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The Gospel: Matthew 24:36-44
Jesus said to the disciples, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” Prayer: Lord, you have promised that when two or three gather in your name you will be present with them. We depend on that promise today and pray that you will move among us. Lord, we pray that you have inspired Mike's preparation, that you will enliven his presentation and that you will empower our application. Amen The Message: Advent is here, Alleluia, alleuia, alleluia. Over the next few weeks, we will celebrate and look forward. Each week we will light a new candle, on our Advent wreathe, and remind ourselves of the central themes of the four weeks of Advent. Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. We will focus our worship and praise with a sense of expectation. We all know that Christmas is the culmination of Advent. To quote that slogan that we often see displayed in November and December: "Jesus is the reason for the season." That is true for Advent as well as for Christmas. Jesus is central to all that we do and all that we say at this time. Of course, then we also have to acknowledge that we are looking forward with anticipation to the Lord's coming again. We have to hold to our sense of child-like wonder, not only for the beautiful coming of Christ as a child but we are anticipating the triumphant coming of the rule and reign of Christ the King. How do we keep that anticipation alive and not lose our enthusiasm for the events that are yet to come? Our reading from Matthew touches on that, doesn't it? This reading reminds me of the story of the 10 wise bridesmaids and the 10 other bridesmaids. We feel like we are waiting and waiting and waiting. When will he ever come? " Jesus said to the disciples, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." He goes on to urge us to be ready. "Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming................... Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour." As we prepare for the Advent season are we aware of what it will mean for us if we accept Jesus in the role of the coming King who brings light into the darkness of our world? What light might we need to allow to shine in those dark corners of our lives that we think only we know about? Who might we need to apologize to, who might we need to reach out to and ask for their forgiveness? In the midst of all the messages, we hear in our Advent readings, as hear about the predictions of the coming King, how are we preparing room, for Jesus, in our own hearts and spirits? How do we acknowledge Christ the King in our lives? What does that mean as we prepare for the coming of Christ, this year, and perhaps next year, or the year after that? Our reading from Romans 13, this morning, is a tough one, isn't it? It uses language that we don't usually feel comfortable with. But it helps us focus on the daily decisions and attitudes that we need to challenge ourselves about. "You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." I don't know about you, but a reading like that from Romans makes me, in my best moments, want to cry out: "come Lord Jesus." Waiting and longing are wonders that we so often associate with Advent. We are awaiting the coming of Jesus and we are longing for the renewing power of the Holy Spirit to be active within us. So on this first Sunday of Advent let us rejoice and give thanks for all that is yet to come. And let us proclaim with enthusiasm the truth of The Collect for Advent 1: "Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever." Amen. The Gospel: Luke 23:33-43
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." Prayer: Lord, you have promised that when two or three gather in your name you will be present with them. We depend on that promise today and pray that you will move among us. Lord, we pray that you have inspired Mike's preparation, that you will enliven his presentation and that you will empower our application. Amen The Message: So, today is Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday after Pentecost, the Sunday of our Stewardship In-gathering Sunday, and the Sunday before the beginning of Advent. I am going to keep my message short this morning because there is so much going on in our service today. So let's get to it. We are drawing to the end of another period of Ordinary Time so that we can begin a new journey through the weeks of Advent as we prepare for the coming of Christ. This is a transition or a hinge Sunday in many ways. It has powerful significance on its own but it also opens up another path in our spiritual journey. If we are going to make the progress we need to on this journey we need to understand the centrality of Christ for all the other parts and pieces to make sense. Have we stopped recently to think about how remarkable the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was? We have traveled through Ordinary Time and each week we have noted how many Sundays it has been since Pentecost. But, I wonder, have we held on to the wonder of Pentecost itself? Do we recall the dynamic and life-changing experience it was to have the Holy Spirit come and dwell within us? Do we remember what it felt like several months ago waving our Holy Spirit ribbons and Holy Spirit doves and celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit? Or have our senses become dull because it seems so long ago? Then, when we consider our giving, as part of the Stewardship Focus here at Christ Church this morning, we need to understand who Jesus is. We need to understand his place, and what his authority is in our lives. What has he done for us? Why would we declare him King? When we understand all of that we can approach our giving with an attitude of gratitude and not out of compulsion. If we can give out of our gratitude, for what we have received, it will change our understanding of how and why we give. If we give out of our abundance rather than from compulsion, or out of fear, it will change how we give. It might even change what we give. Then as we prepare for the Advent season are we aware of the role of Jesus as the coming King who brings light into the darkness of our world? In the midst of the apocalyptic messages, we hear in our Advent readings, as hear about the predictions of the coming King are we preparing room, for Jesus, in our own hearts and spirits? What light might we need to allow to shine in those dark corners of our lives that we think only we know about? How do we acknowledge Christ the King in our lives? What does that mean for our stewardship and as we prepare for the coming of the Christ? May we hold on to the lyrics of O Come, O Come Emmanuel. I have selected two verses that I believe are relevant to us all: O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel. O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high, And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death's dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel. |
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