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Feast of Christ the King
A sermon/reflection for Sunday before Advent – Christ The King.

The readings for this Sunday are those of Sunday before Advent:

  • Ezekiel 34. 11-16, 20-24

  • Psalm 95. 1-7,

  • Ephesians 1. 15-end

  • Matthew 25. 31-46

You might like to use the link below to find the above readings, and click on any of the reading above that you wish to use: http://www.katapi.org.uk/CommonWorship/CWLectionarySelV.php

Collect of the day

Let us first spend a few moments in silence to centre ourselves,
to gather ourselves in our souls, to come before the Lord just as we are with our joys and sorrows, our hopes and our fears, our loves and our pains.
Let us just focus our minds and hearts on Jesus
who is the answer for every problem.
Let us pray that the Spirit will work through our lives
to bring Christ to the world.

Silence is kept

Eternal Father,
whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven
    that he might rule over all things as Lord and King:
keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit
and in the bond of peace,
and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet;
help us to hear the call of Christ the King
and to follow in his service,
whose kingdom has no end;
for he is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Amen.

Prayer before the Sermon

Loving Heavenly Father,
we thank you for the words you have given us today.
We know they are words of life and salvation.

Open our hearts Father,
touch our souls,
forgive us our sins,
especially our lack of faith,
help us to respond to your word.

May we know
that you are our Lord and Saviour
who promises us the power from on high,
your Holy Spirit.

May we experience in our hearts
your love and your presence always.

Amen.

 

A homily based on the readings of today (especially Matthew 25:31-46) is given below:

Jesus in my brother or sister

Jesus Christ King of our hearts

Today we commemorate the feast of Christ the King. The celebration of the day only entered the church’s calendar in the Twentieth century, but it has become a valuable part of our preparations for Advent. On this day we recall Jesus in His eternal aspect, as King and Ruler, rather than as He was in his earthly life. 

We are accustomed to think of Jesus in his earthly life, as a loving, mild and thoughtful person, always tolerant and forgiving. This warning of the final judgement presents an image of Jesus as a stern but fair judge. The reading from Ezekiel sets the Gospel in the context of a beautiful description of God as a good shepherd, loving and vigilant, eternally watching over us, his sheep. 

And each of us must ask oneself: Is Jesus Christ the Lord and King of my life? Is Jesus Christ the One for who I live? Is Jesus Christ the King of my heart? Jesus tells us: “Abide in me and you will bear much fruit” (John 15.5)

We end a Church Year, and we start a new one

We are now reaching the end of the Church’s year. With the beginning of Advent, we begin again the cycle of the birth of Jesus, his ministry, his death, Passion and resurrection. 

The ending of a year is a good time to assess where we have been, what has been achieved, and perhaps most importantly, where we are going with our journey of faith. 

If, when we look at our spiritual lives, we feel that we have made no real progress, perhaps it is time to embark on putting  your faith into some kind of action, may be joining a Bible Study or Prayer Group, volunteer for a ministry in Church or helping to promote God’s work in the Parish through a community project etc. In this way you can give a new impetus to your spiritual growth.

New beginnings are always exciting, offering us the challenge of new spiritual adventures and development.

Christian Love is concrete action in favour of the ‘neighbour’

So much religion is all talk. Our gospel reading of today condemns people who never do anything. Christians are called to do good, practice what we preach.

“Jesus however is not interested in universal, theoretical or poetical love. For him love does not consist primarily in words, sentiments or feelings. For him love means primarily the great, courageous deed. He wants practical and therefore concrete love. “Whatever you do to the least of your brother or your sister, you do it to me!” – as we heard in the gospel of today.

According to Jesus, love is not simply love of man but essentially love of neighbour. It is a love, not of man in general, of someone, remote, with whom we are not personally involved, but quite concretely of one’s immediate neighbour.Love of God is proved in love of neighbour, and in fact love of neighbour is the exact yardstick of love of God. I love God only as much as I love my neighbour.” (“On Being a Christian”, page 256-257)

The Church is a Community and exists for others.  (Community is the key, page 35ff.) At the heart of the Gospel is love: that in spite of all our failures we are lovable and God loves us. It is not enough to preach about it and teach it. It has to be shown and lived out, and this is best done in community. The Church has a future only if it is lived out as a Community where we care for each other’s needs. As Mother Teresa would say: We can worship Jesus by serving the poor and needy in our community and by caring or each other, not just in a church building! That is what the Gospel teaches us today!

Commitment to Christ
  1. We have to change our strategies as a church as well as in our society, schools, education etc. Concrete action in favour of the poor must not be a choice but a clear and definite sign of being a Christian. That is what Jesus is telling usAnd he is the model for us to follow. His heart overflowed with love for people especially the needy and the vulnerable in society. Jesus tells us: “Whatever you do to the least of my brother or sister, you do it to me!”
  2. It is clear that to respond to God’s word today, we need to commit ourselves to Christ. A Christ that is found in every human being. A Christ who “went about doing good.” Following Jesus means loving and serving people unconditionally as Jesus did. God becoming man in Jesus makes us all brothers and sisters of Jesus, even those who do not know him.
  3. In this third millennium our Christian witness is challenged as no other because Christ is becoming increasingly a stranger. (Nike Shoes) We are ready to meet Jesus at the end of our lives when we have lived life loving and caring for people, especially the poor and vulnerable. The Last Judgement does not frighten us any more because we have already encountered Jesus in “the least of our brothers and sisters!”

[ST Mattapallly, Rector, Springline Parish Diocese of Lincoln]

Pause to pray …

A Prayer you can say now:

Lord Jesus,
I believe you are the Son of God.
Thank you for becoming one of us.
Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins.
Thank you for rising from the dead
to give me hope and the gift of eternal life. 

I repent of my sins
and invite you into heart and life
as my Lord and Saviour.
Please grant me your Holy Spirit
so that I may know you, love you
and follow you every day of my life.  

Amen.