Almighty God, give us such a vision of your purpose and such an assurance of your love and power, that we may ever hold fast the hope which is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
We end our church year with Jesus standing before Pilate. Pilate questioning Jesus. Rebuking Jesus. Reminding Jesus who has the power of life and death or so Pilate believes…
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.”
Jesus is the truth, the life, and the love. It is why we are here this morning.
“This kingdom of God will not be of this world but will be from above. It is a kingdom of the spirit rather than one of the body. It shall be a kingdom ruled by love and truth. We are Christians and we proclaim a unique Jesus and a unique kingdom.” (Bp. Andy Doyle)
This morning we recognize Jesus as King & have traveled this Church year in his way of love:
Advent – The four weeks of Advent help us to remember to turn to Christ – the one who is coming and for whom we wait. The prophets kept showing us the way and told us to turn toward Bethlehem – for the coming of the Messiah. We read scripture and learn about those who showed us the way.
Christmas – We celebrate the holy mystery of God coming to us as a baby – Jesus. We worship and give thanks to God for this great gift. Just as God blesses us, we bless one another in the sharing of gifts of love to one another.
Epiphany – This long season helps us learn about Jesus: his call of the disciples to turn and follow him; his teaching in parables and how to pray; how he rested when he was tired; how he blessed everyone he came upon.
Lent – We prepare to follow Jesus to Jerusalem to experience the most holy of mysteries. We turn our heads and hearts to the cross. It is a deep time of prayer and learning for followers of Jesus – including us today.
Easter – We give thanks to God for Jesus, and our worship is joyful as we celebrate the resurrection. It is so important because it also helps us prepare to go into the world to share the Good News.
Pentecost – Just as Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit comes upon us and blesses us to continue the work of Jesus. We are commissioned to go and bless others, acting as examples of what it means to pray, worship, learn, and bless.
Ordinary Time (Season after Pentecost) – For many of us, this is a time of rest. The summer months remind us of God’s growing creation and how we need to feed ourselves and keep growing in mind, body, and spirit.
The whole year reminds us of ways we can follow a Jesus-centered life. God is the center extending to infinity, so the center includes the three great times (Christmas, Easter & Pentecost) that help us turn and connect with God.
In the mystery of Christmas, we find unending wonder. We learn about the birth of Christ and worship him.
Easter. On one side we see the one who was crucified. On the other side we see the one who is still with us, Resurrected, and you cannot pull them apart. That is the mystery of Easter.
Pentecost is the time when the Holy Spirit awoke Jesus’ followers to make them leaders to love and care for others as well as themselves. The Spirit’s leading us is the mystery of Pentecost. (Sharon Pearson)
This journey of the church year is also the circle of our family. We put Jesus at our center and remember all the stories about God’s love. And we travel the year with Jesus from birth to death, it is a never-ending circle of life and we take our part in it to in our lives…
Every evening you and your family gather around the table in your kitchen for supper. The entree might be some epicurean delight from the pages of Bon Appétit – but more often than not it’s Chinese takeout or pizza from your favorite local pizza joint. As everyone digs in, the table buzzes with talk of tomorrow’s soccer game, a crabby teacher, the current fix-up project, the latest office crises, and a new knock-knock joke. Here at the kitchen table, parent and child give and receive encouragement, consolation, forgiveness and love. Especially love. If there is one safe harbor on earth, one secure, sheltered place where you are always welcome no matter how badly you mess up, the kitchen table is it. Your kitchen – the place where Christ rules.
A storm devastates a town; a fire reduces a neighborhood to burnt timber and ashes; an act of terrorism cuts a wide and bloody swath through a community. That’s when they go to work: skilled medical professionals, tireless construction workers, patient and gifted counselors, compassionate volunteers. These dedicated souls work around the clock to care for the hurt and injured, rescue those in danger, help the traumatized cope, and begin the hard work of rebuilding. By their very presence, these good people transform the debris and ashes into the kingdom of Jesus.
The tired old downtown building has seen better days but no better use. The city’s churches have worked together to turn the brick structure into a community center, a safe place where children can come to play basketball, receive tutoring, or just hang out after school. The well-stocked pantry provides for dozens of hungry families every week; a free clinic offers basic on-site medical care and referral services to the poor and uninsured. Its meeting rooms are always busy: the elderly have a place to go for companionship and immigrants are taught how to master the language of their new homeland. In this austere brick building, Jesus reigns. (Connections)
The kingdom of Jesus is not found in the world’s centers of power but within human hearts; it is built not by deals among the power elite but by compassionate hands; Christ reigns neither by influence nor wealth but by generosity and justice. A politician and influential figure like Pilate cannot grasp the kingship of Jesus nor the truth of his life – but we who have been baptized in the life, death and resurrection of Christ are called to build and maintain that kingdom in our own time and place (even as we await for what is to come). Christ’s reign is realized only in our embracing a vision of humankind as a family made in the image of God, a vision of one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, a vision of the world centered in the spirit of love, hope, and compassion taught by Christ that we walk with love each day of the church year. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment