Holy and Gracious God ~ May
the hearing of Your Holy Word enlighten us anew and inspire us to daily offer
You our praise and glory. Amen.
STORY: The
Torn Cloak: An elder was asked
by a certain soldier if God would forgive a sinner. And he said to him, “Tell me, beloved, if your cloak is torn,
will you throw it away?” The soldier
replied and said, “No, I will mend it and put it back on.” The elder said to him, “If you take such
care of your cloak, will God not be merciful to His own image?”
Wonderful WISDOM from the
Desert Fathers … sages who removed themselves from society in order to be
closer to God …
REMINDER of the awesome gift of forgiveness and new life …
through Christ … the message of our Gospel lesson.
PASSION NARRATIVE / CRUCIFIXION
~
May seem strange on this day … end of liturgical year … AND
we are looking forward to a special holiday season.
YET: story of:
Remembrance
… crucifixion of Jesus … declared by Roman authorities as King of the Jews
Celebration
… in this Passion Narrative , affirmation of the awesome gift / reign of Christ
…
SIGNIFICANCE of this event /
this text:
·
Jesus’ willingness to
die on the cross FOR US
·
Jesus’ death AND
resurrection = forgiveness of sins AND eternal life FOR US.
THIS
IS WHAT WE CELEBRATE on this Christ the King Sunday.
WE read the text ~ a text we
know so well:
·
The place called THE
SKULL … a hill outside the city
·
The act: CRUCIFIXION …
o
Public humiliation
o
Public warning: Don’t mess with Rome
o
Nails piercing flesh and
bone
o
Death by suffocation
·
The people:
o
Jesus: “Father,
forgive them …” / THEM = all implicated in His death … AND a promise … “Today,
you will be with me …
o
Soldiers
o
Leaders … mocking … SAVE
YOURSELF
o
Crowd … observing
o
2 criminals: one mocking / salvation … one asking for
forgiveness
This IS a disturbing AND unsettling text … yet
filled with IRONY:
·
Despite jeers &
taunts … the only way Christ could save others was to NOT save Himself
·
Celebrating the Reign …
the life and examples … of Christ MUST be seen in context with His passion and
death
·
??? ~ WHAT MEANING does
His reign have in our lives today …
·
??? ~ CAN we think
beyond WHERE we ARE … to LOOK beyond our limited horizons … and BE WHERE Christ
WANTS us to BE
·
??? ~ HOW do we identify
the SIGNS of Christ’s reign?
CONFIRMATION CLASS … JESUS IS … chart
·
“Relay race” with
confirmands … take marker … run to chart … write word or phrase to answer ? …
pass marker to next person.
·
HERE is THEIR thoughts /
ideas / beliefs
·
String of random words /
phrases … beautifully describing Jesus
Epistle reading from Colossians … written
in response to teachings in early church that threatened the supremacy of
Christ.
… wonderful and beautiful hymn … praising the
attributes / importance of Christ in our world ~
…honoring Christ as the supreme head of created order
AND Christ as the head of the new creation …
CHRIST AS:
·
The image of the invisible God … a reflection of the goodness of
God.
·
Firstborn of
all creation … reminding us of Christ’s pre-eminent rank … BEFORE all of creation
·
God’s AGENT in
creation … the creative work of Christ … IN Christ, THROUGH Christ, and FOR
Christ …
·
BEFORE all things … the ORIGIN of all creation
·
IN Him, ALL is held together … Christ is
the organizing principle of the universe … the “divine glue” that binds all
things to each other & TO HIMSELF
·
HEAD of the new creation ... head of
the BODY / the CHURCH UNIVERSAL ~ the church that fills the cosmos
·
Firstborn FROM the dead … Christ was “dead, buried and resurrected” … THROUGH
power & agency of God, Christ IS RESURRECTION’S FIRST CHILD … strengthens
our belief & hope for eternal life
·
FULL embodiment of God’s own presence … reminder: IF we have seen, Christ, we HAVE seen the
Father; Christ & the Father are one … the way to the Father is THROUGH
Christ
·
The ONE through whom reconciliation occurs … Christ’s sacrificial death on a cross → peace between God and world → reconciliation of ALL creation through saving acts of
Christ.
Text LIFTS our vision of
Christ …
·
Removes the limits we
often place on the work of Christ in our lives and in our world
·
Forces us to expand our
view / horizons …
o
FROM creation / what is
tangible, visible, touchable … TO new
creation IN and THROUGH Christ
o
FROM beginning of time TO end of time
o
FROM alienation TO peace
In bulletin … JESUS IS …
I invite you to create your own list of words / phrases of WHO and WHAT Christ is for you
I invite you to put that list in a prominent place and add
to is … as we move through our Advent season … preparing for the celebration of
the birth of the HOLY ONE
ONE FINAL STORY:
“The
Messiah is Among Us!”
THIS STORY AND SCRIPTURES TODAY:
CALL us to ponder:
NO MATTER WHAT WE DO …
NO MATTER WHERE WE ARE …
NO MATTER WHO WE ENCOUNTER …
THERE IS THE REFLECTION OF CHRIST!
And for this, may we offer our sincere AMEN of
thanksgiving!