Wellspring UMC; Christ the
King Sunday: November 25, 2007: “Christ, Our Righteousness”:
-Jeremiah
23: 1-6; Luke 23: 33-43
Does
it feel a bit odd to hear this passage of scripture today? After all, we’ve just celebrated Thanksgiving,
the Christmas Trees have arrived for sale, and the Christmas rush is on! This is a Lenten text, it’s the central
passage for Good Friday, not BLACK Friday!
And yet, it is significant that we hear these words on this Christ the
King Sunday. It’s significant that we
are reminded of who this King really is and what he was about.
Christ the King Sunday is not only
the last Sunday of the Christian Liturgical calendar, but it is the last of the
26 Sundays of “Ordinarytime.” We’ve
spent 25 weeks looking for and receiving Christ in the day to day. For a half year there has been no focus on a birth or light or
resurrection or Holy Spirit power, just living into what God offers us
everyday. Humming along, taking it in
stride, seeking God’s guidance and direction wherever it might take us...then
today...a shift.
Today we stop to take a look at the
Christ. Today a transition, from the
common to the surreal – Christ, our righteousness, on the cross between two
thieves.
Next week we will begin the journey to
Today Christ, our righteousness, has
been raised above a jeering crowd. The
King, whose label is plastered above his head, forgives those who kill Him,
receives their taunts, and saves one last soul, promising paradise and rest
from this world. Today, before we take
our first step down
And
yet, all around us there seems to be no reference to sacrificial living. Heck, there seems to be no pausing for
anything, for ‘tis the season. All
around us, there is spending and deal taking.
All around us, there are people camping out and/or battling for the next
big ticket item. All around us, there is
taking for giving, and the fear...the risk...is that all the buying and even
the giving, is not centered in the King who comes, but in a Kingdom that stands
counter to the
Tomorrow the Wellspring Witness, our
church newsletter, will be sent out, and it focuses on the season of Advent,
which begins next Sunday. Advent is an
interesting season, because in many ways it stands counter to the culture, and
in fact with the resurgence of it’s meaning over the last few decades, it
invites the Church to prepare for Christmas in a different way than we may have
in the past.
Central to Advent is the concept
that, in order to receive the fullness of the Christ-child, in order to be
impacted by the power of Christ’s final coming, we must anticipate what will
be. We watch and we wait. We don’t rush to the manger, instead we step
away from the hustle and bustle, and we examine who Christ was and is, and who
we are in Christ.
Earlier
this year I had an e-mail conversation with Cindi Eicher, our Director of
Programs and Youth, and she wrote, “shouldn’t Advent be called,
‘ad-lent’?” To which I responded,
“Yes!” In fact, in the Orthodox Church
the season of Advent is similar to Lent, only the focus is less on the
suffering of Christ but more on who Christ was and what Christ did for us. It is a time of reflection and examination,
and rightly so, for we ARE preparing to receive the King of Kings. One doesn’t receive a King, much less God,
without some preparation
In
order to prepare, we are invited be deliberate in what we do and how we
worship. An example of this is in our
giving others. We are given the
opportunity for us to provide gifts for
Strive kids, residents of
We
are invited to journey together in prayer and meditation through our Advent
Devotional books, this year compiled and published by our own members and
friends. Thus, following the road to
peace as one body, with one focus, in preparation for God incarnate.
During
Advent we refrain from singing Christmas hymns and carols during worship,
despite the urge. Instead we reflect
upon that yearning to sing. We think
about why those hymns mean so much to us, and the Truth they proclaim to the
world. We remember all that Christ gave
up in order for the fullness of life to come through His sacrifices, and we
anticipate the Holy Night when we sing with angels and archangels.
During
Advent we watch and we wait. We hold our
breath and we remember with thanksgiving the gift given. We deliberately examine ourselves and
re-align our lives toward Christ’s purpose and mission, so we might be prepared
to receive again the gift of
God Incarnate, God with us, embodied in a
vulnerable babe, born in a stable, surrounded by shepherds whom no one would
associate with, animal dung, and young parents. It is a season where we are called to set our
hearts and lives aright as we reflect upon the Truth that God...GOD...came to
US!
Today
we transition toward the Advent of Christ’s birth, and this is why we receive
the crucified King today. We receive him
on a cross, so that we might recognize the fullness of the gift which we will
receive one month from today. We receive
Him in between two thieves, so that we might remember that he placed Himself
among the least and the lost. We receive
Him at the end of His life, so that we might remember and prepare ourselves for
the celebration of the beginning of His life.
Part
of our Thanksgiving tradition inherited through Teresa’s family is that we
begin preparing the house for Christmas.
As we were putting up the tree and decorating it, all of us had a hand
and pulling out and sharing in the stories of how this or that ornament came
into our possession. The kids would ask
questions, and Teresa and I would hand them the ornament while sharing where it
came from.
As this was going on I found myself
thinking about doing the same with my parents as a child, and I remembered a
story that would often arise during such times.
When my brother was about 4 years old they were trimming the tree, and
he picked up a small ornament of the manger scene. He looked at it for a bit, then he turned to
my parents and asked, “Where’s the cross?”
And before they could answer, he said, “Oh that’s right. They loved Him as a baby.”
Imagine
the irony in hearing that for the first time.
Much like the irony of hearing of a King on a Cross, positioned between
two thieves. Kings don’t die this way.
Much
like the irony of following a King who died on a cross between two
thieves. Normal people don’t do such
things.
Much
like the irony of watching and waiting, examining the self, instead of getting
to the Outlet at Midnight to get the best deals. Do you think people would show up if we knew
Christ would show up at midnight tonight?
Much
like the irony of living a life of faith.
On the one hand it makes sense, and on the other it doesn’t. We wonder if it’s really worth it. We wonder how we can do it. We wonder what it all means, where it begins
and where it ends.
We have just come through our
stewardship campaign, the theme of which is “look for the rainbows.” In a rainbow, there is a beginning and an
end. At the beginning there is hope, in
the middle there is the fullness of life, and in the end there is Truth.
Today we are at the end of the
Christian Year. Today we stare again
into the end of the life of the King.
Today we receive the Truth. For
a year the fullness of life has molded and shaped us, and next Sunday we begin
again. But today, we look to the end,
sit faithfully at the foot of the cross.
Today is Christ the King Sunday, and before we receive the baby, before we run to the stable, we remember, that that baby grew up to become a King like no other. One who few understood and only a small few understand today. In this transition between God in the everyday and the anticipation of the Son, we remember the cross. We remember the gift, and we give thanks for Christ, our Righteousness. Amen.