EZEKIEL 34:11-16, 20-24 EPHESIANS 1:15-23 MATTHEW 25:31-46
St. Paul wrote to the congregation in Ephesus, Greece, “I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.”
As your bishop, I do not cease to give thanks for you, the people of All Saints, as you have faithfully and lovingly walked the challenging journey of merging and discovering the new vision and ministry that God has for you. Thank you for your positive witness to the North Berkshires and to the whole diocese of how two congregations can come to love, respect, and enjoy each other as you seek to live God’s mission together in new ways, in this region.
Of course, like every congregation, you have many challenges ahead. Merging with loving care is one step on that journey. God’s mission always pushes us out of our comfort zones, as you know. So don’t get too comfortable! Stay open to the new mission-initiatives God will call you to take, knowing that as God has blessed and guided you together in amazing ways, so God will continue to bless and guide you as you follow God’s leading.
Today is the last Sunday of the Church year, Christ the King Sunday. This image of Christ as King of the whole Universe has profound significance for us as we live through times of great change and turmoil in our world, our nation, our church and our personal lives. The idea of a “king” is strange and old fashioned to us as Americans. We formed our nation in resistance against the King of England. We don’t like the idea of living under a King we do not choose. We American consumers want to be able to make choices.
But have you noticed, there are many things we don’t get to choose? We don’t choose our parents and families. We don’t get to choose our genes. We don’t get to choose whether or not there is gravity. We don’t get to choose what the weather will be. For many things in life, our only choice is how will we respond to the realities that are given to us.
So when the Scripture for today gives us the image of Christ as the King of the Universe it reminds us that we don’t get to choose what God is like. God is God whether we want a God or not. Jesus is King of the Universe, Sovereign over all people and things, whether we believe it or not. Within this reality, God gives us choices. We get to choose what kind of relationship we want to have with God. We can choose to reject God or be angry with God or ignore God or be friends with God. We can choose whether we will live the way God created us to live, or choose to live life according to our own standards. And we will all have to live with the consequences of our choices.
This picture or image of Christ seated on a throne, as King of the Universe, has been very important throughout Christian history. If you visit museums of medieval art, you will see this image expressed through tapestries, mosaics, icons, stained glass, and paintings. Christ the King is pictured reigning over the universe from a large throne and holding a round object the size of softball in his hand. The ball is a symbol of the world. Remember the old folk song, “He’s got the whole world in his hand”? This image of Christ the King of the Universe can shape our perspective on life. Christ is a great, good and powerful King in charge of whole cosmos. Everything else is small in comparison to Christ.
For a moment, think back over this past week. What were the anxieties and problems that haunted you most? Now be aware that in comparison to the greatness of Christ the King, all your greatest problems and all the major problems on this planet are tiny. After all, Christ lovingly holds you and the whole world in his hand.
When you and I really know that Christ is King, we can move from anxiety to trust, from fear to hope, from confusion to clarity. We can pass through difficult times with a sense of gratitude. This image of Christ as King of the universe can lead us to be people of unshakable hope in all circumstances.
I know how powerful this awareness of Christ as King can be from personal experience. There are times when I feel overwhelmed by the problems in parishes, problems in our cities and in our rural areas, problems in our national church and Anglican Communion, problems of poverty, disease and wars around the world. I have learned that whenever I feel anxious and overwhelmed, it is because I have allowed all these problems to seem gigantic, and my picture of Christ has shrunk to a tiny speck in comparison the huge problems. I feel like Atlas, bent over and struggling, trying to carry the whole gigantic world on my shoulders. Are there times when you also feel like you have to carry the crushing weight of the world on your shoulders?
When we let this image of Christ, the King of the Universe, holding the world in his hand begin to shape our imagination, we look at everything in life differently. We don’t have to be like Atlas and carry the world on our shoulders. We can relax and trust Christ to be in charge of carrying the world and we can get on with the work at hand with faith, hope, and love. Nothing has changed in the world around us. But our perspective has changed, and the perspective that Christ is King makes a huge difference in the way we think and live.
Today’s Gospel gives us another dimension of Christ the King who is also our judge, who will hold us accountable for the way we live our lives. Most Americans don’t want to think of Christ as our judge. We don’t want anyone to hold us accountable, including God. We want to be the final judge of what is important in our lives.
I remember listening to a young white woman tell an older African-American woman she couldn’t accept the image of Christ as our Judge. The African-American woman wagged her finger and said, “Let me tell you something. The fact that Christ will be our judge in the end is what gives hope to my life every day. Christ will finally make all things right. That is not something I fear. That is what gives me hope, to know that finally there will be justice for all.”
You see, the reality of Christ as judge of us all gives dignity, meaning, purpose, and worth to our lives. What we say and do every day really matters to God. We have a reason to get up every morning. We are here to fulfill the purpose for which Christ the King created us and put us on this earth at this time and place. As we heard in the reading from Ezekiel, we can live with confident hope because we know that Christ, our final judge, is also a Good Shepherd, who is always seeking to help and restore us. Because Christ is a Good Shepherd, Christ has already given us the questions that will be on our final exam. When we come before Christ our King and our Judge, he will ask: “Did you love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and did you love your neighbor as yourself?”
As in today’s gospel, Jesus will ask, how did we treat people who were hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked and vulnerable, sick, and in prison. These are the questions Jesus will keep asking you, both in your daily lives and in your life together as a congregation.
What is the quality of your love for God and for people in real need around you? The truth is, sometimes we love God and our neighbor and sometimes we don’t. We have also learned that no amount of disciplined willpower can make us the kind of loving people the Christ the King is seeking. But Christ the King wants to forgive us and help us become what we cannot make ourselves, make us new people from the inside out. As we come to trust Christ, not our efforts, we can relax. We can open ourselves to Christ’s love each day and let Christ’s love flow through us in love for our neighbors in need. It is not us, but Christ at work in us.
Do you see how this picture of Christ as King of the Universe can give us a profoundly hopeful perspective on life?
Let us pray. In the silence, let us be aware of the love Christ the King as for each of us and for the whole world. Now let’s look ahead to the people and situations that are before us this Thanksgiving week. What opportunities will you have to share Christ’s love with others in others? What changes might Christ be inviting you to make so that his love can flow through you to people in need?
O Christ, King of the Universe, come and make us so aware of your loving presence in our lives, so that we become channels through which your love overflows to bless and care for the needs of others through the power of our loving Spirit at work in us. AMEN.