The end is here!
We’ve
reached the end of another church year, and it’s fitting that on this Reign of
Christ Sunday we celebrate the mystery of Christ’s kingly power. Reign of
Christ Sunday is a fairly new religious observance. It was started by Pope Pius
XI in 1925. According to the papal encyclical that introduced the Reign of
Christ Sunday, Christ the King rules over the church and the whole world---if
not now, than at the end of time.
Reign
of Christ Sunday is time for us to reflect on our lives and think about how our
words and deed will be judged by others and by God. If we have been faithful to
God and to our calling, we will be restored. We have to admit our shortcomings
as become involved in ministering to others.
Christ
is the king who saves us. He associated with sinners so that he could save
everyone. The soldiers at the cross wondered how he could save others when he
could not save himself. They did not realize that the salvation they wanted was
of this world, but the salvation Jesus offered was eternal. Jesus is the king
of the cross. He died on the cross but rose again three days later. He died to
save us from eternal separation from God. He did for us what we could not do
for ourselves. When his flock is wandering and lost and without shepherds, God
grieves. When the flock is being cared for and is growing in relationship with
God, his heart is full of joy.
Jesus
is the king because he is the firstborn, just like the oldest male child of a
modern king will become king when the current king dies. Jesus has the
pre-eminence and the right of inheritance over all creation. He existed before
the universe was created and he is exalted in rank above it.
Jesus’
power as king comes not from military power but from inviting us to become one
with him. His power is shown in his service to us and his willingness to accept
the punishment we deserve as sinners. His everlasting kingdom speaks of the
realm of salvation where all believers live in a current and eternal spiritual
relationship with God. This relationship will be under the care and authority
of Jesus.
When
Jesus said in Luke 23:33-43, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what
they are doing,” he was referring both to the people who crucified him and us.
The thief who asked for salvation had a much more significant salvation than
the other thief. Jesus exercised the power of pardon that he has as king. The
thief who asked for forgiveness accepted responsibility for his actions, so he
was able to ask for forgiveness and receive it. If we believe in Christ and
accept responsibility for our actions, we can also receive forgiveness when we
ask for it.
We
need a Saviour who can bring good news to our sin-filled world. Jeremiah
referred to the Saviour in Jeremiah 23:1-8. The people of Israel forgot about
the covenant they made with God. They sold out to earthly desires and expected
God to forget about what they did. Jeremiah did not want them to forget about
the covenant. Their misplaced faith led to judgment. They were faithless, and
God was faithful. He showed his faithfulness by sending Jesus. Jeremiah
proclaimed what Christ would do. Jesus came to heal the sick, gather the lost
sheep, restore the faith and rule with righteousness and justice. The oppressed
were restored. Jeremiah was looking to the future, but Christ is here with us
today. Jesus is a just and right ruler.
God’s
people needed Jesus and so do we. Jesus is our best hope. Jesus is our only
hope. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the hallmark of our Christian faith. As the
Good Shepherd, Jesus fed us with God’s Word, washed us of our sins and died for
us. We are called to be shepherds of Jesus’ flock. We are to follow the model
of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. We are to care for Jesus’ flock by sharing the
Good News whenever and wherever we can.
The
earthly shepherds who are our leaders are sometimes less than what they are
called to be. The people under their care experienced the consequences of the
evil actions of their leaders. The current Senate expense scandal here in
Canada is a good example of poor leadership. God’s plans for the people of
Israel were a reversal of what their failed leadership had done. Leadership
would become a model of God as a true shepherd of the people.
Christ
is the creator king. He created us. We were created to be good, but we allowed
sin to pollute our lives. Jesus rules over us. As our ruler, he is the head of
the Christian body. Just as a human body responds to the head, we as members of
the Christian body have to respond to our head-Jesus. That is the essence of
the Christian faith.
Our
God is a righteous god. This concept can best be explained by acknowledging its
opposite-depravity. Depravity-or our sin-filled world-is the very opposite of
how we can best describe God. If we stay faithful and obedient to God, we will
receive his blessings. We will not have to fear anything, and we will lack for
nothing. We will be fruitful and multiply.
During
the Korean War, Billy Graham visited American soldiers. He visited hospitals
and talked and prayed with wounded soldiers. On one visit, he met a soldier who
was lying face down in a cradle because his spine had been shattered by a
bullet. A hole had been cut in the bottom of the cradle so the soldier could
see through to the floor. When Billy Graham was talking to him, the soldier
said, “I would like to see your face, Mr. Graham.” Billy Graham got down on his
back under the cradle so the soldier could look down at his face. This is a
metaphor for what God did for us through Jesus Christ. God the king came down
to our level so that we could see what God is like. It reminds us of Paul’s
statement that Christ is the image of the invisible God. God came down to our
level to reach us and save us.
We
are called on to do the Christian work of reconciliation, suffering for the
sake of Christ and others, loving the lost and sharing the Cross of Christ even
if it means bearing our own cross. We must never give up no matter how
difficult things get. When darkness enters our lives and burnout or spiritual
fatigue threaten to remove all hope, God will be in his finest hour and the
prophet Jeremiah will see his finest vision. God will sustain us. When we have
received the redemption, reconciliation and forgiveness that results from
Christ’s death and resurrection, Christ will rule our lives.
In
Colossians 1:11-20, Paul clearly states that Christ is the truth, and if we
believe in Christ, he will help us avoid the lies that will lead us away from
him. We will receive his power and strength, and they come from his glory-a
glory that is so overwhelming that we can’t experience it. We will be reunited
with God. God has made us fit to receive his power and strength. We have been
released from sin’s slavery because of the redemptive power of Christ’s blood.
Christ defeated the evil powers of sin and death. When we believe in Christ we
join in that victory and his power. This power is greater than any of our human
powers. Christ as the head of our Christian body allows us to accomplish great
things.
Jesus
is God in human form. He is the window through which we see God’s true nature.
He is the mediator between us and God. Everything he does and everything he is
points to his supremacy as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the one by
whom, for whom, and through whom everything was made. He knows what our
problems are and he knows how to fix them. He can transform our lives. We as
Christians and members of the church will never be in a defensive position as
long as we remember that we and the church are the body of Christ through whom
He intends to become head over everything else.
Who
or what rules our lives? How do we answer that question for ourselves? When we
declare that Christ is the king, we mean that Christ is the most important
matter in our lives. Christ the king allows us to live by grace, and not by law
or our own deeds. When we pursue Christ the king, we are not afraid of being
uncomfortable. We are secure enough to take risks and full enough of his grace
to spend big on mercy. Jesus responded when a needy person came to him, and we
must also respond when a needy person comes to us. Christ’s kingdom is a
kingdom where forgiveness is given to anyone who asks for it. The kingdom is a
new kingdom of relationships based on equality, justice, forgiveness and
compassion.
Christ’s
kingdom is a mystery. It is a mystery that was hidden for thousands of years.
It was revealed in Christ’s death and resurrection. Christ’s kingdom lives in
us because of the Holy Spirit, but only if we are like the repentant thief and
accept him by faith as our Saviour. In a world where evil reigns and we feel
that there is no hope, we can take comfort in the knowledge that Christ the
king is in charge. Our ultimate destiny is in the hands of the one true God who
loved us enough to die for us, and the only thing he asks for in return is that
we live for him. Long live the king!
Bibliography
11.
Guest, J.
& Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s
Commentary Series; Vol. 19: Jeremiah/Lamentations (Nashville, TN: Thomas
Nelson Inc.; 1988)
14.
Dunnam, M.D
& Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s
Commentary Series; Vol. 31: Galatians/Ephesians/Philippians/Colossians/Philemon
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982)
15.
MacArthur,
J.F. Jr. : The MacArthur Study Bible,
NASB (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 2006)
18.
Jude
Siciliano, O.P., “First Impressions, Christ the King, Year C”. Retrieved from www.preacherexchange.org
23.
Jude
Siciliano, O.P., “First Impressions, Christ the King, Year C”. Retrieved from www.preacherexchange.org
24.
John
Shearman’s Lectionary Resource, Reign of Christ, Year C. Retrieved from http://lectionary.seemslikegod.org
25.
Daniel Clendenin, Ph.D., “They Say There’s Another
King, One Called Jesus”. Retrieved from www.journeywithjesus.net.
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