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Christ the KingNovember 25, 2008Matthew 25:31-40 ‘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. 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, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 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, 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." 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? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?" And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."
Many churches around the world this week are celebrating the final day of the Christian calendar, Christ the King. Christ the King is a day that we celebrate Christ’s kingdom, both already here on earth and also to come in final victory at the end of the age. As King, Christ acts also as judge who separates the faithful from the unfaithful. We quickly learn from this scripture that the kingship of Christ differs from the traditional power of an earthly king. The power of Christ’s kingship is grounded in the needs of the marginalized. In order to fully participate in Christ’s kingdom, we must extend compassion to those on the fringes of society: the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, and the prisoner. In essence, we are to care and love for those that society has forgotten or has written off as untouchable. The irony in this story is that neither the righteous, nor the unrighteous consciously know what they are doing. Both respond, "When did we do this?" The righteous practiced compassion without any directive from the King, nor do they labor expecting anything in return. They weren’t doing it because they felt obligated; rather, serving others in need became a natural reaction from the inside out. Unbeknownst to them, to serve others in this way is equivalent to serving Christ. More popular that the Christ the King celebration this week is the celebration of Thanksgiving. The origin of Thanksgiving comes from a time of hardship and recognizes those that extended a helping hand. Together, these special days recognize that no one is self-made. At some time in our life, we have all been in need. Sometimes, we have gotten so downtrodden that we couldn’t even see a way out of our situation. Eventually someone reached out to us and helped us get back on our feet again. For that we give thanks. Likewise, we should desire to do the same for others. We shouldn’t serve others out of obligation, but out of joy. Not because we have to, but because we want to. Prayer: Jesus, my King, reign in my heart. Instill in me a heart of compassion to that I may serve others and ultimately you with joy! Amen. For more informationRev. Leigh Martin |
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