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| King of Kings |
And as we begin our planning for the Reign of Christ (or at least that Sunday) shall we pray?
God whose reign is one paradox after another:
Lamb or shepherd, of this world or not of this world, now and not yet...
As people of faith we wonder how best to speak of this kingdom.
As the year once more turns over, give us wisdom and vision.
Help us to see how your Reign is here, is being born, and is just over the horizon
so that we can be people of hope is a world too often given to cynicism and despair.
Amen.
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| or is Pilate the bad listener??? |
But then again you could go into the last words of David. Because nothing says God's eternal Kingdom than the words of a dying man. Particularly one whose house is going to lose most of its glory (and kingdom) in the next generation.
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| Isn't that really the key question? |
Then there are the almost requisite pieces of apocalyptic (seriously, what would Reign of Christ be without apocalyptic?). This year an option from Daniel and a bit of Revelation fill that void.
So how do you generally deal with the Reign of Christ? There is a discussion about the topic over on the RGBP Facebook page. And of course we can carry the discussion over in the comments on here.
Oh, I'm rocking and rolling already on this one, which always feels oddly placed. But somehow this year it makes sense to me: we've walked through the Gospel of Mark with all the language of the cost of discipleship - this Sunday, we're going to talk about the cost of Kingship, and how the story we are about to embark upon only makes sense if we know the end....referencing the new "Lincoln" movie, which shows quite clearly the toll the work imposed upon Lincoln on the last days of his life, and his assassination, but how it had to be viewed in the context of the long arc of history. So, too, Jesus. We can't appreciate the bitter irony beneath the sweetness of Advent and Christmas unless we know where it is all going to end up, in a tapestry of joy and pain and power and death and resurrection. Kingship has its cost, just as discipleship does.
ReplyDeleteHaving preached on the Day of th Lord last week, that will be my Reign of Christ piece for the year. However when I was writing a meditation on this John passage for Ordinary Time I was struck by verse 34: "Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” ". And so I am preaching that question (more or less expanding the meditation for the book -- NOvember 28th for those who have it) this Sunday.
ReplyDeleteMy Early Thoughts for the week can be found here
Preaching on the gospel this Sunday and my sermon title is "This is not the King you are looking for..." Since Pilate, the Jews and us all have these misconceptions of what Jesus' kingship means, we'll look at that a little closer. What I am struggling with this week is that tomorrow we have a Thanksgiving Eve service. The worship leader gave me the instructions of a quiet meditative service with Communion. I wanted to do some sort of experiential activities along with communion, but I am at a loss as to what activities to do. Maybe a station where people can write a thank you note to God for the blessings of this past year. Maybe something else altogether. I am not really sure yet.
ReplyDeleteGREAT title, Megan!
DeleteHi gals and pals - ducking the reign of Christ as per usual. :b Instead, going back to last week and doing a thing on Hannah - looking at her song as a preview of the magnificat. And, including something about persistence, something about a post-thanksgiving "giving thanks by giving back" message. I HAVE to clean my desk, as I have lost my pledge card (so embarrassing to be on the list of Families Who Usually Pledge We Need To Follow Up With), so I'm doing to do that and then dive into sermon prep. Interesting to be doing sermon prep on Tuesdays - not sure it is a total success, but so far liking it pretty well. I've always been a Saturday sermon writer. Curious when others do sermon prep and what you like about the time when you do it.
ReplyDeletePlaying with the imagery in the 2 Sam passage of the cloudless morning after the rain, and the old gospel song "Unclouded Day." Not sure where that's going with CtK, but it's percolating.
ReplyDeleteOn vacation and relying on a sustainable sermon from 6 years ago....touching on eschatology which is a good lead in to Advent I guess. I am remarkably unconcerned about it now, but ask me again on Saturday!
ReplyDeletea few thoughts rumbling around
ReplyDeletethinking about the reign of Christ and what that means.
the verse in John: . For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. [what do our lives witness to? and
David Lose's column in Working Preacher
not sure how all that will come together.
there is a song from RESOUNDworship.org 'what kind of throne' a group are going to sing during worship.
I am pondering the contrast between the God "who was, and is, and is to come" in all might and majesty for eternity, and the God who is so intimately involved in human life as to come live among us. As others have mentioned, I am fascinated by the arc from king to helpless baby; I think connecting them in the short season from rit before Advent to Christmas reflects a tension in our faith that is also a great source of hope. I need both a big God and a personal God! Not sure exactly where I will go with this (though I have half a sermon written and am meandering around trying to figure out the path), but I hope it turns into something. I am on vacation this week, not back until Saturday evening, and I really don't want to be undoing a week of fun with a night of stress :-o
ReplyDeleteI am preaching on Sunday in the wake of the General Synod's decision to reject women bishops. How do I speak of glory?
ReplyDelete