Christ the King
This Sunday is a special one, and the last Sunday of the Church year. Next week we begin the church year with the four Sundays of Advent. Our collect today reminds us that it is ‘Stir Up Sunday’ a Sunday synonymous with Christmas puddings. The great cry 'stir up' was a reminder to congregations to get the Christmas pudding made in plenty of time to mature before Christmas. An important addition to the mixture is a coin, whoever gets it on their plate on Christmas Day should get worldly riches heaped upon them.
However, the prayer is actually asking God for something much more important. We are praying that God will stir up our wills, so that we might get on with doing the good works that he has planned for us to do. Then, as a consequence, we pray that we might receive our abundant reward.
In an age when so much is about how we feel, it is interesting to get another perspective. In the end, it is our will, rather than our feelings, that is the most important governor of our actions.
Real love is not about feeling it is about choosing, by our wills, to do good to others even though we may not feel good towards them. Our feelings should not dominate our wills. And so we pray that God will "stir up" our wills, so that they will be in charge of us, doing what we know is right. In this prayer we recognise that we need God’s help in order for our wills to function properly.
Today we remember that Jesus is King, Lord of all. The reading from Matthew today tells of the end of time when all will be judged by Jesus. Jesus uses the image of a shepherd who sorts out the sheep from the goats, so there will be a separation of people who have done good things and people who have failed to do good.
Jesus is coming to the end of his teaching in this Gospel, before he goes towards Jerusalem and he will be crucified. As he concludes this teaching session it is as though Jesus is shown by Matthew to say 'Look what I have said is serious, this is important, listen to what I say because there are consequences.'
The good news is that the challenge which Jesus gives can be fulfilled by anybody. We do not need lots of money to give away, we do not need to find a cure for Cancer. Jesus simply tells his followers to be kind to one another. Look after the poor, visit the sick give food to the hungry. We can all do this, and so we become a part of God's family.
Opening Verse of Scripture
For the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth and the heights of the mountains are His also.
Ps 95 v 3, 4
Collect Prayer for the Day—Before we read we pray
Eternal Father, whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven that He might rule over all things as Lord and King: keep the church in the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, and bring the whole created order to worship at His feet; who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Heavenly Lord, you long for the world’s salvation: stir us from apathy, restrain us from excess and revive in us new hope that all creation will one day be healed in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Stir up O Lord, the wills of your faithful people; they they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by you be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
First Bible Reading Ezekiel 34 v 11- 16, 20 - 24
For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.
Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
Second Reading Ephesians 1 v 15 - 23
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 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 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 what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this 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. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Gospel Reading Matthew 25 v 31 - 46
‘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. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’
Post Communion Prayer
Stir up O Lord, the wills of your faithful people; they they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by you be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Commentary
The image of a shepherd king was a bit of a dichotomy, an oxymoron. Shepherds were typically quite low on the social spectrum, not to be trusted, not rich or powerful. But good shepherds looked after their charges, not considering their own worth or status, but faithfully looking after the flock attending, tending, watching out for, that had been entrusted to them. Even laying down their life for them. This is the image of the shepherd King that Matthew paints. And this shepherd like kingly rule would not be based on earthly power and authority, but spiritual and divine authority, something quite different to what the world had seen until then. A new order was coming and the footsteps to bring it to fruition were beginning to sound. And the King in this new world order would be a shepherd who would draw not only the sheep of both Israel, Judah but all nations to Himself. As He does, the sheep will be places on His right and the goats on His left. To the Jewish audience listening to Jesus this was a very different order of things where the separation had been on heritage and lineage. You were either a Jew or not.
Today’s reading comes at the end of a large section of teaching about Jesus and instructions of how to live. It’s a conclusion to the teachings of Jesus but it’s also a warning. There are eternal consequences to ignoring the teaching of Jesus. Following on from this passage Matthew starts to look at the events leading up to the crucifixion. Immediately after this passage Jesus reminds those who are listening that the Passover is only 2 days away and that is when the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified. Not only is the end of the old world order coming to an end, its coming to an end very soon. Yet it is through and beyond the cross, through the resurrection and ascension we see the full authority and power of God’s Kingdom released. Even death has no hold over Him. The shepherd King of David has come to seek and guard His flock. And as all powerful as He is as King, He invites us to join Him, whoever we are whatever state we are in. Sometimes even being asked to be shepherds of the flock ourselves, noticing those who might be vulnerable, sick or in need of material support, just as Christ noticed them, and gathered them in and inviting them into this new Kingdom.
In this passage, Jesus speaks using words which immediately attract out attention, there will be a judgement day and everybody will be called to account. They will be gathered to await the verdict at the end of time and there will be a separation. It’s a message which is deadly serious. His teaching is not just a good idea, it is imperative that we take notice and listen. And Jesus uses language which reinforces the seriousness of his message. He spoke to an audience of people who were largely Jewish and He used language and imagery which would be understood by the Jews, even if the context was not radically different, the rules of division have now been changed. No longer is it a case of Jews on one side, separated from everybody else. There is still a division, but from now on the basis for that division is Jesus himself.
The Jews always believed that the Messiah would come and judge and the imagery which Jesus of a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats would have been instantly familiar to his hearers. It was always believed by the Jews that the Messiah would come and be a judge. Often that work of judgement was thought of as the Messiah being like a shepherd (Ezekiel 34 v 11, 23). But we need to remember that what we have in the gospel passage is an image, one chosen for his audience. Over the years Christians teaching has taken the imagery used in passages like this and made it into literal doctrines. Eternal judgement and eternal life have been described with spectacular realism and attention to detail.
But we really don’t know what judgement will be like; it’s probably better to leave such things to God. What we do know is that Jesus wants his hearers to take his words with great seriousness. His warning is this. God’s favour rests upon those who decide to do the work he has given us to do. Those who choose to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit those in prison; these are the ones who will find blessing. The faithful will see everyone as a brother or sister in Christ and will respond to the need to care for all God's children. They will walk their days with a Saviour King who transforms them again and again into a people who take joy in helping others. They will delight in working to change oppressive systems and human structures that fail to serve the needy and work against relieving troubled lives and broken sprits.
We often end our service with the words go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. The two go together, love and service. It is in the love of Christ we see when people care for each other.
Sam Cappleman
Meditation
Last week we had the Parable of the Talents, this week we have the Great Judgement. We’ve been reading about making preparation and being ready for when Jesus returns in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins and the parable of the talents. Now we begin to read about what will happen when He comes. Matthew paints the picture of Jesus sitting on His throne surrounded by angels with all the nations of the world assembled before Him. And yet, rather than continue with the image of majesty and Kingship, Matthew returns to the theme of Christ as a shepherd, a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats. The sheep are placed on the right, the place of honour (The Lord says to my Lord: sit at my right hand, Ps 110 v 1) whilst the goats are on the left. In this passage their critical failing seems to have been the sins of omission coming from a life centred on self rather than God. Matthew then gives us a stark reminder that there are eternal ramifications of the choices we make on earth.
Today we celebrate Christ the King, a king who welcomes all into His Kingdom, one already teeming with the saints that have gone before us, those we know and those we don’t know yet. He gently and graciously welcomes all into His realm, into His house and eternal dwelling, whatever our background or circumstances. To those who accept His offer of welcome, He also invites to share in and reflect His kingly splendour and majesty, so that all people can come to know and experience God’s love, peace, and acceptance.
Bring us, O Lord, at our last awakening into the house and gate of heaven, to enter that gate and dwell in that house, where there shall be no darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light; no noise nor silence, but one equal music; no fears nor hopes, but one equal possession; no ends or beginnings, but one equal eternity; in the habitations of your glory and dominion, world without end. Amen.
Eric Milner-White (1963) after John Donne (1631), From the Church of England ‘Time to Pray’,
Daily Prayer During the Day, All Saints to Advent.
Sam Cappleman
