21st. November. 2021. Service.
Service of Worship 21st November 2021
Reign of Christ the King
Prelude: – “All over the world”
Bible Introit 448 “Lord, I come to your awesome presence”
Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Hymn 449 “Rejoice, the Lord is King”
Call to Prayer
Say among the nations, The Lord reigns.
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
The Lord is coming to judge the earth.
God will judge the world with righteousness and truth.
Let us worship God with praise and honour.
We will offer our thanks and praise for all that God has done.
Prayers of Adoration and Confession
We come this day, rejoicing, in the presence of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. At his birth the angels proclaimed his name to be Emmanuel, God with us. Today in this place, in this time of worship, may we truly feel the power and presence of Jesus Christ in our lives. May our hearts and spirits be warmed and challenged to proclaim with our lives, “Christ is Lord!”. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Today we are called to recognize Jesus Christ as the King of our lives, our sovereign ruler. His kingdom is based on the laws of love; loving God as God has truly loved us and loving our neighbour as we ourselves want to be loved. That love extends beyond the borders of our lives, into a world in which there is fear and alienation, hunger and disease, hopelessness and darkness. Jesus, our sovereign ruler, our friend, our Master and guide has asked us to reach out to feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty; clothe the naked, visit the sick and those imprisoned; welcome the stranger. These words are not unfamiliar to us, yet somehow we have treated them as nice words but not an active part of our life of faith. Forgive us, Lord, for the meagreness of our faith and the weakness of our witness. Rule our lives again with your powerful love, that we might truly be worthy disciples of yours. W confess and renounce all these things with which our conscience accuses us. Help us to find the forgiveness which you have given to us and to do your will. Amen.
Words of Assurance
Even though we have often failed to do as our Lord Jesus has asked, yet there is eternal forgiveness and a chance to again follow his ways. Let us be assured that the love of Jesus Christ will never leave us that we may be his witnesses throughout the world.
Almighty God, we thank you for the gift of your holy word. May it be a lantern to our feet, a light to our paths, and strength to our lives. Take us and use us to love and serve all people in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord in whom we pray,
The Lord’s Prayer in the version most familiar to you.
Intimations
The fortnightly Bible Study Group will meet on Tuesday 9th November at 7:30pm in the Vestry in North Queensferry.
The Inverkeithing Christmas Fayre will be held on Saturday 11th December from 2-4pm in the Church.
There are some limited places for the Christmas Lunch on Wednesday 1st December at 12 pm in the Church. Please speak to Moira or Joan as soon as possible if you wish to attend.
Inverkeithing Community Council are holding a Christmas Market at which the congregation will have a stall on Saturday 3rd December from 3-8pm in the Civic Centre and Queen Street car park.
Invitation to the Offering
On the Sunday of Reign of Christ, we declare our love and loyalty to Jesus by the gift of our praise and the offering of our lives. Let your gifts this day proclaim your commitment to him as our Lord and our friend.
Prayer of Dedication
Almighty God, you rule in this world through your love. Receive our gifts as tokens of our love for you. Bless and multiply them through the power of the Spirit, so that they will spread your love in ways we have yet to imagine.
All Age Talk
The crown is a symbol of power and authority. Who do you know that wears a crown? A king or queen wears a crown, right? Being a king is different from being the president of a country. A president is elected by the people, but a king isn’t elected, he is born to be king.
Have you seen the movie “The Lion King?” As a lion, Simba was born to be the “King of the Beasts.” Simba sings, “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King.” Simba was anxious to become king because he didn’t want anyone telling him what to do. He also wanted to tell everyone else what to do.
Simba had a poor idea of what it means to be a king. The real role of a king is to look after the needs of his people. A good king is more concerned with caring for his people than he is in being served.
During His last days on earth, Jesus was arrested and put on trial. When asked if He was a king, Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world.”
Yes, Jesus was a king, but unlike Simba, He was only interested in doing the will of His Father, God. He was born to be king, but His kingdom is not on this earth — it’s in heaven. He only came to earth to make a way for us to live with Him in heaven.
Jesus “just can’t wait to be your king.” He has invited you to enjoy eternal life in His heavenly kingdom. Will crown Him as your King today?
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son to be our Lord and King. Help us today, and every day, to honour Him, obey Him, and follow His will for our life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Hymn 279 “Make way, make way for Christ the King”
Reading Psalm 132:1-12
A song of ascents.
1 Lord, remember David
and all his self-denial.
2 He swore an oath to the Lord,
he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 ‘I will not enter my house
or go to my bed,
4 I will allow no sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5 till I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.’
6 We heard it in Ephrathah,
we came upon it in the fields of Jaar:
7 ‘Let us go to his dwelling-place,
let us worship at his footstool, saying,
8 “Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
9 May your priests be clothed with your righteousness;
may your faithful people sing for joy.”’
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.
11 The Lord swore an oath to David,
a sure oath he will not revoke:
‘One of your own descendants
I will place on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and the statutes I teach them,
then their sons shall sit
on your throne for ever and ever.’ Amen.
Hymn 470 “Jesus shall reign where e’er the sun”
John 18:33-37
33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’
34 ‘Is that your own idea,’ Jesus asked, ‘or did others talk to you about me?’
35 ‘Am I a Jew?’ Pilate replied. ‘Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?’
36 Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.’
37 ‘You are a king, then!’ said Pilate.
Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.’ Amen, this is the word of the Lord, to Him be all glory and praise.
Hymn 724 “Christ’s is the world”
Sermon
Today I am indebted to Janet Hunt for the seed ideas of this sermon.
There are times when our faith seems feeble in the face of evil and we find ourselves wondering if we are deluding ourselves by trying to maintain faith through the trials of life.
I may have told the story before of encountering a woman who was very bitter about the church and Christianity in general. She had played a prominent part of the community for many years before, but she had ceased to do so many years before I met her. She only came once a year for a special celebration, and even then she seemed to be at odds with everyone ready to confront and mock the people who had once been her friends. One day during such a confrontation, when asked why she was so hostile, she replied, “How can you worship a God who allows little babies to die? I learned then that she had lost an infant grand-child. What was particularly sad is that this lady was a minister’s daughter. The blow had destroyed her faith and embittered her against God and the church.
Today is the final Sunday of the Christian year, the feast of Christ the King. It is actually a fairly recent feast, instituted by Pope Pius 11th in 1926. It is only in recent years that it has been accepted in Presbyterian Churches. The concept of Christ the King only goes back to the fourth Century, when a bishop called Eusebius first spoke of Christ as being like the imperial kings of Rome. For these reasons many are not comfortable with this idea of an imperial Christ, especially as Christ’s kingdom is so unlike any earthly one.
It may seem strange that we are looking at a passage from the Easter story just before Christmas. It is a set part of the liturgy for this Sunday because it ties in with the coming of the Messiah which we anticipate from next Sunday, the beginning of Advent. We read how Pilate questioned Jesus about the charges which the Jewish leaders brought against him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ What is notable is the Jesus does not answer, “Yes, I am.” Others may have told you and you say that I am, but “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.’” The word “but” is very important here for it indicates that Jesus does not consider kingship to be in any way like earthly kingship.
What kind of King surrenders to a challenge, refuses to fight, or appears to submit to evil? I’ve been listening to a history of Edward 3rd of England who in the 14th Century did terrible things to Scotland and started the Hundred Years War. He justified carnage on the pretext that God had chosen him to be King of France, England Scotland and Ireland. That is what kings or other tyrants do, but it is not what Christ does. Christ the Messiah conquers evil with love, not violence, his justice is tempered with mercy always, and he always forgives his enemies, even if they do not ask him to do so.
In this encounter with Pilate we are witnessing how God from whom everything derives confronts evil and it gives us a clue as to how we should deal with evil also. The sad thing about the woman I mentioned at the beginning is that she had somehow missed the point of faith. In asking, “Why does God allow..?” or “How can God be good if..?” we are revealing that we don’t understand faith. Every one of us knows that there is evil in the world, and not one of us is promised that is will not touch us. In fact, to a greater or lesser extent each of us contributes to the proliferation of evil, consciously or unconsciously. We live in a dualistic world in which light and darkness good and evil, love and hate coexist.
Faith then grapples with the ‘problem of evil.’ In other words, how is that we reconcile evil and suffering in this world with an all-powerful, all loving, all knowing God?
And is there any better place to begin that conversation than with the words and images offered on this Christ the King Sunday when we sing of Christ on a regal throne, all the while imagining him in the midst of the trial that would lead to his unjust suffering and death?
Indeed, surely this central story of our faith offers some wisdom into the questions which have plagued humanity for all of time.
Let us start by considering how ‘evil’ shows its face today in the story we are looking at today and are found in John’s account of the death of Jesus:
We notice first the evil in the betrayal of Judas who for reasons unnamed and perhaps forever unknown to us led the soldiers to Jesus in the garden.
And in the instinctive action of Peter who drawing his sword, perhaps with the best intentions, used it on the ear of a slave name Malchus.
And again in Peter when he quickly forgot who he was and denied ever knowing Jesus.
Surely ‘evil’ was present in all of this, right?
And wasn’t ‘evil’ also there in Pilate who questioned Jesus and finding him not guilty, still had him flogged? And in those who mocked him, pressing a crown of thorns into his forehead, spat upon him and struck him in the face?
And in the crowd those who cried out for the release of Barabbas? Who insisted on the crucifixion of an innocent man instead?
And in the chief priests who twisted Jesus’ words and discovered a reason to insist on his death, because they were so threatened by all that he was.
In those who forced him to carry his cross and hung him on it under an inscription which reinforces the irony of this very day: that royalty would look like this.
And in the soldiers who in the presence of a dying man gambled among themselves to determine who would take his tunic?
Clearly there is ‘evil’ all through this story, and not just ‘evil’ confined to one time in one place but rather, one event that somehow sums up all the evil we will ever know:
We see it in its disregard for the basic humanity of the one standing right before them, before us. How many live daily with the denial of their humanity by others?
In its portrayal of weakness (or ignorance or arrogance) which betrays and denies, or at the very least steps aside and allows ‘evil’ to apparently prevail, and at most aids that ‘evil’ to the end. No one, not even his disciples stood up for Jesus at Pilate’s bar.
In its submission to larger systems which are led by faulty reasoning and always exact a price in terms of human life itself. How often are the interests of the weak, the poor, the different, over-ridden by those who have power in our societies? Migrants at the mercy of powerful governments, the victims of those who greedily snap up resources and refuse to share them?
We should note carefully that a Jesus does not at any point attempt to answer our questions about the ‘problem of evil.’ Nor do any of the Gospel writers who share this story. Also there is no point at which we even hear the question articulated as to why God would allow this to happen. In fact, no theological argument is offered to resolve the problem of evil. Instead, we are offered the very substance of the gift of life and faith itself in frail human flesh.
Jesus knew and still somehow loved those who allowed this, enabled this, and carried this out. As God’s Own Son he portrayed stubborn courage and hope itself as he deliberately stepped directly into the path of ‘evil.’
Who among us will ever be able to explain away ‘the problem of evil’ especially since it appears that the Gospel witness itself never does.
The nearest I can get to understanding the problem of evil is that it highlights its opposite. Evil contrasts who God is with who he is not, it invites us to choose faith in Him, to recognise that this life is a lesson in love, because as John tells us elsewhere, God is love and we are called to love. Evil challenges us every step of the way, but contrary to how the world sees it, victory comes by meeting evil not with more evil but with love.
I am reminded of the story of Corrie ten Boom who endured years in a concentration camp where her sister died, and when confronted in later years by a repentant guard forgave him. She said, “Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.”
In Jesus Christ we are given One who does not back down from evil, but steps into its path with dignity. Who reveals by his every action a witness of forgiveness in the face of evil. Who trusts, who always trusts, that the ‘evil’ will not win in the end.
As followers of Jesus we are not called to answer the argument, but in the end, but simply to be living answers to the ‘problem of evil?’ We do so when we grapple with what is broken in this world, seeking to call it out when we see people being unfairly treated. As we don’t run from evil, but rather step into its path for the sake of others? As we seek to do so trusting that this is the truest image of Christ as King whom we acknowledge not only this week-end, but every single day?
And yes, we do stumble and fall on occasion. Corrie ten Boom tells how when the prison guard asked for forgiveness, she had to pray fervently for a moment to overcome her temptation to refuse him.
Every time you step alongside someone, not letting your own discomfort with pain or sorrow keep you away from them.
Every time you call out an injustice in the world and offer the alternative truth of God’s intention for all whom He loves. And then do your best to try to change the systems which perpetuate by lies these same injustices.
Every time you set aside your own innate prejudices and biases to see the inherent humanity of the person who is right in front of you and then honour that person’s humanity.
Whenever you do any one of these with Jesus as your guide and as your companion, you live the answer to the ‘problem of evil.’
That is what Jesus did before Pilate in this story.
So did Mary, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene, and John who stood at the foot of the cross. (John 19:25-27)
And as Joseph of Arimathea did when he stepped beyond his own fear of being discovered and he asked permission to take the body of Jesus. Nicodemus who joined Joseph in all that happened next did so as well, carrying spices as together they wrapped Jesus in a linen cloth and buried him in a borrowed tomb. (John 19:38-42)
This familiar story is fraught with ‘evil,’ all the way, but these people overcame their fear and chose love.
The story doesn’t end there, it never does when ‘evil’ is confronted by people who face it with the courage and hope of Jesus. They are the handful who stay until the end and beyond, setting aside their own hurts, their own fears, out of love inspired by faith.
We cannot argue away the ‘problem of evil.’ Instead we meet it with faith. Corrie ten Boom also wrote: When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.”
One final thought about the Kingship of Christ. Jesus does not impose his authority on his people, he shares it. In the old translation of Revelation 1:6 we read, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” Newer translations, change kings to kingdom and priests which doesn’t make sense especially as later in chapter 5 it says: and they will reign on the earth. As he expects us to share his suffering in this place where evil exists as we learn to love and forgive we become like him, we are incorporated into him and thereby reign with him, not under him. That is a very different conception of Kingship for us to think about. Amen.
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
From the first day of Advent, so long ago, we have come full circle to the celebration of the Reign of Christ, also known as Christ the King Sunday. We have witnessed the wonderful birth, the great healing moments, the teachings that have sustained people throughout the centuries. We cried in sorrow at the Crucifixion and rejoiced with absolute joy on the sunrise of Easter when Jesus conquered our greatest fear, death. We celebrated the great good news of the disciples as they risked everything to finally proclaim the good news to all people. Now on this Sunday, we invite Jesus to enter our hearts.
Sovereign Lord Jesus, come into our hearts today and take your reign. Remind us that your kingdom is a kingdom of hope and light, in which there is no darkness, fear, or sadness. You have called us to be the Kingdom people, living our lives in the knowledge that peace, justice, and hope are not only possible, but can actually be the ruling factor of the world, for those who follow you. There are many who do not acknowledge your presence and your name, O Lord. But in your infinite love and mercy, you have acknowledged and claimed them. Help us to be the kind of disciples that welcome everyone with the words of kindness, that offer acts of mercy and peace to all in need, to proclaim Christ risen and glorified. Hear the prayers which we individually offer for ourselves and others whom we love…
As we have brought before you, O Lord, the names of people and situations needing your healing and comforting touch, may we also open our hearts for that same healing and comfort. Remind us that we are never out of your grace and mercy. We know that you will give us the strength and wisdom to be true disciples and we celebrate and honour you, now and forever.
We offer all in in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Saviour,
Hymn 458 “At the Name of Jesus, every knee shall bow”
Sending out and Benediction
Go now in peace. Bring the good news of God’s eternal love, the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit to all you meet. Go in peace. Amen.
“May God’s blessing surround you each day”
Postlude: “Walking in sunlight”