Christ the King Year B

Opening Sentence Psalm 1:1

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

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 in 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. CW

God the Father, help us to hear the call of Christ the King and to follow in his service, whose kingdom has no end; for he reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, one glory. All Amen

First Bible Reading Daniel Chapter 7:9-10,13-14

As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took his throne; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and flowed out from his presence. A thousand thousand served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him. The court sat in judgement, and the books were opened. As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship,

that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed. NRSV

Second Reading Revelation Chapter 1: 4b-8

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen.‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. NRSV

Gospel Reading John Chapter 18:33-37

Pilate asked Jesus, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?’ Pilate replied, ‘I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?’ Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’ Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’ NRSV

Post Communion Sentence

Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by you be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. CW

Commentary

The Christian year of worship has been progressing through the Sundays we know as Ordinary Time all through the summer until now with the colour of green. These are the Sundays after Pentecost and Trinity Sunday all the way back in May. For all of that time every Sunday we have been reading bible passages about ordinary Christian living which challenge us to live extraordinary Christian lives. Today we come to a special Sunday the Sunday of Christ the King which lands us on the threshold of the great season of Advent when we prepare for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. From next week Advent 1, we are going to enter into a time of watching and waiting a reflective time of purple before the razzmatazz of Christmas itself.

Just for this Sunday we have an opportunity to reflect on Jesus and what it means to think of him as ‘king.’ It is interesting that when many people think of the Kingship of Jesus they imagine a kind of worldly power and authority. The language of some of our hymns and prayers is not very helpful and encourages this because it tends to show Jesus as a King like an earthly king or a powerful ruler. Of course the kingship of Jesus is nothing like that and Jesus stressed that his kingdom was not of this world. A person coming into a Christian church today might think that we have all gone quite mad by choosing to proclaim Jesus as King and use a passage from the Bible which is probably one of the most humiliating passages available, Jesus is arrested and will be beaten and killed. However this is what is most important about the type of king Jesus is, he is the exact opposite of what we normally think of when we imagine kings. With Jesus there are no power systems, no room for triumphalism when we think of the majesty of Jesus, we should look to the humiliation and apparent failure cross.

Crucifixion was an execution for common criminals - It was for enemies of Rome, people who they wanted to make examples of as a warning to anybody who was guilty of challenging the power of Rome. As a body was left to decay on a cross it was an example and warning to anybody out there ‘don’t even think about it.’ The cross reminds us that Jesus turns human values upside down. This does not mean that in any way Jesus is less of king. The first words spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of Mark are by Jesus who proclaims

‘The time has come….The Kingdom of God has come near..’

There is no doubting what is going on, in the Magnificat Mary the mother of Jesus cries out

‘He has brought down rulers from their thrones’

It is not that Jesus isn’t a king, he is the King of Kings, it is just that his kingship is of such a completely different kind that Jesus can say that his kingdom ‘is not of this world.’

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The reason why we choose to look to the cross as the central and most significant and obvious place to see Jesus for who he really was, is because it is no accident that Jesus is there. Jesus had set himself to live a life of different values which put him on a collision course which meant that it was inevitable that he would end up on the cross. Jesus challenged the system, he exposed and challenged the leaders, and their corruption. He used every means at his disposal from clever stories to miraculous healings to demonstrate that the rules which governed society were ridiculous and loaded in favour of the powerful whilst they crushed the poor and vulnerable.

Jesus did everything in his power to show that God loved the poor and the weak ones and that those at the top had to come down from their high and mighty perches. As Sam reminded us last week he literally turned the tables and challenged the authority of the temple itself by proclaiming that not one stone would be left standing. The Jewish leaders, the religious authorities, were determined that he would die and they were determined to find a way to kill him.

So to be a part of the Kingdom of God is not to join in with triumphant crowds claiming that we have power and the victory. Joining Jesus is not like throwing in our lot with the winning side. Joining Jesus does not leave any room for triumphalism. Whilst we know that the cross was a victory over sin and death, that resurrection morning lies in our future. For now we live alongside people who are no different than those Jesus lived and died with to show his love.

Jesus calls those who would be a part of his kingdom to join him and work to extend his justice and peace in our world. As we share in this work we are a part of his kingdom, we share in paradise.

So we are to join Jesus in a new kind of kingdom as we seek to show the values which marked out the Kingship and kingdom of Jesus. His compassion, justice, truth, sacrifice and love. So that

Hungry ones are fed in our community are fed ands food banks are supported

The homeless have places like Clarence House to care for them and are visited on the street to discover their names and what their needs are.

The sick find people who care for them and are not forgotten about.

People are not persecuted for the way they were born because of the colour of their skin, gender, their sexuality, their creed

Our children are not vulnerable and trapped into gangs and lives of drugs and crime such as we have seen in the streets of Brickhill recently.

All of this is about the kingship of Jesus and we know that if he walked the streets of Bedford these are the sorts of things that he would care about. Christians recognise that if we want to see God and understand what he was doing in Jesus most clearly, then the place we look is the cross. What Jesus does on the cross is the most dramatic things ever to happen in human history. God in Jesus takes upon himself the sins of the world and against all the odds and human expectation, God proclaims forgiveness.

Jesus is a different kind of leader,

He refuses power but appears rather in vulnerability.

Jesus does not stand with the powerful but alongside all of those who suffer injustice and oppression, the poor and the vulnerable.

He does not vow retribution on even those who crucify him but instead offers forgiveness.

He does not come down off his cross to prove his kingly status but instead remains on that instrument of torture and humiliation, the representative of all who suffer unjustly.

He does not promise that he will give a better tomorrow but rather that today immediately we can know the paradise of his love and forgiveness.

Our King is a Crucified King and as his chest is pierced with a spear his last breaths are used to speak words of comfort to the lost and the lonely, to one who would die with him and those he would leave behind. As we follow Christ as our King may he give us grace and strength to follow in his way.

Meditation

We are now reaching the end of the Church’s year. With the beginning of Advent, we begin again the cycle of the birth of Jesus, his ministry, his death, Passion and resurrection. 

The ending of a year is a good time to assess where we have been, what has been achieved, and perhaps most importantly, where we are going with our journey of faith. 

If, when we look at our spiritual lives, we feel that we have made no real progress, perhaps it is time to embark on more regular Bible study. Perhaps joining a house group would give you the support you need for growth? Perhaps you would like to put your faith into some kind of action, helping missionary work or community projects. 

New beginnings are always exciting, offering us the challenge of new spiritual adventures and development.

Hymns

Rejoice the Lord is King

Jesus is coming

Prayers for this Sunday

Jesus our King, we praise you for all that you have done for us. 

We thank you for your willingness to accept victory on a cross, for taking upon yourself the sins of the world and bringing salvation to the world. 

As we celebrate your kingship, forgive us that we are so often reluctant to let your reign over us. 

Help us to follow your examples of how we should live in your kingdom. 

As you washed your disciples feet, so give us strength to be servants of one another. 

As you challenged the religious and social conventions which made some people of less worth than others, help us work to ensure that all of your children are valued equally. 

Give us strength to model our lives on your life and so may your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. 

We give you thanks for showing your glory in the form of a suffering servant. 

As we see you hanging on a cross we glimpse your compassion and love for humankind. 

We pray for those who suffer today; those in Syria who are victims of violence, refugees 

and asylum seekers who long for places of safety where they can live in peace and care for their families. 

We remember Christians around the world who are persecuted because they worship and serve you as their King. 

May those in distress know that as they go through times of suffering that you are with them and hear their prayers. 

We pray for those who have died and whose memory we treasure. 

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace and rise in glory. Merciful Father 

Prayers for this Sunday

We pray for all peoples in the world at this time of approaching festivities. We pray for, and remember those who will find it difficult to celebrate Christmas this year. We pray for those who are lonely at this time of year. For those who have no family or friends. For those who cannot get out of their house and meet people day-to-day.

Lord, in Your Mercy….

We pray for all who suffer at this time of year, from loneliness, from cold, from rejection by others. Lord, we bring before you all those who society rejects, because of illness – physical or mental. Those who have different beliefs, different colour of skin, or those who simply choose to be different. You sent your Son to bring joy and comfort to all men, we pray that we may help fulfil His mission at this time of the year.

Lord, in Your Mercy….

We pray for our leaders, Charlie and Sam. We pray for all who choose to lead people in whatever capacity, large or small. May you guide them with Your Love, help them with Your compassion, and support them in their work. We pray for all who work harder at this time of the year to help and support those less well off than others.

Lord, in Your Mercy….

We pray for those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit. Christmas can be a difficult time of year for many people, separated from their loved ones because of work, because they are ill in hospital, or because they are unable to join in festivities for whatever reason. May You bring the Peace and Joy which Christ came into the world to bring into their hearts this year.

Lord, in Your Mercy….

We pray for those who have died. We remember those we hold in our hearts. We are sure of a life still to come, beyond death. We pray for those who are left behind, who mourn loved friends and relations. Jesus Christ is the light of the world, a light which no darkness can quench. We remember before God those who have died and light a candle to symbolise the light of Christ, which eternally shines and brings hope. We remember … 

You turn our darkness into light: in your light shall we see light.

Merciful Father,  accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Gathering our prayers and praises into one, let us say the Lord’s Prayer together. 

Prayers for Sunday

The bidding today will be:- Lord, in your mercy .

and the response will be: - Hear our prayer. 

We pray together. Heavenly Father we constantly stare in wonder at the universe that you have caused into being and of which we understand just a fraction. In the presence of such power and majesty we bring our prayers for others. Help us now as we delve into the failures of the human condition seeking guidance and strength into doing your will as lived out and revealed to us by your Son even Jesus Christ our Saviour and King.

Lord, in your mercy - 'Hear our prayer’

Lord we pray for your worldwide Church in all its different forms. Help us not to despair at our increasingly secular society for there is growth and vibrancy in churches in many parts of the world where our forebears first planted the seeds of the Gospel. We pray for wisdom for their leaders especially when they are faced with state opposition or cultural pressures. 

Lord, in your mercy - 'Hear our prayer’

We pray for a world of nations and factions seemingly forever in conflict. In recent months we have seen, in the name of religion, the subjugation and murder of those who would not accept their extreme ideologies. We read of rulers who continue to ignore the wishes of their peoples for rights and freedoms and who only seek to protect their own power and position. Yet, Lord, among darkness and chaos there are men and women who know that mediation and dialogue can break down seemingly impenetrable barriers. And that education can bring greater understanding and tolerance where there once was ignorance and hatred. So we pray, in the name of the Prince of Peace, for peacemakers and arbitrators, educators and facilitators and for all those who are prepared to stand up for justice and freedoms. For they do your will. 

Lord, in your mercy - 'Hear our prayer’

We pray for our own country and its peoples, for the Queen and all who hold authority and power that through Christ’s love and mercy all may strive in seeking what is best for all our citizens regardless of origin or status. As the emotive topic of Immigration remains in the headlines we pray for tolerance and harmony between all citizens of the UK regardless of ethnicity, religion and status.

Lord, in your mercy - 'Hear our prayer’

We pray for those in most need in our own families and neighbourhood, thinking of the sick, the lonely, the housebound and those at the margins of society. We pray for the work of Health-care professionals and Social Workers and not forgetting those whose lives are constrained by their care of loved ones. And so we ask that you bestow on them your gifts of patience, compassion and understanding. 

We pray now for those that we know who are sick, lonely, anxious or in some other special need at this time as we share a brief moment of silence together. As we have named them in our hearts so let them feel your presence and friendship in their lives as we commit them to your loving care - and may we be always alert to the needs of others.

Lord, in your mercy - 'Hear our prayer’

We also remember those who have been drawn to their eternal rest in your safe keeping – some with a life fulfilled and some with a life cut tragically short. We pray for those left behind with just photographs and memories. Let them know that nothing is more dependable in times of sorrow than your steadfast and encircling love. For we can be assured that………..

Jesus Christ is the Light of the World, a light which no darkness can quench. We remember before God all the faithful departed whom we hold dear in our hearts:- And we light a candle to symbolise the light of Christ which eternally shines and brings hope.

For you turn our darkness into light; in your light shall we see light.

Lord, in your mercy - 'Hear our prayer’

A final prayer for ourselves: - Lord we know that at the end we shall be judged not through the eyes of the world but through the eyes of Jesus. Help us then to view others with his understanding, compassion and most of all love.