Sunday, November 22, 2009
Last Sunday in Pentecost (Prop B-29)
Scripture Lessons: (2 Samuel 23:1-7 Revelation 1:4b-8 John 18:33-37)
What is your picture of what the future will be like? I don't mean just the immediate future, like how much snow will we have this winter or how many games will the Patriots and Celtics win or what will the American economy be like in two years.
Let’s ask a bolder, more important question. What will the future be like in 100 years or 1,000 years or a billion years? Our picture of the future is important because there is always a connection between our vision of the future and the way we live our lives every day.
There are several traditions of answers to this question about the long-term future. Some people tell us that when we die we die. That is the end. Our bodies go into the ground and rot. Some of the molecules that made up our bodies will continue to exist. But there is no future for human beings after death. Death is the end. So it doesn’t matter how we live.
Another tradition says that when we die, we will come back to earth as something else. We might return as a fish or a bird or perhaps as another person. This tradition says that the future holds a continual reincarnation of all souls, constantly coming back to earth.Who knows whether our future will be better or worse?
As Christians, the Bible gives us a different picture of the future. Today, on the Last Sunday of the Church year, the Scripture lessons give us a picture of a future where Christ is King, the Ruler of the Universe. Jesus Christ is the one in charge of our personal future, the future of the human race, the future of this planet and solar system.
Two weeks ago I was at All Saints’ Church in Worcester. Over the entrance to the Church is a beautiful stained glass window. At the center of the window is the large figure of Jesus Christ the King, seated on his throne in heaven. In his hand he holds planet earth that is about the size of a large softball or grapefruit. On top of the earth is a cross, symbolizing that Christ is the one who is ultimately in control of the future of all things. Christ is awesomely great, seated on the throne at the control center of the universe…and our world is very small in comparison to our Great King, Jesus Christ.
If this is our picture of the future, then it makes a practical difference in the way we live every day. For example, what are the worries and concerns you brought with you this morning? Often, when we pray, it feels like our concerns and the problems of the world are gigantic…and that God is very small and helpless in comparison to our big concerns and the overwhelming needs of the world.
This morning I invite you to picture yourself and your concerns, as well as all the needs of the world…as part of that small ball Christ, the King of the Universe is holding in his hand. What a different perspective it can give us…to see how little our concerns are in comparison with the greatness of God. It reminds me of that old children’s song, “He’s got the whole world in his hand.”
In the first century, Christ’s beloved disciple, John, had a vision of the future. In today’s reading from Revelation, John writes to seven churches about a God who is, who was and who is to come. He sees Christ as "the ruler of the kings of the earth." In John's vision, Jesus Christ is the future toward which all of creation is moving.
Notice how Christ the King is described. This Christ is not a cruel, violent, vindictive King who is angry with us and out to destroy us. This Christ the King is one who loves us, who suffered and died on the cross to free us and all people from our sins, who lives to make us his ministers, all of us priestly people, giving our lives every day to serving God and our neighbors in all we do.
This is the Christian vision of the future. God has taught us through the Scriptures that ultimately, Jesus will reign over all things in heaven and earth. Do you hear the echoes of Handel’s Messiah here? “And he shall reign forever and ever, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” God’s Kingdom will be a global, cosmic community of justice, peace and love because Christ reigns…and all of creation will live in loving, obedient relationship with Christ the King. This is what Jesus taught us to pray for every day: "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
As we let this cosmic vision of the future sink into our imagination, we may find ourselves asking: If Jesus Christ is ultimately in charge of the universe, then how come the dark, sinful, chaotic, violent and destructive side of life seems to be so powerful and so much in control? If Christ is such a good and loving King, why is there so much suffering, evil, tragedy, disease, poverty, death and injustice around the world?
John deals with this question in the Gospel for today. He gives us a picture of Jesus, the King of the Universe, standing before Pilate, an earthly, political ruler and judge. On the surface, it looks like Pilate is the one with the power. Pilate can sentence him to death or release him to life.
But Jesus responds to Pilate as if Jesus was the one with the power. "My kingdom is not from this world." Jesus lives from a higher power. But Pilate does not recognize that Jesus, who looks like a frail human being standing before him, is actually the Eternal Son of God who was there at the dawn of creation and will be there long after this planet comes to an end. Jesus says, "For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."
Pilate and the rulers of this age have power for a short time. But Christ, the suffering, self-sacrificing King of the Universe has power over all time and history. Jesus seems to say, "I will suffer and die now. Evil, injustice, disease, violence and death will have their day. My people will suffer and die through the centuries. But ultimately, my Kingdom of justice, peace and love will prevail. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the Future."
Do you see the Good News we have been given in the Scripture? The future belongs to Jesus Christ the King. Christ gives meaning and purpose, direction and hope to our lives and to the whole human race. We find ultimate fulfillment as we live in loving obedient relationship with this Christ who is King of the universe, King of the future and also lives within us as Master of our lives in every moment. This Christ keeps calling us to love God with our whole being and love our neighbors…all our neighbors…especially the poor and our enemies, as we love ourselves. You see, the way we live every day makes a difference to Christ the King, to us and our future, to the community in which God has placed us as Christ’s “hands and feet” in this generation.
As Christ Church Episcopal and Trinity Lutheran engage in the Partnership for the Missional Church, you are seeking the guidance of Christ the King for your mission as a congregation. You know you are not just a human non-profit organization running your own small business. You are people of God, seeking to live the mission Christ placed you here to fulfill.
Every morning, when you begin your day, you are not just people trying to make a living and get what you want out of life. You are people of God, placed here by Christ the King to fulfill the mission God has given you, one day at a time. You are here to be channels through which God’s future Kingdom comes on earth as in heaven.
The best way to prepare for the future is to live in conscious relationship with Christ every day, every moment. As we seek to live in harmony with Christ the King, seeking to fulfill Christ’s will and purpose in all our relationships...then no matter what comes tomorrow, or next year, or in 50 years, or when we die, or in 1,000 years, we will not need to be afraid. We can look forward to the future, by grace through faith in Christ. We can live with joy and hope, for the same Jesus Christ we have loved and followed every day, is the King of the Universe and will continue to love and guide us for eternity.
Is this your picture of the future? Does this picture of the future shape your attitude toward life… and fill you with fresh hope and purpose? What changes might God be inviting you and me make in the way we live our lives this week…so that we can live more fully in harmony with the good will and purpose of Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe?
O Christ the King, day by day, of Thee three things we pray: to see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, follow thee more nearly, day by day, Through X our Lord. Amen.