Last Sun after Pentecost-Christ the King Proper 29C

Last Sunday after Pentecost/Christ the King-Proper 29C November 24, 2019 Today is the last Sunday after Pentecost, the last Sunday in our season of ordinary time, and the last Sunday of the church year. In our church, this Sunday is designed to lift up the theme of Christ as King or the Reign of Christ, and then we move next Sunday into a whole new church year and into the season of Advent with its themes of waiting and hope, of expectation and longing. So what does it mean to say that Christ is King on this day? Our readings give us three depictions of kingship that are startling in their differences. For Jeremiah, a true king is one who is responsible for the people and should not allow them to be scattered through ruin and disaster. True kingship is the promise of one who will not only gather up those who are scattered but he will also fulfill the kingly task of bringing all people together and being present with all people. In the hymn to Christ, the writer of Colossians gives us a poetic smattering of images of Christ’s kingship: his glorious power, his inheritance of light, the image of the invisible God, first born of all creation; “he is before all things and in him all things hold together;” in him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him God reconciled all things to God. It is a high and lofty expression of what it means to see Christ as King as compared to the humble shepherd depicted in Jeremiah, except that both images of king involve bringing people together in and through God. Then suddenly we find ourselves right in the middle of Jesus’s crucifixion from Luke’s gospel, and we see Jesus being mocked by his tormentors and ridiculed in his kingship. We witness his humiliation, and his sublime power as he forgives again and again and again. From the cross he forgives those who crucified him; those who stood by and watched; those who betrayed him; those who mocked him; those who failed him. “Father forgive them [all] for they don’t know what they are doing.” And we see him honor the thief’s request and his confession of faith as he grants him a place in his kingdom. So how do these three different pictures of Christ’s kingship come together to inform us and help us in our relationship with God? My husband used to like to share a quote that I never knew where it came from. I recently learned that the original quote is from a Religious News Journalist named Cathleen Falsani. The quote is “Justice is getting what you deserve. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. And grace is getting what you absolutely don't deserve. ...... benign good will. unprovoked compassion. the unearnable gift” (read it a 2nd time) The Franciscan priest Richard Rohr writes about this topic in his meditation for today, where he talked about the difference between our economy—capitalism, where everything we have is earned—and God’s economy, where nothing that we have is earned; everything that we have is, instead, a free gift from God.i Jesus Christ’s kingship is characterized by mercy, by forgiveness, by 2nd chances. It is in and through mercy that he gathers up all us wayward sheep and restores us together in and through God. As another writer put it, Jesus is the “king of second chances.” Think about something that you would like to have a second chance for. The mercy of Jesus, the kingship of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus means that there will always be room for a 2nd chance in the Kingdom of God. And it means that as citizens of that kingdom, we must also practice mercy and forgiveness. Think of someone you know who may not deserve your mercy, your forgiveness, and think about how, as a citizen of the kingdom of God, the kingdom of mercy and reconciliation, you might begin to offer it. Your invitation this week is two-fold. First, it is to be mindful that you dwell in the realm of Christ the King, where nothing is earned and all is freely given. Second, it is to look for opportunities to both ask for and offer second chances to those whom you find yourself cross-wise with. i. https://cac.org/the-gospel-economy-2019-11-24/