Christ the King – Sunday before Advent
Dear All
Today we gathered to Celebrate Christ the King, marking the end of the church’s year.
Wednesday 30th November is St Andrew’s Day, our Patronal Festival, we will celebrate this at our Thursday morning Holy Communion and on Sunday with a special cake for coffee.
The Christmas Tree Festival will run from 3rd – 9th December. We are donating a tree which we will decorate on Friday 4th. If you have any nativity themed tree decorations which you could lend for the tree, we would be most grateful, please bring them to church next Sunday 27thNovember.
Notices for this week:
Tuesday 10am Prayer Group in the Garden Room.
Wednesday 7.30pm Book Group – Angela’s
Thursday 10am Said Eucharist for St Andrew followed by coffee in Friendship House
Saturday 26th November 3.30pm in church Songs from the golden age of musical theatre performed by Sam Clark and Kirsty Duncan. Tickets £8 available on the door.
Readings for next Sunday – Advent Sunday – Isaiah 2:1-5 Romans 13:11-14 Matthew 24:36-44
Today’s Reading – Luke 23:33-43, Colossians 1 :11-20, Jeremiah 23:1-6
Today is the last Sunday of the Christian year a day traditionally referred to as the feast of Christ the King. I say ’traditionally’, but it’s only a tradition that goes back to 1925, when the feast day was proclaimed by Pope Pius IX. 1925 was a very interesting time. We had only just emerged from the first world war, we were in the grip of a worldwide economic depression, and many people were looking for answers.
Political extremes were being played out in Europe with communism on the one hand and dictatorship on the other. Some very outspoken leaders were beginning to emerge, people who believed that they had answers to those questions. One was the Italian leader, Mussolini, another was Adolf Hitler.
in 1925 the world was watching, waiting for answers, and listening to these powerful men. And so, the then Pope felt that it was time to remind Christian people everywhere that our allegiance is to Christ and not to any of these worldly rulers.
Hence ’Christ the King’ Sunday.
But Jesus was a king who was different from any worldly ruler, he was different from the moment he was born. He never did conform to the pictures usually associated with kingship with earthly glory and power. He wasn’t born in a royal palace, or even into a royal family, but was born to parents who were humble and modest. He was regarded as dangerously odd by the religious authorities. Here was someone that took the welfare of the poor seriously, particularly of children and widows.
Indeed, his preaching constantly affirmed the poor and outcasts, he taught of love and forgiveness – turning the other cheek. He even washed his disciple’s feet.
The powers that be, both Jews and Romans, were utterly confused.
The picture our gospel reading gives us today of Christ on the cross is certainly not what we might expect to see illustrating Kingship, power and authority. Here there are no fine robes but a naked and scarred body, his crown has no jewels only vicious thorns. There are no courtiers or servants around him, just two criminals sharing his fate and an assorted crowd of soldiers and spectators who taunt and mock him. But above his head are written the words
“This is the King of the Jews” and then we hear the voice of one of the robbers “Remember me when you come into your Kingdom” And Christ’s reply “Today you will be with me in paradise”
And so, from the voices of mockery and hate we hear the voices of faith and compassion.
In this picture of Christ on the cross we are getting a glimpse of the sort of kingship that can meet our deepest inner spiritual needs. The needs we sometimes don’t even understand ourselves and which certainly aren’t met by the leaders of the world.
Here is a king who is prepared to suffer alongside us. This is not a king who holds himself regally aloof from his people, he is a king who experiences betrayal, savage injustice, brutal cruelty and utter humiliation and yet maintains his dignity and integrity. This is a king who has lived life as we have lived it who as died as we must die but who now lives a new resurrection life.
He reassures us and welcomes us into that new resurrection life in his kingdom where we will know peace and healing.
Paul encouraged the Colossians with this belief in his letter to them.
“For God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14
Next week we will begin again to tell the story of the coming of Jesus into the world as a baby and we will again start looking forward to Jesus returning as Christ the King.
As we journey through the year hearing again the stories of Jesus’ birth, his ministry and teaching, his death and resurrection, we too will be travelling our own journeys.
We too will go through the wilderness times of doubt and anxiety, we may enter the gethsemane of anguish and despair, we will have great experiences of excitement and good news.
We will plod along through the everyday life of ordinary times.
As we travel Christ will be alongside us giving meaning and purpose to our lives. His presence will make all the difference when we feel most alone and isolated.
Today we celebrate the feast day of Christ the King.
A king who came to earth with nothing, born in a stable among animals.
A king who died on a cross and rose again.
A king who longs to reign in our hearts and bless us with his presence and drew us into his eternal kingdom.