Christ the King - living with hope for all

I think some of the readings that we have for this time of year in the Church calendar are wonderful ! Not wonderful because of their enjoyment value but because of their discomfort value. That may seem a little bit strange but I think all of us at times as Christians need to feel a little uncomfortable, because whilst I have no doubt of God’s power and his love, I sometimes wonder how much more he is hoping his people might do in a world with far too many problems…  

So often we over-complicate things in our lives, and we can easily reach the point where we’re so good at it that we can justify to ourselves and perhaps even to others that we’re doing all we can to do the right thing, that we’re living a good life… 

I attend Church every Sunday and pray every day… I read my Bible regularly… I send money to help charities… I help my neighbour with the shopping… The list can go on and on – we’ve probably all, either consciously or sub consciously thought such things, and there’s no doubt that every one of those things is good to do, and we mustn’t stop. 

But the point of discomfort has to be reached as well, as we examine perhaps what more we can do, or indeed what we’re doing which we should stop doing, and why I mentioned that we over-complicate things in our lives is that sometimes I think it’s too easy to forget the absolute heart of the Christian message, and that is love. 

Love, not just for a family member or a friend, or even someone we vaguely know, but love for everyone around us. One of the most challenging statements I’ve ever heard is the saying, “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least." 

That is an uncomfortable saying… And much as we can search through the teachings of Jesus to try and disprove that statement, the more we look, the more we will find that that is where Jesus stands. This time of year is a good chance for a spiritual health check, and perhaps a time to examine every aspect of our lives because every aspect of our lives, literally every moment of every day, has to be tied up to our relationship with God. 

Church is a really good place to start this examination. The Church, a place of welcome for all, a place of love and fellowship, a place of celebration and praise, a place of worship – that is what any Church should be, and yet so often Churches become pre-occupied with discussions about money and buildings and, even worse, arguments develop over all kinds of often petty things… 

Looking at the news every day we have no trouble seeing how many problems there are in the world today – and how many people are really suffering each day…  And yet too often in Church life, we hear of petty squabbles and moans about things that don’t really matter too much.

Negative things tend to stick when they’re associated with the Church ! Some people enjoy that…

But how sad it is that we fail so often to see the positives, the things that are going well, the people who are doing so much, or perhaps even how fortunate we are to be living in a society where we can worship openly, where we have the freedom to praise God as we choose, and where we have the opportunity to tell others about our faith… 

Because Church attendance, charitable giving, prayers and bible reading are all useful, even essential, parts of our faith, but as Paul writes, ‘Without love we are a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal’… And that definition of love is taken from Jesus’ portrayal of love – loving the seemingly unlovable, the outcast, the sinner, the stranger…. 

In our reading from Ezekiel (34:11-16,20-24) we are given the picture of God seeking out his sheep – this is about love, it’s about relationships, it’s about God caring enough for each one of us that he’s willing to put himself out… for us…

The Psalm (95:1-7) continues this theme as the psalm writer recognises that it is God who has been and is our refuge through generations… 

And in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (1:15-23) he is giving thanks for their faith while reminding them of the hope and incredible promises of God and the immeasurable greatness of his power…  

And today’s gospel reading (Matthew 25:31-46) highlights this well. As Jesus talks about separating out the goats from the sheep, he talks about those who are chosen being the ones who have given the hungry food, welcoming the stranger, giving the thirsty something to drink, the naked clothing, cared for those who are sick, visiting the prisoner… 

We know the reading well. We know about the people being surprised to find that they had done these things, or failed to do these things, for Jesus himself, but Jesus goes on to make it clear that the way we treat anyone is the way we treat Jesus himself… 

The life and teachings of Jesus often stress the importance of relationships. It was the importance of caring for one another, supporting one another, praying for each other, sharing the love and compassion of Jesus with everyone we meet. It was the importance of building relationships with people that others were choosing to ignore… 

Churches are often measured out in the wider world not on attendances or on great buildings or good preaching or great hymn singing, but on how the individual members of the Church actually live – how they relate to each other, and to people outside the Church and how we talk about some of the big issues of the day whatever those issues might be. 

The things that Jesus has mentioned in this gospel reading are not the absolute requirements of practising our faith, it’s not up to us to judge how another person lives, but these are actually minimum standards of expectation, because these are things that Jesus did.

One of the great Saints of the Church is Mother Theresa, and she lived out this teaching of Jesus incredibly in her life, because she saw the face of Jesus in every leper or street person that she met, and she treated them just as if she was greeting Jesus himself.

Above each bed in her hospitals were the words, ‘This is the Body of Christ…’   It’s a wonderful example, and it’s one that we are called to follow… 

A legend recounts the return of Jesus to heaven after his time on earth. Even in heaven He bore the marks of His earthly pilgrimage with its cruel cross and shameful death. The angel Gabriel approached Him and said, "Master, you must have suffered terribly for men down there." He replied that he did. 

Gabriel continued: "And do they know and appreciate how much you loved them and what you did for them?" Jesus replied, "Oh, no! Not yet. Right now only a handful of people in Palestine know." And Gabriel was perplexed and asked, "Then what have you done to let everyone know about your love for them?" 

Jesus said, "I've asked Peter, James, John, and a few more friends to tell others about me. Those who are told, in turn, will tell others about me. And my story will be spread to the farthest reaches of the globe. Ultimately, all of mankind will have heard about my life and what I have done."

Gabriel frowned and looked rather sceptical. He well knew how bad people might be about telling others. He said, "Yes, but what if Peter and James and John and the others grow weary? What if the people who come after them forget? What if way down in the 20th and 21st centuries people just don't tell others about you? Haven't you made any other plans?" And Jesus answered, "No I have made no other plans. I'm counting on them…."    

Every action in our lives has a consequence, and whilst we will never reach perfection on earth, whilst we will never get to the point of living life exactly as Jesus wants us to, we must never stop trying…. 

As I was thinking about every action having a consequence I was reminded of the story from some years back of an old man relaxing at his 100th birthday party. A reporter went up to him and said, ‘Sir, what is the secret of your long life ?’

The man considered this for a moment and then replied, ‘Every evening at 9 o’clock I have a glass of port, because it’s good for the heart’.

‘And that’s all’ said the reporter. The man thought again and said, ‘Well that, and of course cancelling the trip I had booked on the Titanic.’

Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King in our Church calendar. We celebrate Jesus as king – a king who came humbly into the world brandishing love not force, declaring peace not war, seeking to display the equality of all, not discrimination and division, a king who came to give up all the power he had to show his love for every one of us – a king who simply asks us to respond to his love for us, by trying to live as he showed us and by trying to love as he loves us. This is good news – this is the message of hope and joy and love that we are called to proclaim… 

Jesus is counting on us every moment of every day of our lives, however long or however short, he is watching every action, every word and every thought…   We follow an incredible Saviour – may we seek to live our lives following his example… AMEN