Christ the King Sunday-B 1
Sunday, November 22, 2015
2 Samuel 23:1-7
Revelation 1:4-8
John 18:33-37
Today is Christ the King Sunday. It is the last Sunday of the long growing season of
Pentecost. It is also the last Sunday of the church year. We begin the church year with Advent –
the promise of birth -- and end with Christ the King – the promise fulfilled!
I've always felt that hearing from the crucifixion story for our gospel reading here in late
November is a bit of a shock. Here we are, focused on Thanksgiving and just beyond it,
Christmas, and we get a reading from Good Friday. It's a little bit jarring.
But poet T.S. Eliot writes in The Four Quartets:
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
We have been exploring the story of Jesus through the 26 Sundays of Pentecost that we
now conclude – that’s about six months. Our exploring ends. We have arrived back where we
started. But it isn’t the same. We are not the same.
The undying newness of God's Spirit and creativity – plus the changes and chances of a
year of life – means we know the place for the first time. We bring fresh eyes to another Advent.
What has the past year been like for you? Can you think of one high point for each
calendar month of 2015? You should try jotting down some remembrances tonight or in the next
day or two before Thanksgiving Day.
One of the things I do for the vestry – and I’ve done this for every one of the 96 vestry
meetings I’ve attended at Nativity (give or take a few) – is compile a log of the prior month’s
high points. It’s on every vestry agenda.
It notes who was baptized that month. That we had a Cajun Cook-off to fundraise for our
walking path. That five men of the parish strapped on high heels to run in a race and raise over
two thousand dollars for the victims of domestic violence. That we hosted an Animal Care Fair
to promote the humane treatment of pets and livestock. That we awarded a local organization
with a $500 prize for doing innovative things to care for Earth and Environment. That we hosted
a Newcomers Dinner featuring as many newcomers as made up the entire congregation when I
first arrived.
Church of the Nativity, 2175 Broadway, Grand Junction 81507…………………………….. Rev. Nature Johnston
Christ the King Sunday-B 2
Sunday, November 22, 2015
I can’t take credit for that. I have a few ideas now and again but ideas are a dime a dozen.
It takes people working in harmony with each other to make ideas come alive. It takes people
working with one another in truth and confidence; in the hope of good outcomes. It takes mature,
well-adjusted people to do all that we do, without rancor; without pettiness or backbiting or
competition, or posing. We don’t have any of those things here. This is an amazing place.
It is a lot to be thankful for. And there’s much, much more. The people of Nativity are
doing God’s work and will in ways large and small. Life at Nativity is like a can of Coke that
you shake and shake, then pull the pop-top. You can’t keep the effervescence inside. It explodes.
Then keeps flowing.
Now we pause for a moment to catch our breath and know the place for the first time
again. We give thanks. And we kick off the week of giving thanks by indulging in unbridled
adoration of Jesus on Christ the King Sunday. He doesn't get a lot of big moments in the church
year. Mostly he's just too busy. He's shepherd and healer and teacher but today he gets to be, ever
so briefly, Christ the King.
The inscription over him on the cross said, "This is the King of the Jews." There was an
inscription over everyone who was crucified. It gave the reason for the death sentence being
imposed in order to deter others from committing similar crimes. Jesus was killed because he
was King of the Jews.
Jesus was killed because he forgave and restored; because he poured himself out in love
and friendship. He was killed for the sake of truth.
And Pilate said, “What is truth?” And the answer is so mundane and dog-eared and
unappealing that few want it.
What is truth? It is that war is not the answer. But war is exciting – not mundane – and
therefore appealing and logical in a crazy, dangerous world. But war begets fear, terror and
insanity. War just creates more war. Jesus taught that if we want a world of peace, we must
cultivate practices of peace. We must forgive those who have wronged us. We must bless rather
than curse.
War is not truth. Neither is wealth the truth. But it certainly is appealing. We all think that
if we had just a little more money, we would have no problems. But generally when we gain
more money, we expand our standard of living and often end up worse than when we started.
Statistics show that 70 percent of lottery winners lose or spend all their money within five years.1
Jesus taught that the truly rich are those who are rich in God. The truly rich are those who trust
deeply in God’s care for them.
1
“Thirteen Things Lottery Winners Won't Tell You,” Reader's Digest, www.rd.com/advice/saving-money/13-thingslottery-winners/
Church of the Nativity, 2175 Broadway, Grand Junction 81507…………………………….. Rev. Nature Johnston
Christ the King Sunday-B 3
Sunday, November 22, 2015
The story goes that the penniless pauper ran to the holy man he saw coming down the
lane. He said, “Holy Man: I dreamt last night that I would meet you and that you would give me
the greatest wealth I could imagine. What is it?” The holy man said, “Here, it is this diamond ore
I found yesterday. It is yours.” The pauper took the huge stone and ran off, happy. But before
very long, he ran back. “Here,” he said to the holy man, handing back the stone. “Give me the
kind of riches that would let you give away a fortune without a care.”
Wealth is not truth. Neither is self-promotion. We’re taught to look out for Number One;
to build up the false self of appearance, acceptability, success. Jesus taught us how to build up
the true self. Put others first. Care about their welfare at least as much as your own. Love in just
the same way that you want to be loved and respected.
The mundane, unappealing truth is that we must practice peace in the quiet of our own
lives and then try to reconcile that peace with the hostility and hatred all around us. Deny
immigration to Syrian refugees because they might be terrorists? Sounds like a great way to
harden hearts; foster hatred; create war.
The mundane, dog-eared truth is that the truly rich are rich in God. Our lives will never
be deeply satisfied until we are deeply surrendered to God; until we allow God to infuse our life
the way a tea bag infuses a hot cup of water.
The mundane, unappealing truth is that we must care about the welfare of others. People
will go to bed hungry in the US tonight. People will go to bed outside in Grand Junction tonight.
Not caring about our fellow humans creates hard hearts and hollow lives. Not caring about the
state of our planet means we’re deaf to how Earth suffers when we waste, over-consume and
pollute.
Truth is…….that it is very difficult to live a life of truth. It is a life of peace; relatedness
to God; sacrificial love. Pilate didn’t want to hear that. That isn’t very exciting.
The way of truth is the only thing that will do once you’ve tasted deeply of God’s love.
It’s the only thing good enough once you’ve chosen the high road of following Christ. It’s a road
of infinite exploration in God’s Spirit and goodness.
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Jesus ever embraced truth. He taught it; proclaimed it; lived it. He never said he was a
king. It is we who make him so by deciding that his is just the sort of kingdom we want to be
part of!
Amen.
Church of the Nativity, 2175 Broadway, Grand Junction 81507…………………………….. Rev. Nature Johnston