Christ the King 2009
Desmond Tutu tells the story of a light bulb that shone brightly and proudly. He says how it began to strut about arrogantly, quite unmindful of how . . . it could shine so brilliantly, and thinking that it was all due to its own merit and skill." One day the light bulb was taken out of the socket and placed on a table. "Try as hard as it could, the light bulb could give no light and brilliance. . .”
Each one of us has the opportunity to shine as lights in the world. Each one of us can do good, can begin in small ways to make a difference in the world – a difference for good. Anne Frank, the young Jewish girl who wrote a diary whilst hiding from the Germans in Amsterdam in the war, wrote, ‘How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world’.
We all have a challenge of building a better world, and each of us are given gifts to help us do that. It may be through our giving in money or time, it may be in prayer, it may be in action, more likely it will be in a combination of them all, but we can all do little acts of kindness which grow into world transforming principles.
It all sounds a little far-fetched to say that we can play a part in something that transforms the world, but actually that is what serving Jesus is all about… This morning, the Sunday before Advent, is known in the Church calendar now as Christ the King Sunday. In it, we celebrate the kingship of Christ, and our readings point us in the direction of his glory.
The reading from Daniel (7:9,10,13,14) prophesies about an everlasting kingdom where peoples, nations and languages will serve their king in the kingdom that shall never be destroyed. The reading from Revelation (1:4b-8) again gives that picture of the everlasting glory of God – To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever… The reading begins ‘Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come’ reminding us that God is the God of the past, the present and the future, the Alpha and the Omega !
These are great pictures reminding us that God can never be contained within our thoughts or our understanding – God is far away above anything or anyone we can ever understand, and yet he is personal…
And this is the emphasis of our Gospel reading (John 18:33-37). The gospel of John is one that’s very different from the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke – it recounts some history, but also a lot of theology, but this account where Jesus is being questioned by Pilate is one included in all the gospels. It is important as Pilate pursues this line of questioning about whether Jesus is the ‘King of the Jews’.
It’s a complicated bit of questioning, but Jesus in his answers points Pilate to the conclusion that he is not a king of one nation - his kingdom is limitless, his kingdom is everywhere. In these statements Jesus was challenging very quietly, and almost unnoticed, the authority of any earthly ruler, and pointing to a wider kingdom.
Of course, this is not to say that we shouldn’t respect the authority of those in government, but like the light bulb I mentioned at the beginning, they, just as the rest of us, must recognize from where their power comes.
And so there are 2 points to think of this morning – the kingship of Jesus, and his kingdom.
Jesus, as we know, never came as an earthly king. As we prepare for advent, it’s important that we do so from the point we are at today – looking at the way Jesus was treated on earth. He was ridiculed, he was beaten and tortured and killed – and it’s important because we need to know what that little child born so humbly in Bethlehem was going to take on for us.
He would come with more power than anyone had ever had before or anyone will ever have again. He came with the power to destroy people, nations, or anything else. He came with the power to crush his enemies, and yet he did those things only by showing love and compassion and self sacrifice.
The work Jesus did for us is so often underestimated by us - we grow used to the Christmas story, the stories of the miracles, the love for people all around him, the tolerance and forgiveness he showed to those who hurt him, and of course we grow used to the Easter story, because we know it’s got a happy ending ! But every one of the stories of Jesus’ life describe a king who is in control, a king who has the confidence not to need hysterical support, but whose message is one of love and who believes that that message is powerful enough to transform the darkness and the misery of the world.
His glory is everlasting, his love is everlasting and his kingdom is everlasting, and in our worship we must recognise that sense of glory and love. Many people will leave Church services and think they got nothing from it and I suspect all of us have been in that position, but so often it’s not the fault of the music or the prayer or even the sermon, but it’s our own fault. We are not in worship for what we can get out of it, but for what we can give as we praise God for what he has given to us…
God’s glory and his love surround us, and it’s worth just spending some time thinking about that fact every day of our lives… As I wrote this sermon I was trying to give you a picture of God’s glory, and the awesome nature of his power and his love, but I don’t even think that’s possible – words are not enough…
And this kingdom that God has established is a glorious kingdom and one that all of us are invited to play a part in continuing to build – it is a kingdom of equals, of all shapes and sizes, a kingdom where everyone is loved, and is given the task of loving… Under the kingship of Christ we are to follow his example, to take his lead, and journey out in faith ready to do his work of love, compassion and mercy, ready to use the gifts we have and to seek, through our prayers and our study of the bible, new ways of living his message…
And as we go about doing Christ’s work we will recognise that, in our small way, we are making a life transforming difference, both for ourselves and for everyone around us. AMEN
Each one of us has the opportunity to shine as lights in the world. Each one of us can do good, can begin in small ways to make a difference in the world – a difference for good. Anne Frank, the young Jewish girl who wrote a diary whilst hiding from the Germans in Amsterdam in the war, wrote, ‘How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world’.
We all have a challenge of building a better world, and each of us are given gifts to help us do that. It may be through our giving in money or time, it may be in prayer, it may be in action, more likely it will be in a combination of them all, but we can all do little acts of kindness which grow into world transforming principles.
It all sounds a little far-fetched to say that we can play a part in something that transforms the world, but actually that is what serving Jesus is all about… This morning, the Sunday before Advent, is known in the Church calendar now as Christ the King Sunday. In it, we celebrate the kingship of Christ, and our readings point us in the direction of his glory.
The reading from Daniel (7:9,10,13,14) prophesies about an everlasting kingdom where peoples, nations and languages will serve their king in the kingdom that shall never be destroyed. The reading from Revelation (1:4b-8) again gives that picture of the everlasting glory of God – To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever… The reading begins ‘Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come’ reminding us that God is the God of the past, the present and the future, the Alpha and the Omega !
These are great pictures reminding us that God can never be contained within our thoughts or our understanding – God is far away above anything or anyone we can ever understand, and yet he is personal…
And this is the emphasis of our Gospel reading (John 18:33-37). The gospel of John is one that’s very different from the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke – it recounts some history, but also a lot of theology, but this account where Jesus is being questioned by Pilate is one included in all the gospels. It is important as Pilate pursues this line of questioning about whether Jesus is the ‘King of the Jews’.
It’s a complicated bit of questioning, but Jesus in his answers points Pilate to the conclusion that he is not a king of one nation - his kingdom is limitless, his kingdom is everywhere. In these statements Jesus was challenging very quietly, and almost unnoticed, the authority of any earthly ruler, and pointing to a wider kingdom.
Of course, this is not to say that we shouldn’t respect the authority of those in government, but like the light bulb I mentioned at the beginning, they, just as the rest of us, must recognize from where their power comes.
And so there are 2 points to think of this morning – the kingship of Jesus, and his kingdom.
Jesus, as we know, never came as an earthly king. As we prepare for advent, it’s important that we do so from the point we are at today – looking at the way Jesus was treated on earth. He was ridiculed, he was beaten and tortured and killed – and it’s important because we need to know what that little child born so humbly in Bethlehem was going to take on for us.
He would come with more power than anyone had ever had before or anyone will ever have again. He came with the power to destroy people, nations, or anything else. He came with the power to crush his enemies, and yet he did those things only by showing love and compassion and self sacrifice.
The work Jesus did for us is so often underestimated by us - we grow used to the Christmas story, the stories of the miracles, the love for people all around him, the tolerance and forgiveness he showed to those who hurt him, and of course we grow used to the Easter story, because we know it’s got a happy ending ! But every one of the stories of Jesus’ life describe a king who is in control, a king who has the confidence not to need hysterical support, but whose message is one of love and who believes that that message is powerful enough to transform the darkness and the misery of the world.
His glory is everlasting, his love is everlasting and his kingdom is everlasting, and in our worship we must recognise that sense of glory and love. Many people will leave Church services and think they got nothing from it and I suspect all of us have been in that position, but so often it’s not the fault of the music or the prayer or even the sermon, but it’s our own fault. We are not in worship for what we can get out of it, but for what we can give as we praise God for what he has given to us…
God’s glory and his love surround us, and it’s worth just spending some time thinking about that fact every day of our lives… As I wrote this sermon I was trying to give you a picture of God’s glory, and the awesome nature of his power and his love, but I don’t even think that’s possible – words are not enough…
And this kingdom that God has established is a glorious kingdom and one that all of us are invited to play a part in continuing to build – it is a kingdom of equals, of all shapes and sizes, a kingdom where everyone is loved, and is given the task of loving… Under the kingship of Christ we are to follow his example, to take his lead, and journey out in faith ready to do his work of love, compassion and mercy, ready to use the gifts we have and to seek, through our prayers and our study of the bible, new ways of living his message…
And as we go about doing Christ’s work we will recognise that, in our small way, we are making a life transforming difference, both for ourselves and for everyone around us. AMEN
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