Christ the King or Reign of Christ, Proper 29
SJR
Sunday Morning • Sermon • Submitted
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· 3 viewsChrist is King over all, yet the world doesn't understand/recognize this and sets up petty rival kings. We who do recognize this pattern our lives according to Christ's reign.
Notes
Transcript
Grace to you ....amen
today is Christ the King Sunday
a peculiar festival for Christians
a day - placed at an odd time for us
sometime around thanksgiving
that marks the end of one church year
and the beginning of another
Christ the King Sunday
sets the stage for advent
a season in which anticipate
the festival of Christmas
a celebration of the God
who has come to abide with us
but also a time for us to focus
on the return of Christ
in Gods fullness
and how all will know the truth
that Christ is indeed sovereign over us all
all three lessons for today
help us understand
the nature of Christ - rule
and Christ's place in God's overall plan
for humanity
we start with a reading
from the book of Ezekiel
which describes God
as the good shepherd
that God is the shepherd
you want to have for a shepherd
and - as Rolph Jacobsen
professor at Luther Seminary
reminded me in a podcast this past week
whenever you hear Shepherd language...
...know that it always refers to the king
it refers to the political leader of the day
this chapter
in Ezekiel
contrasts God as the good shepherd
the good leader
the good king
with the worlds shepherds
with the world's kings
with the world's political leaders
ezekiel warns us:
the worlds shepherds
are focused on feeding themselves
the world shepherds
are focused on lining their own pockets
the worlds shepherds
care only for themselves
that was true back then
would you agree with me
it rings true - for us today as well
that the worlds shepherds
care less about the needs of the sheep
than they care about themselves
ezekiel depicts that...
when a lamb is injured
when a little lamb is wanting
when the one under their charge
is hurting
or despairing
the worldly shepherds
care not
the worldly kings
care not
the worldly political leaders
care not
they have no compassion
in contrast to the world's shepherds
to the worlds political leaders
God promises to set up over all
one shepherd
a righteous shepherd
a shepherd - called David
that passage in Ezekiel
tells of Gods rescue mission
that this shepherd will carry out...
a rescue mission
that seeks to gather
the people back unto God
they have been divided
the herd has been split
they have been driven away from each other
this is language - that thousands of years ago
and yet - incredibly
describes so well -
the world in which we live
todoy
do you feel that we're split apart
torn asunder
divided
do you feel as if we are two or more communities...
in speaking of God's flock
and God's rescue mission
in Ezekiel the 34th chapter
it is to gather them in
under one godly shepherd
do you -
like i do -
yearn for that reunion...
not one that occurs under the banner of this politician
or that politician...
but under the reign of Jesus Christ
and there
i will feed them with good pasture - says God
and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture
they shall lie down in good grazing land
they shall feed
on rich pasture
in the mountains of Israel
and I myself will be
the Shepherd of the Sheep
and I will make them lie Down
says the Lord God
I will seek the lost
I will bring back they strayed
I will bind up the injured
and I will strengthen the weak
that is Gods saving mission
to bring back all peoples
the whole flock
that has been divided
hither and yon.
in Ephesians - today - we read
i pray that the 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
and enlightened
you may know
what is the hope
to which he has called you
what are the riches
of his glorious inheritance
among the saints
and a little further down
god has put his power to work
in Christ
when he raised him
from the dead and seated him
at his right hand in the heavenly places
far above all rule and authority
and power and dominion
and above every name
that is named
not only in this age
but also in the age to come
...
scripture is saying - even now
even now - in the future
Jesus has power and dominion
that power
that Dominion of Christ
present even now
even now we confess that
i Jesus is Lord
The world of course doesn't recognize it
in our gospel lesson
Jesus describes the values
of life lived in this kingdom
one that turns everything upside down
that isn't based on power
and might
in the traditional worldly sense
but draws its power and might
from acts of service
given without even realizing it
to the least of these
Jesus turns what it means to be powerful
and kingly completely on his head
in the world didn’t know what to do with it
back then
Scripture says
that immediately after Jesus teaches them
about the kingdom of God
the scribes and the Pharisees
come together
seeking to have Jesus killed
but they don't wanna do it
for fear of uprising
during the Passover
they won't wait for long though
and our world
still today
doesn't seem as if
it has changed much
leaders still seem to be focused more on themselves
self-preservation and their own welfare
while the welfare of the poor
and the lowly go on taken care of
and the sheep
due to this lack of leader ship
seem more and more dispersed
as a flock all the time
it is therefore
so very important for us
to remember
our true citizenship - in Gods kingdom
and remember our name as a community of faith
Lord of life Lutheran Church
for this description that Ezekiel talks about
of the gathering together of the flock
and the good pastor that they are
that god desires for us
the good life that God desires for us
in the hope spoken about
in this passage
in ephesians
is none other
than a life that is lived
in its fullness
it is completeness
and it's joyfulness
and the truth of the gospel
is that we get our fullest joy
we get our greatest satisfaction
we are filled with life
and life abundantly
when we don't live it for our selves
instead live it for others
but we embody the gospel
for all those
who have whatever need
they might have left to our own
we might conclude
as we read this gospel text
that God is all about the law
it's just do you do good stuff
to other people
but in fact Rich and full life
is one as we looked at I'll look to
in the book of Matthew
is one in which
is it's marked by compassion
for others
elsewhere in Matthew
we read of many acts of mercy
the feeding of the multitudes
because he has compassion on them
<more here>
but the fat and the strong I will destroy
i will feed them with justice
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