jesus said and did. The Old Testament gives us, among other things, a picture of what the Messiah would be like. Through reading the Bible we learn to recognise Jesus’ voice – or God’s voice, if you prefer. But it is not only by reading; personal reading of Scripture is a relatively modern idea. Hearing it, learning, and retelling its stories, talking about it, wrestling with it together – these are the ways that God’s people learn to hear God’s voice and listen to his truth.

In answer to Pilate’s repeated questions about whether or not he was a king, Jesus said: ‘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.’

There was an element of scorn in Pilate’s question (37), but he was not prepared for Jesus’ answer, introducing the concept of truth. Pilate’s question What is truth? is understandable, although it’s clear that he didn’t ask this out of a real desire to know the answer. Nevertheless, he recognized that there was no basis for a serious charge brought against Jesus by his accusers.

How do we discover this truth? How do we listen to Christ’s voice? Sometimes, though not for everyone, truth can come in the form of a dramatic revelation – perhaps through a dream as happened to Daniel, or a vision like that of John in Revelation. More common is to hear the Lord speaking to us through reading his Word. In John’s Gospel, Jesus is presented as embodying the truth.

We as the Church are called represent Jesus, we are called to make known his truth, we are called to be a community, Often, we discover Christ’s truth and finds Christ’s voice with come through from the simplest meeting start out as, just an ordinary conversation.

The conversation between and Jesus and Pilate, which we heard from John 18:33-37 earlier, allows John to proclaim in his Gospel that Jesus is a king with a divine authority. Jesus was accused of plotting to overthrow the government, and he was being questioned by Pilate. This gave Jesus a chance to tell his side of the story. Jesus argues that his kingdom is founded on truth. This is in contrast to earthly kingdoms which are founded on power.

In fact, Pilate’s “kingdom” was based on power. In his mind, truth was what the powerful said it was, and the same is often true today. Jesus offered Pilate the same choice he offers us to advance your status on earth or walk in the light of truth. The choice we make will determine which kingdom we will serve-God or man.

Jesus saw the world differently than the way the world sees itself. He defied logic by the way he lived and by what he taught. He taught that truth is the cornerstone of healthy relationships and strong communities. If something or someone claims to be the truth and has violent intentions, then it is not the truth. Truth may be attacked but it can’t be harmed. It is not “of this world”. This is how the gospels speak of truth, and this is why John’s Gospel calls Jesus “the true and living way”.

Healthy relationships require confidence that both partners will tell the truth. We must trust that individuals will do what they promise to do. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, especially with politicians. We ourselves also often manipulate the truth to serve our purposes, both by what we say and what we don’t say. In contrast, Jesus always speaks the truth.

It is hard for us to know what truth is in today’s world. To make matters worse, it is also hard for us to know who to trust. There are few honest heroes anymore. Just look at former Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. He had fame and fortune, but he lost it all because he chose to win by using illegal, means. There are few authority figures anymore. Everyone seems to have his or her own agenda. Truth is essential to life. It is essential to a successful marriage. Society needs integrity in order to survive. Think of the terror that would exist if police officers were thugs. What would happen if pharmacists were to dilute our prescription drugs in order to sell drugs out the back door?

We must remember that we who follow Christ are citizens of another realm, with a different ruler and a different rule. When it comes to spiritual things, truth is found in Christ. We

leave behind anything else that has power over us. We follow the one who gives us a freedom that no political power can grant. This kingdom is one where Jesus will and does rule over our lives.

One day Jesus will return to earth to set up his kingdom, one where he will rule firmly and justly. Until then, his kingdom focuses on redeeming the hearts of the lost. So, what does it mean to say Christ is the King of this world? It means that this is an unfinished world. There is unfinished business because the world is made up of unfinished people. Even when we are at our best, we are not all that God intends for us to be. Christ came into this unfinished world and made the ultimate sacrifice for us. He has commissioned us to be in his army to see that this unfinished world becomes the kingdom over which he will reign forever.

Our gospel text focuses on part two of the dialogue between Pilate and Jesus. When Pilate asked Jesus if he was the king of the Jews, it was a political question. Was he a rebel? Pilate wanted to know his agenda and to deal with Jesus accordingly.

This text is about the clash between the earthly kingdom and the heavenly kingdom. We have to choose which kingdom we will serve, but we must remember that if we choose to serve an earthly kingdom, we will lose the struggle, because just like Christ was victorious over death, he will be victorious on earth when he returns to set up his kingdom. Jesus was a king, but he was not a typical king. He was a servant king. The symbol of his kingdom is the cross. Jesus took the worst we have to offer-and the worst form of torture imaginable-and changes it into life and hope.

The challenge of the kingdom is for each of us:

1. To let God be God…in us

2. To let God be God…in our church

3. To let God be God…in our neighbourhoods

4. To let God be God…in our lives, our families and in our world

In order to find meaning, peace and purpose in our lives, we must keep asking ourselves, “What is Jesus telling me to do with my life?” When we do ask and listen for the answer, then we are experiencing the power of his kingdom in our lives.

It is the duty of us as Christians to represent Jesus here on earth. The church does best when it imitates Jesus who had no place to lay his head and who brought sight to the blind, helped the lame to walk, cleansed the lepers, made the deaf hear, raised the dead and brought good news to the poor. Just as Jesus’ power was in the cross, so the church’s most effective witness is in service and sacrifice to people in need. It is not in political connections, or great architecture.

When we are in Christ’s presence, we should feel a sense of humility. Christ is our friend and our big brother, but we can’t appreciate Christ’s friendship and Christ’s role as our big brother unless we acknowledge that he is our Sovereign, our Saviour, and our Lord.

HYMN

StF 530: To be in your presence,

Prayer of Thanksgiving and intersession

Loving God, we pray for those in authority, that they may not manipulate truth to retain power.

May the kingship of Christ guide them.

We pray for those exploited or abused by those in positions of power.

May the kingship of Christ guide them.

We pray for those robbed of their freedom for challenging injustice.

May the kingship of Christ guide them.

We pray for our church, that in confidence we would share your truths that we know, and in humility seek out the truths we have yet to learn.

May the kingship of Christ guide us.

We pray for one another and ourselves, that we would be open to truth and eager for wisdom.

We bring before you in a moment of silence all whom we know who need your healing touch at this time.

May the kingship of Christ guide us.

Amen.

HYMN

StF 55: Immortal invisible, God only wise

Blessing

Christ our King,

as we go from this place,

assure us of your presence with us –

for we belong to you.

Help us to look for truth in all places,

to seek and listen to your voice,

and to use your power to serve.

Bring heaven to earth and reign in our lives.

We pray in your name, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

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