Last Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 29
Year A
“Christ the King Sunday”
First Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16,20-24
Psalm 100
Second Reading: Ephesians 1:15-23
Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46
Today is the
Feast of “Christ the King”
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, on God, now and forever. Amen (BCP 236)
Wisdom and Glory
Ephesians 1:15-23
I pray that God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.
This lesson is about how Jesus Christ has been given supreme wisdom, power, dominion, and glory. The Apostle Paul, speaks to the Ephesians and he has heard about their faith and love toward all saints and he lets them know, that very reason is why he remembers them in his prayers.
Judgement Time
Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46
Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.”
“When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was thirsty, you gave me drink. When I was naked, you clothed me. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me in. When I was sick and imprisoned, you cared for me.”
The people on the right (sheep) were surprised: Lord, when? They asked. “When did we feed you, or give you drink, or clothe you, or welcome you, or care for you?” And Jesus said “Whenever you did it to one of the weak ones, you did it for me.
He turns to the people on the left (goats) and they faced the reality…that as people, they failed to help anyone. They will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
We have been taught, that Jesus will come again in glory. Matthew tells us, Jesus will sit on the throne of glory.
I see him next to God and every nation gathered around. To us “all people” will be gathered around. He tells us, we will be separated like separating sheep in a herd, that have goats mixed in and the sheep and goats will be separated. The sheep on the right and goats on the left.
Normally we read a lot of parables about the Kingdom of God. How to follow Christ’s teachings and to live a Christ like life.
Our baptismal covenant found on (pp. 304-305) says: Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching…persevere in resisting evil…proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ…seek and serve Christ in all persons…strive for justice and peace among all people? I know!! It’s a lot to ask, God expects us to fail, but then we continue to do as we have been taught, and help those less fortunate then we are.
This isn’t a parable, it’s the fact and most of us do not like to be judged, but we have to face the fact that we at some point in our life now or later we will have to face the throne of God.
When my brother and I were about 5 years old to 8, we went into our neighbor’s strawberry patch and picked a big coffee can full of strawberries. We didn’t expect to get caught, except we had a path leading from our yard into his yard and it was pretty obvious to my dad. So, first, we had to stand in judgment before my father, that was scary enough, but then he made us go and apologize to our neighbor and we had to stand before him in judgment.
To our surprise both my father and the neighbor forgave us. The punishment was standing before them.
We know by the scriptures that we have been forgiven by the grace of God, through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
So, what is it? Are we forgiven? Have we been forgiven by the Grace of God? Or is God going to hold our sins against us? I believe as most of you do, that all our lives we have heard about God’s grace and it is true, he does forgive our sins and he forgives us if we have disobeyed him.
But we also need to realize that what he expects from us is that…we will continue in the apostles’ teaching.
We will never directly provide Jesus with a good meal, a bed to sleep in or a warm coat, but if we do this for anyone in need of these things we have done it for Jesus.
Faith and Love
We will be in the advent season next Sunday. Advent is the beginning of the liturgical year; the season begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and ends on the day before Christmas.
It may be a time for a new beginning for us as Christians; it lets us focus on the promise that God made to his people and how that promise was fulfilled in Jesus. Change is among us in this time of Advent expectation.
Many of us may have already experienced the kinds of change that faith can bring, but that doesn’t mean the change is over, we will continue to grow. Advent is also that unchangeable season when the same concepts, the same words rise over and over again, year after year, to challenge our hearts and minds.
As we wait in expectation and preparation for the coming of the Lord, let’s remember what the apostle Paul said to the Ephesians…. 1:15-23
I pray that God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.
Amen
The Reverend Lola Culbreath