Sheringham: St Peter

For people born after the second part of the 20th century, the Collect and readings for the Feast of Christ the King can come as a bit of a surprise. Before that time, it didn`t exist in the church calendar, and you couldn`t find it in the Book of Common Prayer. Instead it was described as the Sunday next before Advent. It was commonly known as `Stir up Sunday` from the words of the collect: `Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people, that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruits of good works, may by you be plenteously rewarded.` It was the cue for stirring up the Christmas pudding, ready to be eaten on Christmas Day. In our Common Worship services the stir up collect is still there: you`ll hear it as our post-communion prayer so Christmas pudding stirrers haven`t been let off the hook. And the colour of the day goes from endless green for Trinity to sparkling white for today, mixed together then for Advent purple.

But where did this celebration of a king come from? There is no king-making event which Christians can celebrate. To think of Christ as a King can be confusing: Jesus always resisted being given the title. After the feeding of the 5000, the crowd came to make Jesus king, and we read that he withdrew and went up the mountain alone.

At the end of his life, the signs of his being a king were there in another way as Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and at the Cross the soldiers mocked him with a purple robe and crown of thorns. In our Gospel, Pilate is confused. He needs to know whether this man Jesus is claiming to be a king, a king who will threaten Pilate`s own existence and that of his empire. Instead, Jesus speaks of bringing the truth.

What should we make of the meaning of Christ the King as we finish our excursions through the Trinity Sundays and as we look forward to entering the season of Advent? This Sunday gives us pause for reflection before Advent and Christmas are here. Let`s take some passages from our readings to help us to think through what Christ the King means, with you and me as Christ`s followers.

The Old Testament Reading: Daniel 7, verse 10 and 13-14:

`A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.

There before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.`

The greatness and majesty of God. As we pray, do we have this picture? Or do we limit who he is and how he works not just in his world but in his universe?

Are we praying in the context of the King of kings and within the everlasting rule of God? How great is our vision of God?

The Epistle reading from Revelation chapter 1, verses 7-8:

`Look, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all peoples on earth will mourn because of him. I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.`

The King who will come for all people. We live in an age where belief is sneered at and devalued. One day the whole universe will see God as he is and Jesus coming to proclaim the dawn of a new age.

The Christmas Gospel in John 1 calls us to look up and marvel at the greatness of the God who has come among us:

`In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.`

Our God is so much more than an object. He calls us into his service:-

Hans Kung: `Jesus provoked a final decision, but not a yes or no to a particular title, to a particular dignity, a particular office, or even to a particular dogma, rite or law. His message and community raised the question of the aim and purpose to which a person will ultimately direct their life. Jesus demanded a final decision for God`s cause and man`s.`

The Gospel reading from John 18, 37b:

Here are the words of Jesus:

`You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.`

Jesus relies on us, his followers, to reflect who he is, to speak only the truth.

Do we do that? Are we known as those who are truth-givers? Are we trustworthy as God`s children?

The One whom we follow reminds us of the ministry of the patriarchs, the prophets, John the Baptist, the Virgin Mary and of Christ the King as we journey on. We celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Saviour of the world, and reaffirm our commitment to him. As we come to the Lord`s Table today, we bring all that we are to God, Alpha and Omega, the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Let me end with a paraphrase of some words from the book of Revelation in the Fount Children`s Bible which speaks of our journey`s end, where Christ the King reigns:

`The gates of the city stood open all day, and there was never any night. All the people who love God live here. Whatever they have suffered while they lived on earth is made up to them a thousand times over. There is no sickness or disease, no famine or war or death. No one tells lies or picks quarrels, or makes the lives of others a misery. It`s as though the life of Jesus has finally spread to everyone. As though his love and joy and peace were flowing through every heart and flooding every life.

God save the King. Amen.

(Revd) Pat Hopkins

Sheringham: St Peter

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