Reign of Christ?

Here is an image I saw this week. [slide 1] this image,

I thought we might play with it a bit this morning.

 [slide 2] It is asking us to think about if God is in the Church,

[slide 3] or if the Church is in God?

 [slide 4] I wondered what this would look like for some other questions:

 [slide 5] Is God in the world?

[slide 6] Or the world in God?

 [slide 7] Or something else? like this

[slide 8] or this

The reading from John’s gospel this morning asks where is God in the world? Where is the kingdom of God, the reign of Christ? Is it only in the church?

From the reading of the encounter between Pilate and Jesus, we can hear how Pilate was trying to work out the next step.  Going from the Jewish religious leaders who are outside the building, to Jesus who is inside the building.

Who has power, who has authority?

Pilate has power, so do the religious leaders.

The reading finished with Pilate finding no case against Jesus, but we know that the story continues to the crucifixion, because Pilate chooses the way of political expediency. He knows that Jesus has done nothing wrong, but in the end he chooses the path of least resistance. Back and forth he goes, from the Jewish leaders to Jesus, asking questions, trying to find a way out.

At times Christians have been accused of living compartmentalised lives, following Christian rules for religious matters, but following the secular rules in other matters. I wonder how much of our lives we find ourselves in Pilates shoes, listening to leaders,[religious and secular] listening to Jesus;

listening to the voices of caution, hearing the call to risk everything.

Listening to the voices of exclusion, hearing the call to welcome the least.

Listening to voices of greed, hearing the call to be generous.

Going back and forth, what to do, how to live, how not to stand out from the crowd.

Jesus said: ‘For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’

How many of us are so clear about our life purpose? if Jesus is the truth, in what ways do our lives testify or witness to the truth?

Next Sunday is the beginning of Advent, 4 Sundays that count down to the Coming of Jesus, in those four Sundays we look at some of the Old Testament readings that tell of the yearning and waiting of the people of Israel for their new King.

As we shop and eat and party and visit, and write cards and go carolling, and everything else that gets squeezed into December, are we waiting and yearning for the coming of Jesus?

What are we waiting and yearning for in the coming of Jesus?

what do we expect that to mean in our lives and the life of the world?

This Sunday is the day we celebrate Christ the King or the Reign of Christ. Jesus said; My kingdom is not from this world. This is a King without a Royal Yacht, without a palace, without a throne; a king who respects and loves and dies for his people; a king who chooses the least, the unlovely, the powerless and offers welcome, inclusion and liberation. This Kingdom is not one we are familiar with. We live in a world where politics is littered with stories of corruption; where church leaders are questioned over child abuse policies; where business leaders argue for less tax, lower wages and higher profits.

This Kingdom is not one we are familiar with, but it is real, for those with ears to hear and eyes to see.  

I wonder where do we see the Kingdom of God; this week I was at a workshop of people who work in various capacities in the community sector, people who work with people with disabilities, people with mental illness, people who are struggling financially or physically, or homeless or addicted to alcohol and drugs, families who need help with children or aged relatives. People. People who struggle in one way or another.  To me this is a sign of the Reign of Christ. My guess is that few of the workers I met consider themselves Christian, yet the work they do with the least in our community is the work of Christ.

Where do you see the Reign of Christ around you?

How do you respond to Jesus the King calling you?

[I acknowledge the influence of David Lose  from Working Preacher in this sermon]