The Hungry, Thirsty, Naked King – 26 November 2017 – Reign of Christ

This day we worship a king whose power came from. . . extreme weakness. Raymond Brown called this the “embodiment of truth.” In God's economy, to give life is to gain it. To receive the gift of membership in the kingdom through baptism is to become free from the need for power as the world knows it because God works through us. We are called to embody that truth which says I do not need the glory or the credit, God has already taken care of me.

This last Sunday of the church year . . . is a time of fresh starts and new perspectives. We are used to the idea of Jesus reigning in our hearts [but] . . . we struggle to let that reign have an effective reality in our world. It is uncomfortable to be counter-cultural, but that is the call of the Christian. Can we speak up in our churches, at least, and say. . . “Let's organize to take care of that autistic child on Sunday mornings so her parents can attend church.” Or, “Jesus and his family were refugees. How can we welcome immigrants?” ­­–– Judith Simonson

Matthew 25:31-46

In . . . the end time. . . the Son of Man. . .  will be seated on his throne. . . The people will be separated by the enthroned one into two groups: sheep and goats. In an amazing twist, the enthroned one. . . is the one who was or was not visited, fed, clothed, welcomed by the people—the eventual sheep and goats. Those in need are the ones with whom Jesus most desired to spend time. In another amazing twist, often the wannabe sheep of the church today want to minister to the least in an effort to carry Jesus' love to those in need; but . . . Jesus himself is already there waiting to be found by us—“as you did it to one of the least of these … you did it to me.” –– Eric T. Meyers

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

The sheep, that is, the people of God, have experienced terrible days of “clouds and thick darkness” (v 12) and are scattered from their homeland (referring to the exile). YHWH comes to shepherd them back to their homeland. God will provide everything they need: good food, flowing waters, rest, and healing. God will favor the weak, lost, and injured but will punish those who use their authority for selfish gain. –– Eric T. Meyers

Ephesians 1:15-23

Those who have faith in the Lord Jesus, Christ the King, the writer of Ephesians tells us, face . . . a future so bright it is described as “the immeasurable greatness” and “glorious inheritance” and “power” for us who believe.

The belief that Jesus ascended to heaven and sits at the right hand of God is only possible by the power of God, the same God that indeed raised Jesus from the dead. And this resurrection power is what the writer of Ephesians says that we in the church, as children of the King, possess. –– Kelly Lyn Logue

Kelly Lyn Logue is pastor of Benson Memorial United Methodist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Eric T. Myers, a former church musician, is pastor of Frederick Presbyterian Church in Frederick, Maryland, and adjunct professor of worship at Wesley Theological Seminary.

Judith E. Simonson is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Homily Service 41, no. 4 (2008): 139-147.

Our Paradoxical King – 20 November 2016 – The Reign of Christ Sunday/ Proper 29

Of all the festivals of the church, has not this one come the latest and borne the most diametric images—among them the royalty of a king/the humiliation of a cross, the brutal mockery/the truth of the “King of the Jews” sign, the reverence due an earthly king/the torture of this divine king, the power of an earthly king/the submission of this divine king, an earthly king ruling people/the divine king giving his life for them? Do these contradictory images not personify the kingdom of God? Even if our culture did understand the concept of kingship, would not this one turn everything on its head? – Robin K. Brown

Luke 23:33-43

As we contemporary Christians clamor for more political control, celebrate our increased economic successes, and master the skills of big business, one wonders whether we are still able to see what the condemned criminal on Golgotha could see: the kingship of Jesus, the crucified one. Has our vision been blurred by our intoxication with worldly forms of power? Which kingdom finally claims our allegiance?. . . .

Luke's beatitudes promise the kingdom to the poor, the hungry, those who weep, those who are hated, reviled and defamed. In what ways do we resemble these blessed of God? How do our power struggles in both church and culture reflect the cruciform values of the kingdom of Christ?

The church urgently needs to recover a vision of the kingdom of God that can be only clearly seen from the angle of the cross. From this place alone will we be able to hear Jesus say to us, as he did to that dying criminal, “you will be with me in Paradise.”  – Michael A. Van Horn

Jeremiah 23:1-6

When the president of the United States enters the House chamber to deliver [the]  State of the Union address, all present, regardless of their party, stand and applaud. Though many will disagree with some or all of the president's statements, this initial applause is a recognition of the office of president that goes beyond the current incumbent in the office.

In modern times, the church has been blessed to have popes who were holy and moral men. Yet in ages past, even when the . . . bishop of Rome was a far less worthy man, Catholics would still address him as “Your Holiness.” Again this is a recognition of the office of the papacy, not a statement that the individual pope was in fact holy. . . .  – Joseph McHugh

Colossians 1:11-20

Jeremiah . . . [turns] our attention to the awaited messianic king. The gospel reading shows us the crucified Jesus ushering in the climax of salvation history, the reconciliation of all men and women in him.

This hymn of praise acknowledges all that Christ the King has done to establish the kingdom of God, of which, by the shedding of his blood, we are privileged to be part. Jesus is the image of the invisible God and the firstborn of all creation. All things find their fulfillment in him. By our baptism we have been incorporated into Christ the King; we have become a holy nation and a royal people. – Joseph McHugh

Robin K. Brown, a Lutheran pastor, is the Associate Director, ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal at the ELCA headquarters in Chicago.

Joseph McHugh is a freelance writer from New Jersey, and a former weekly newspaper columnist writing on lectionary readings whose writing includes a revision of Rev. Melvin L Farrell’s Getting to Know the Bible (ACTA Publications, 2003).

Michael A. Van Horn, an Evangelical Covenant pastor, served Trinity Church of Livonia, Michigan, for ten years and is now a missionary with the Rock of Ages Ministries, Cleveland, Tennessee.

Homily Service 40, no. 12 (2007): 58-68.

“You are a King?” – 22 Nov 2015 – Reign of Christ

What does the Reign of Christ look like? What is God’s Dominion? How does Jesus’ voice give truth that makes it possible for us to “belong to the truth”?

Given these questions, how could we not find sympathy for Pilate as he tries to come to grips with the identity of this Jesus who is a threat to many and a healer to others? Jesus himself refers to his “kingdom,” his basileia which can be rendered as “royal power” and “rule,” among other English words. In effect, Jesus tells Pilate that his power comes from outside this world. These claims are difficult to wrangle.

And yet, we end the liturgical year on this Sunday with Christ’s eternal power as the central focus. This is the crowning Sunday, but it is also not a day of sheer triumph. Jesus, our ultimate power, is dragged before the political power of a corrupt government. Jesus, thus, knows that the dominion to which his body will be entrusted is one that will continue to confront enemies of God’s inclusive love.

John 18:33-37

As the Christian assembly gathers to celebrate Christ's kingship, the reading from John 18 invites reflection on the surprising character of Christ's kingly rule. . . Pilate wants to determine whether Jesus represents a threat to Roman imperial rule. He inquires whether Jesus is “king of the Jews,” a rival to Caesar's authority. In the conversation that follows, Jesus reveals two important qualities of his dominion.

First, Jesus indicates that his kingdom is not from this world. . . The dualism between the kingdoms of this world and Jesus' kingdom is well expressed by Walter Wink in Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992). Jesus' kingdom does not belong to the world system of domination. For that reason, Jesus has not prepared his followers to use violence against any enemies. His followers do not fight, as all other partisans do, because his kingdom is not from here.

Secondly, Jesus defines what it means to be a king in terms of testifying to the truth. The testimony Jesus gives is his life, both lived and offered up on the cross. Because Jesus is the truth (14:6), this truth cannot be understood or possessed as a proposition or article of belief. Instead, one belongs to the truth by entering into a relationship with God in Christ.– Aaron Couch

Again, in Daniel, the reality of the powers of domination are in the forefront. But here, the Ancient One is the judge.

Daniel 7:9-10,13-14

The apocalyptic imagery of the vision in Daniel 7, both memorable and grotesque, is interpreted by a heavenly attendant in 7:15–27. A succession of four monstrous animals in 7:2–8 symbolizes a succession of four empires. The fourth, identified as a terrifying beast, represents the Seleucid Empire. It sprouts a little horn, which is Antiochus Epiphanes. The reader who is acquainted with Antiochus' hubris and his attempt to terrorize the Jewish people into submission will appreciate how the visionary writer characterizes this ruler as an arrogant little horn.

The lectionary focuses on Daniel's vision of the divine court of justice passing judgment on the beast and giving kingship to “one like a human being.” The use of inclusive language may, in this case, prevent the reader from immediately recognizing the phrase that Jesus employs as a title: “Son of Man.” Within the vision, this “one like a human being” receives eternal dominion from God. Although this figure appears to be an individual, the interpretive section at the end of the chapter makes it clear that the “one like a human being” is a corporate image representing the people of Israel. – Aaron Couch

These are cautionary words about reading too much Christological imagery into Old Testament writings, but it is natural that the Christ-centered mind will not miss the connection between “one like a human being” receiving “dominion and glory and kingship.”

When Pastor Couch points out the corporate image of this one-like-a-human who receives kingship, we might remember that the body of Christ is a corporate image now, including all the saints, living and dead.

Revelation 1:4b-8

Revelation . . .  [is] a letter from John the visionary (different from John the apostle) to seven church communities in the Roman province of Asia. . .

Jesus, risen from the dead, is acclaimed as “ruler of the kings on earth.” By his death he has demonstrated his deep love for us and has accomplished God's saving work to set us free from our sins. John pictures the community of God's people in two ways: we are the domain where Jesus' rule is visible and we are priests who serve Jesus' God and Father. – Aaron Couch

Inviting the assembly to ponder the contrasting dominions of power­­––the secular world vs. the Alpha and Omega––immediately raises the specter of how any of us can manage to navigate the choices we face without the guidance of Christ Jesus. We may not be ruled today by Roman soldiers, but the same temptation exists to dismiss the ultimate power of God’s saving wisdom in favor of an easier and more comfortable path through life.

This is a day for strong singing that fills the sanctuary with a sense of belonging to something far greater than any individual alone or the whole people of God together. Let there be strong Confession and Forgiveness and an enlightening sermon, praising the One who became human for us.

Aaron Couch is a co-pastor of First Immanuel Lutheran Church in Portland, Oregon.

Homily Service 39, no. 12 (2006): 49-58.