Sunday 11/26/23 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Does Christ Reign In You?”
Old Testament Scripture: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
New Testament Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23
Gospel Lesson: Matthew 25:31-46
On this our UMC Student Sunday, and on
this our Christ the King or Reign of Christ Sunday, I have a question for all
of us, including myself, to consider. This question is “Does Christ Reign In
You?” Christ the King or Reign of Christ
Sunday is a tradition of some churches and some Christian denominations. It is
not a Sunday in the life of the church that is required of us by holy scripture,
but is a Sunday where we emphasize the kingship of Jesus Christ. Jesus, king of
our hearts, king of earth, and king of the universe (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_Christ_the_King).
All things affirmed by scripture, and as such, some churches like us, celebrate
Christ the King Sunday or Reign of Christ Sunday.
I still remember, and some of you might remember, as well,
when King Charles III was crowned the king of the United Kingdom and the
Commonwealth Realms still connected to the United Kingdom. This of course was after
the passing of his mother Queen Elizabeth II. It was quite a fancy and an
ornate service, as I remember. It involved the crown jewels and various other
things. Since the rule of King Henry VIII in the first half of the 1500’s, the
Church of England, or the Anglican Church, or the Episcopal Church, has been
ruled by the sitting king or queen of the United Kingdom. For the last
500-years then, the head the Church of England, or the Anglican Church, or the
Episcopal Church, once again, has been the current king or queen of the United Kingdom.
Pope Francis is the head of the Roman Catholic Church, and other Christian denominations
have various types of governance.
While King Charles III is the head of the Church of England,
the real head of the church, the real king of the church is Jesus Christ. King
Charles III and Pope Francis head different churches, but Jesus is the head of King
Charles III and is the head of Pope Francis. This isn’t my opinion either; King
Charles III and Pope Francis would tell you this themselves. Jesus is the King
of us all.
So often and in many churches, we invite people to turn
from sin and darkness and to put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. We
invite them to receive the gift of salvation, the Holy Spirit, and eternity. We
tell people that Jesus was God in the flesh and that he died for our sins. Yet
he was and is also a king, as the crown of thorns was disrespectfully put on
his head on Good Friday to show that he was and is a king. In fact, above Jesus’
head on his cross, and in different languages, it said in the Latin initials “INRI”, which in English
translates to "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus,_King_of_the_Jews).
What’s
my point on this Christ the King or Reign of Christ Sunday? The point is this, not
only did Jesus die for us, rise again, ascend to heaven, and one day will
return in glory, not only are we all offered salvation and eternity through
Christ, but Christ is indeed a king (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus,_King_of_the_Jews).
Is Jesus the King of the Jews? Well Roman Governor Pontius Pilate thought he
was on that first Good Friday. Christianity did start in its first 10-20 years
as mostly a movement within Judaism, but then it became worldwide, as it is
today. Jesus is Lord, savior, and yes, king of all. In fact, in the Book of
Revelation 19:16, we hear about the return of Christ to earth. Revelation 19:16
says this about Jesus:
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16, NRSV).
On
this Christ the King or Reign or Christ Sunday, we proclaim that Jesus Christ
is “King of kings and Lord of lords”. Jesus is the king of our hearts,
king of this world, and Lord of the universe. Jesus came to reconcile the whole
world unto himself through his cross. As such, some churches and some Chirstian
denominations, as I said, have a special Sunday every year where we emphasize
that Jesus is a king. In some parts of the world kings and queens are more than
just a thing of the past, but the idea of Jesus still being our high and
powerful ruler is still a strong image.
With
all of this said though, if Jesus is all of these things that I said he is, and
that the scripture says he is, what should we do with all of this? The answer
on this Christ the King or Reign of Christ Sunday, is to allow the love of
Christ to boldly live within us. Or as my sermon title asks, “Does Christ Reign
In You?” A very popular contemporary Christian band is called “For King and
Country,” but the “King” in this title, in not Charles III, but instead is
Jesus Christ. For us as Americans, the
idea of a king is not often a welcome idea, as we fought our revolutionary war
for independence against the British and King George III. Many Americans are
against kings and queens ruling over us, as am I, yet Christ is the most virtuous,
loving, fair, truth-filled, holy, righteous, and mercy filled king that there
ever was or ever will be.
The imagery of sitting on the throne in heaven, is all
indications of a king. I can imagine in Medieval times that people living under
kings and queens in Europe, Africa, and many other places could relate to Jesus
being a king more than many do today, but on this Christ The King or Reign of
Christ Sunday, the question I have for us all, including me, is “Does Christ
Reign In You?”
Further, do you know that if you know and love Jesus, that
if you serve him as lord and savior, then you are royalty? By this I mean, we
have a promise from Jesus Christ that we inherit his kingdom. The kingdom of
God that we are not only building here and now, but the kingdom that Jesus will
usher in when he returns. If Christ is a king, and if we are children of God
than we are all princes and princes, for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is
a king. As such, some Christian Churches and Christian denominations have this special
Sunday every year. For as it says of Jesus once again, in Revelation 19:16:
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16, NRSV).
In
Philippians 2:9-11, this what the Apostle Paul says about Jesus Christ our
King:
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:9-11, NRSV).
People bend the knee to a king, and since Jesus is “King of kings and Lord
of lords”, one day every knee we will bow and every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is our king and our Lord.
In
fact, the prophet Ezekiel talks in our Old Testament reading for this morning,
once again, about shepherding and saving the people of Israel. In closing this scripture,
the prophet Ezekiel says in 34:23-34, once again:
23 I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them; he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken (Ezek. 34:23-24, NRSV).
Jesus, as foretold in the Old Testament, or the Hebrew
Bible needed to be a decedent of the great King David, which he was and is.
Ezekiel speaks of King David, but also speaks of the kingdom to come in the
Book of Ezekiel. God’s kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of Jesus
Christ.
In looking at our reading for this morning from the Apostle
Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus or the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul is
telling the Ephesians that he thanks God for their faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the Apostle Paul also praises the Ephesians for the love that have for
each other. The Apostle Paul tells the Ephesians that he remembers them in his prayers,
and that he prays that the Ephesians would have a spirit of wisdom and
revelation to know Christ more (Eph. 1:15-18, NRSV). The Apostle Paul reminds
the Ephesians of the power of God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and
how Jesus now sits at the right hand of God the father. Further, the Apostle
Paul closes our reading for this morning from Ephesians 1:15-23, saying in
1:21-23 of Jesus, once again, that he is:
21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all (Eph. 1:21-23, NRSV).
For Jesus Christ is “King of kings and Lord of lords”. If this is all is true then, once again, “Does
Christ Reign In You?”
Some
of you may know that six-years ago I was blessed to go on a mission trip to the
Central American country of Nicaragua. While there, we learned a lot, we served
a lot, and we helped to fix part of a maternity building or birthing center for
woman who were largely in the middle of know where, to have a safe place to
give birth. On one of the buildings of one of the mission sites, part of gospel
of Matthew scripture for this morning was posted. Let’s look once at our gospel
of Matthew 25:31-46 scripture for this morning, to see just what type of king
we have in Jesus Christ. In looking our gospel of Matthew 25:31-46 reading, it
begins, once again, saying:
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, (Mt. 25:31-34, NRSV).
Jesus Christ, the “King of kings and Lord of lords”
on his throne of glory sorting out the righteous from the unrighteous. The
righteous, as Jesus says will inherit the kingdom of God, as we are all royalty
as children of God, because Jesus is our king. The next part of this gospel of
Matthew 25:31-36 reading for this morning is what was written in Spanish on one
of the mission building entrances in Nicaragua that I saw. It said, picking up
in Matthew 25:35, once again:
35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me’ (Mt. 25:35-40, NRSV).
You will notice that this section of our gospel of Matthew reading
refers to Jesus Christ as the king. Jesus, our king, is rewarding those who have
faith and trust in him, but also is acknowledging that they lived and loved
like him. Our faith in Christ alone saves us, but Jesus is saying that the fact
that they loved and served people is exactly what he taught us and how he lived
here on earth.
While the sheep or the
righteous are rewarded by King Jesus for their faith, and while they are affirmed
for how the lived, the goats, or the unrighteous did not live like Jesus. It’s
not that works save us, because they do not. Yet if we truly know Jesus Christ,
the “King
of kings and Lord of lords,” how can we not try live and love like him?
How can we not serve, feed, and cloth. These works don’t save us, but Jesus is
saying that the goats or the unrighteous, if you knew me, why didn’t you live and
love like me? Faith in Christ is what saves us, but we are called to live and
love like Jesus Christ.
Whenever
I read this gospel lesson of Jesus on judgement day, separating the righteous
from the unrighteous, I always think of the third verse of the hymn “The Battle
Hymn of Republic,” which number 717 in our United Methodist Church hymnal. In
the third verse, the verse says in part:
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat (UMH, 717).
On this Sunday my dear friends, as many churches, and as many Christian denominations celebrate Christ the King or Reign of Christ Sunday, I ask us all, myself included, “Does Christ Reign In You?” For Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is truly the “King of kings and Lord of lords”. He is sovereign, and we who love him, will inherit his kingdom. Between now and then however, let us live and love like Jesus. Let us serve, feed, cloth, and do all of the things that Jesus did. May we share the good news of Jesus Christ with a world that desperately needs hope. Let us also remember that we are royalty, for our Lord and savior is a king. So, princes and princesses of Christ, “Does Christ Reign In You?” Happy Christ the King/Reign of Christ Sunday. Amen.
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