Pentecost 22, November 20, 2011
CHRIST THE KING
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Psalm 100 from BCP
Ephesians 1:15-23
Matthew 25:31-46
Traditional Collect
ALMIGHTY AND EVERLASTING GOD, whose will it is to restore all things in thy 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 liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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NEW YEAR’S EVE
The church year comes to a festive close this Sunday of Christ the King. It is the church’s “New Year’s Eve” when we try to sum up the past year and look forward to the next with new eyes and renewed hope.
The tradition of the church year in an Anglican church walks us through the life of Christ by bringing to the remembrance all that the Lord has done. It is simultaneously the life of the church and of each of its members, as well. For a Savior who was born, lived, and died on this earth knows our lives intimately. And a Savior who came back to life and grants the same to His followers is a story worth repeating.
And repeat it we do. Though different seasons and festivals highlight specific parts at different times, each time we worship we recount the story. Its familiarity is comforting; its repetition forms and builds up the community. And yet, it is ever new, for the Holy Spirit comes to each person as it will.
On a day called “Christ the King” we proclaim the glory of God as we are able. Boisterous music and full liturgical celebrations are ways we proclaim and experience the specialness of the festival. Psalm 100 and Jubilate, Jubilate Deo (Let Us Praise You) will be sung from the loft during Eucharist, carrying on the celebration of the King of Kings. The music for Jubilate is attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and arranged by Alan Bullard.
It would be easy to turn the whole day into a jubilant party—too easy, in fact. Fortunately, the gospel reading comes along to remind us of the rest of the story. It tells us of the nature of this King.
The recessional hymn, Lord Whose Love Through Humble Service was written in 1961 by Albert Bayly, a British Congregational minister, in response to an appeal by the Hymn Society of America. It is rich in scriptural references to the life, ministry and the suffering upon the cross of our Lord. It closely relates the life and mission of Jesus to the lives and responsibilities of contemporary Christians.
As much as we’d rather just tell of Christ’s glory, we realize that telling only part of the story is not telling the story at all. God’s message is of grace and judgment; Christ’s life was one of the cross and the crown; human life is made up of joy and sorrow.
The Sovereign has given orders to work, watch, wait and the grace and power to carry them out. Most importantly, He promises to remain with us through it all. Thomas Kelly’s classic hymn – our sequence hymn - celebrates this King’s solidarity with His subjects:
They suffer with their Lord below;
They reign with Him above;
Their profit and their joy to know
The mystery of His love.
“The Head That Once Was Crowned”
Erik Routley says of this hymn, “…here is what is perhaps the finest of all hymns; Thomas Kelly has here comprehended the whole Gospel, and he tells the Good News and of the mysterious mercy by which we may lay hold on it.” Thomas was born July 13, 1769 (180 years and one day before my birthday), in Dublin, the son of an Irish court judge. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, to be a lawyer, he later changed to the Anglican ministry and became a most earnest evangelist, preaching “righteousness by faith” in spite of the prohibitions placed upon him by the archbishop. Refused entry into Anglican churches, he preached in unconsecrated buildings and finally left that communion and built a number of his own churches –with his own money. He died in Dublin on May 14, 1855.
God comes to us in both our suffering and in our celebrating to lead us through yet another year of grace—a year for telling and singing and living the gift of salvation.
Sources:
Wikipedia.com
Hymnal ’82 Companion
Companion to the SDA Hymnal
Deacon Ron Jutzy
Then Sings My Soul
A Treasury of Hymns
Tune My Heart to Sing
Hymns and Human Life, Routley
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