November 23:
Call: Ezekiel 34: 11-16
Read: W&S #158
Text: Matthew 25: 31-40; Ezekiel 20-24
Close: Ephesians 1: 15-23
Sheep and Subjects
Every year on this Sunday
I remind you or I inform you
that next Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent
And therefore, the 1st Sunday of the new Christian year
I also follow that up by making sure that you are aware
That that makes this Sunday
the last Sunday of the present Christian year
and that it is known as "Christ The King" Sunday
And then having built up
your curiosity and your enthusiasm
your fascination with what I am telling you
and your panting-like thirst for more information
I point out that the reason this Sunday is called "CTK" Sunday.
Is oh, so simple - even obvious
For since we begin the Christian or liturgical year
Praying for and preparing for
God to send a messiah king
It is only appropriate for us to close the year
celebrating that God has sent the king
remembering what that king has done for us.
And giving God our thanks for the king.
I am always amazed that.having brought my dissertation to a such a crescendo,
No one has ever stood up, applauded,
and said, "Thank you, brother."
But since everyone here knows all that information
this year I am not going to repeat it to you
Instead, we are going to observe CTK Sunday
By taking a look at what is expected of us as subjects
Of the king God sent.
As I set out to do that
I discovered that the scriptures proposed for today
Do not use the word king
Instead referring to Christ as a shepherd.
In the passage from Ezekiel that called us to worship
we heard references to the shepherd
seeking his flocks
feeding his sheep
providing them with a secure fold
tending to the sheep with kindness and justice.
"It is not Christ the Shepherd Sunday!"
I stated indignantly, but silently and to no one in particular
But then I paused and reflected.
As I did so, I began to see that kings and shepherds
Are far more similar than I had realized.
Both the king and the shepherd promise to protect,
The king to protect his subjects
The shepherd to protect his sheep.
And both the king and the shepherd expect the same things
The king expects the subjects to obey and to trust.
The shepherd expects the sheep to obey and to trust.
There are two kinds of kings
One rules by force, might, power, and fear
The other rules by kindness, justice, love and compassion.
The former is the military king
Who was really what the Jews expected of the messiah
The latter is the shepherd king
Who was really what the Jews received in the messiah.
Our text from Matthew 25, sticks with the shepherd image.
[Matthew 25: 31-33]
But, in introducing us to the "Human One" or "Son of Man"
By comparing him to a shepherd
Uses words like "throne" and "majesty"
And talks of him "judging nations."
Those are "king-type" words
And the text proceeds by setting out
some of what the king expects from his subjects
and what the shepherd expects from his sheep
[Matthew 25: 34-40]
Note: the kindness and compassion
The giving and the caring
Note too: the interaction with outcasts
on the lower level of the socio-economic spectrum.
Those less fortunate are Christ the Shepherd's sheep.
Those less fortunate are Christ the king's subjects.
And if ever a congregation has had the opportunity
To see what it is like to be Christ's sheep and subjects
It is this one.
For we have just spent about three months
Looking at his first sheep and his first subjects.
The expectations for how we are to live
as subjects of the one we call our king
the one for whom we pray that God will send
at the beginning of each year
are set out in the lessons of the early church
We must take them seriously
and we must allow them to become a part of our character.
Those expectations began with the general and proceeded to the more specific
The theme was set out in Christ's Great Commission
Christ expects us to be his subjects on this earth
Christ expects us to be his witnesses
and to make more disciples for him
And Christ expectations are possible
Because of the Holy Spirit being made available to us.
And now to the more specific:
Christ expects us to serve in a community - not just as indivduals
a community brought together by his love.
A community in which we share
the gifts God has given to us or allowed us to obtain
Christ our king expects us to use our gifts to help each other
and to - together - help others.
All of us who are sheep and subjects of Jesus Christ
Have something to give the king's community
And all of us are expected to use those gifts
for the king and for the community
Of course, we can always choose to keep those gifts for ourselves
And simply pretend to others
that we have given our all for our king's community
Ananias and Sopphira made that choice
Christ expects his subjects to live up to his expectations
Even when it causes us physical and emotional pain
Even when it isn't popular with some important people
Our king expects us to stubbornly share his story
So that we feel and live the response that Peter and John
Gave to the council when it ordered them
to stop talking about Jesus Christ,
"As for us" they said,
"we can't stop speaking about what we have seen and heard."
Our king expects us
to adjust and adapt to new situations
which, of course, requires us
To talk with and listen to each other and to Christ
In order to find solutions to any problems we have
This was the approach of those early subjects when the Greek speaking widows were not getting their allotment
Those subjects found a solution in the seven deacons.
We are expected to be willing to pay a price for our king.
Stephen did and he did so w/o complaint
In fact he begged his king to forgive those who stoned him.
Hand in hand with this is the expectation that we understand
that not everything will be rosy for the subjects of our king
Paul knew this, but his position was that
"If we are to enter [and I would add, "remain" in] God's kingdom, we must pass through many troubles."
Can't you almost hear Jesus singing,
Lynn Anderson's "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden."
And speaking of paying prices and things not being rosy
we must never forget the price our king paid for us.
We are expected to understand that Christ's kingdom
Is inclusive and not exclusive.
Therefore,
We are expected to share the story and glory of our king with others
Including others who may not seem to be like us
That's what Peter, Philip and Paul did
And we are expected to welcome others with open arms
The Ananias we meet after Saul's conversion
And the Barnabas we meet when Saul arrived in Jerusalem
welcomed their former persecutor
when most of Christ's followers were afraid
In fact Ananias and probably Barnabas were afraid too
But their trust for their king trumped that fear
We are expected to recognize that the king is in charge.
We may want to do something or go somewhere
But that may not be what the king wants us to do or where the king wants us to go.
We may want to go into Asia or Bithynia
The king may insist that we go to Macedonia instead.
We may think that we are going to spend our life in the court room
The king may insist that we spend it in the pulpit.
We may want that flat screen TV or that Caribbean cruise
But the king may insist that we support ministry and mission
And so as this Christian or liturgical year ends we ask ourselves
Do we really want to be Christ's subjects and sheep
If our answer is "No!"
Let's skip Advent and Christmas
Why would we want to, and how in good conscience, could we
celebrate the birth of a king
whose expectations we don't want to fulfill?
But most of us will answer with an informed "Yes!"
And if we do,
We can be sure that during our remaining days on this earth
Christ will give us many, many more opportunities
To meet the varied expectations of our shepherd king.
Today, being Stewardship Sunday
Is one of those opportunities.