This sermon was delivered to St Oswald’s in Maybole,
Ayrshire, Scotland on the 21st November 2010
(a Scottish Episcopal Church in the Dioceses of Glasgow and Dumfries).
Summary: We are all familiar with the feast or term Christ the King, but do you really know where it comes from and what is associated with. I didn't and I could not believe all what is involved. I is good reading, with some real gems of inspiration.
Jeremiah 23:1-6 Psalm 46 Colossians 1:11-20 Luke 23:33-43
Welcome
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
This morning, the theme of our service is Christ the Kings and I could not believe how complex this was until I out this sermon together; however not just about the Kingship of Jesus as there are some real gems of inspiration throughout I hope you will pick up on.
More on that later, but for now we will start with the peace.
We meet in Christ's name. Let us share his peace.
The Gospel Reading.
Hear the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke Chapter 23 verses 33 to 43. Glory to Christ our Saviour.
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots to divide his clothing. The people stood by, watching Jesus on the cross; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."
One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Give thanks to the Lord for his Glorious gospel. Praise to Christ our Lord.
“Please be seated, and join me in a short prayer.” Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord. Amen. (Ps. 19:14)
Introduction
In my last few sermons, you must admit I have been given some difficult topics to discuss; so I was quite relieved when I was given this set of readings for Christ the King.
Now I do not know about you, but when I heard the expression Christ the King in the past, my first reaction was to agree, and then somehow switch off because I have absolutely no problem in saying, and believing that Christ is the king. Well that is until I tried to prepare this sermon and I was forced to examine that title in much greater depth, in fact there is much to this topic than I first imagined.
First, let us see where this title “Christ the King” comes from; and surprisingly, “Christ the King” is not a title to be found in the bible, however that description and title of Jesus is based on several passages of Scripture; and, in general, it is used by all Christians all over the world to celebrate and honour Jesus under another heading of the “Feast of Christ the King” on the last Sunday of the liturgical year: that is, before a New Year begins with the first Sunday of Advent next week.
Now the name “KING” does refer to Jesus however, it is a title found in many forms throughout the bible.
Here are a few: “King Eternal” is mentioned in 1st Timothy; and “King of Israel” is cited in John chapter 1. “King of the Jews” in another mentioned in Matthew; and “King of kings” is quoted in both Timothy and Revelations. The “King of King of the Ages” is also mentioned in the Book of Revelation along with the title “Ruler of the Kings of the Earth”.
Now you must admit these are some powerful titles, and you can see “Christ the King” is basically a summation of them all. Words and titles therefore just cannot describe how high and mighty Jesus really is; and my favourite expression of assurance from the bible is that “Jesus is the name above all other names”. In other words, if you can name something, then Jesus is above it; and master of it.
What a saviour we are worshiping here today; and it is very important for us to remind ourselves how powerful Jesus really is; because when we are right down in the dumps, (which everyone is at some point), we tend to let our vision of Jesus diminish with the lowering of our esteem; and with that we diminish in hope.
What I am saying is that if we limit God, we are limiting our ability to overcome. So it is very important to understand the authority and power of Jesus through these grand titles of “King ...”
But before we can fully understand what is meant by a king in the bible, I think it is easier to first think of what a king is not, because this is where we can all become confused.
Now, the word king is somewhat diminished in our present day understanding, but in older times, the king was thought of as the top of the Political structure with many people in allegiance to him; just as depicted and magnified in our modern day fairy tales to our children.
But this was close to the situation in many cases; the king was the overlord and the man. Look at the millions and millions of people for example who paid allegiance, and who were in abeyance to the Russian Tsars. This is an extreme example, but the Russian Tsars were kings.
You will all agree me that the world’s kingdoms are all about power and prestige, and if not, the king is not doing his job properly by looking after his subjects.
The king was the ruler, the head of state, the authority figure; the man in charge who to most of his subjects basically did what he wanted. To them he was allowed to do anything within reason and sometimes without reason if they could get away with it. To most people no one could challenge a king; not even to David in the Old Testament who said “only a king could kill a king”.
It is therefore easy to understand how these people see the king as having a very privileged position; a position where he is waited at hand and foot; and if something can be supplied by human hands; then a king usually wants for nothing. It is also not surprising that these old kings developed an attitude that everything was all about them.
Now this is the perception; not always the reality; as there is obviously much more to this; but I am generalising here to make a point, that the King was usually perceived as position of privilege, and not a position of responsibility.
This then leads me into the description of Christ being a King; and the first point you will agree with me is that Christ is (or was) no free loader. He was born in a lowly stable, to a lowly family and lived a lowly life. He was not waited on by hand nor foot, and He was mostly in the company of the lowest of the low. Yet He was a King. He was the best king who ever lived.
The bible is clear that we should emulate Christ as the greatest man who ever lived and that we should follow in his footsteps; using Him as the template in order to lead our lives. So Christ as the greatest man, must also be, (by the same logic), be the greatest king (or the greatest leader) who ever lived, and an example for all who find themselves in a position of leadership.
So what kind of king was (and is) Christ, and how does he exercise His authority?
First, we need to recognize that kingship was central to Christ’s mission. Matthew, Mark, and Luke speak with one voice in telling us that at the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus announced that the “kingdom of God” was drawing near, but not a kingdom the people could relate to or understand; as Jesus upended and undermined the whole concept of kingship. Instead of being about power and prestige; Jesus was about service and humility.
Make no mistake; the rulers of this world are about coersion and violence and personal gain; where as Jesus’ life was characterized by peace, love and reconciliation. The exact opposite.
The old Kings surrounded themselves with fawning courtiers and the sycophant {sicafants} crawlers; where as Jesus chose the lowly and the rejected as his companions. Jesus did not come to this earth to be served upon; he came to this earth to serve.
Jesus surrounded himself with the poor and the marginalized. He crossed social, moral, and religious boundaries by the company He kept; and by accepting women as His disciples. His critics charged that he ate and drank with liars, thieves and prostitutes; and the United Methodist Bishop, William Willimon remarked once, that Jesus still does this every time we celebrate the Eucharist!
That wasn’t intended as a joke by the way, it was intended to show you the un-denying love of Jesus: that He will accept anyone who genuinely comes to Him for love and forgiveness.
We read this morning that even on the cross; Jesus continued his habit of associating with the despised and disreputable. Poignantly, the second thief pleaded, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” The second thief must have known that one of the powers the kings had, was that he could issue a pardon to those accused of crimes. This thief therefore must have accepted Jesus as a king, and he must have believed that Jesus would survive the cross to “come into your kingdom”
That thief must have had a great revelation of the power, might and authority of Jesus, and that this king could pardon Him, even through Jesus Himself was about to be crucified on a similar cross beside him.
When you think about it, this is truly remarkable. The man you are asking for help, is a convicted felon who is about to die beside you, in exactly the same way as you. Now that is faith; and it is therefore unsurprising that Jesus accepted this man into His kingdom.
The thief said, “Lord Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”. This is not just the penitent thief’s prayer; it is our prayer, too. Indeed, it may be the most important prayer that we ever pray.
Jesus was the servant King. He was also the most powerful King ever. We must therefore keep in mind that we make our prayer through Christ the King, who not only forgives our sins but whose judgment is ever against those who trust in their own self-righteousness.
The feast of Christ the King was first orchestrated by Pope Pius XI (11) in 1925 after one of the most misunderstood and ignored encyclicals {en siklik’l} of all time. The encyclical {en siklik’l} was a formal statement on matters of doctrine issued by the pope to bishops in the Roman Catholic Church, proclaiming that “Christ, has dominion over all creatures, and this dominion was not seized by violence nor usurped; but by Christ’s loving divine nature.”
This instituted feast was to remind Christians that their allegiance was to their spiritual ruler in heaven and not to the earthly supremacy at that time; a Benito Mussolini. Today we still celebrate the “feast of Christ the King”, to remind us that Christ is our true and only King, a servant king, a king whose example we are to follow.
Amen.
Let us pray,
Father, the penitent thief on the cross said, “Lord Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”. Father remember us likewise.
Our only qualification is that we believe that Jesus is our King, and that we believe that Jesus died to save us.
Father we pray that we may be a part of your great kingdom here on this earth, and on the world to come. We ask to serve and not to be served as Jesus asked: and we humble pray that you be our authority in everything we do. We ask this in the name of Jesus, who is “the image of yourself, the firstborn of all creation; the king of kings and Lord of Lords. Amen.
Father, we humbly ask in Jesus name,
Amen.
Note to the reader:
If you have been blessed by this sermon, or any of my sermons, I would be greatly honoured to receive an e-mail from you saying so; I like so many others need encouragement.
I often feel that to deliver a sermon one time to my congregation is such a waste; where as many more could be blessed by its message, after all, it is not for my glory but for his. I would therefore like my sermons to bless more people, preferably internationally and not only in a small part, of a small country called Scotland.
Simply let me know where you are in the world … and any other information you may want to share or be prayed for. I would also take it as a compliment for you to use my sermons in order to bless others in his almighty name. I do not even need acknowledged, but he does, and I will receive a blessing directly from him.
Thank you for taking the time to read, and I wish you "all the best" as we say in Scotland … and I pray that your endeavours in the Lord are equally blessed. Yours in Christ, Gordon McCulloch, Scotland.
Compiled By: Gordon McCulloch (Worship Leader),
St Oswalds Episcopal Church,
Maybole. Ayrshire.
Scotland. UK
KA19 8KF
E-Mail: gccmcculloch @ aol.com or through Sermon Central
