Pew Sheet, Sunday, November 24th 2024,Kingdom Season 4, “Christ the King” Sunday next before Advent.
As a child, I attended a Roman Catholic Primary School where, on a Thursday morning, the local priest would say mass for both pupils and those parents who were able to stay for it after the class registers had been taken. The main hall became our parish church as the altar was set up and mass was said with unseemly haste so that the priest could return to his parish duties, and we could all return to class.
The altar and the chairs would be cleared away within the hour, so that we could use the space for our “Music and Movement” class broadcast from the BBC which were relayed through the large wooden speakers on the walls, on which the only other permanent feature was a large wooden cross, in front of which the temporary altar was erected each week.
It was not the kind of cross one might associate with a Catholic church or school however, as it did not feature the pain wracked body of the dying Jesus nailed to it, but a robust and powerful figure, robed in splendour and crowned with a golden diadem. Rather than hanging exhausted from nails holding him to the wood beneath, the figure appeared to be bursting forth from its constraints, its arms raised in apparent triumph as if to embrace the viewer rather than languishing in the pain of death. The figure of course, was of the resurrected Christ, duly crowned as ‘King of Kings’ and ‘Lord of All’ whose dominion is everlasting, and whose kingship can never be destroyed, as our reading from the Book of Daniel reminds us today.
We forget that it was not the practice of the early Church to depict Christ on the cross as a dying man. Crosses did not start appearing in Christian places of worship until the late third or early fourth centuries, such was the enduring shame of crucifixion at the time. Such images would not have been regarded as ‘missional assets’ then, for as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 1:23, the cross was a ‘stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles’.
The first crosses to appear in our churches were in fact, far more like that which I have described from my school days above. They depicted the risen, triumphant, victorious Christ, “Christus Victor”, for whom the cross was but the means of gaining access to hades or sheol, so that once there, he could tear down its gates, setting its captives free, and leading them himself in a magnificent triumphal procession into the presence of his Father having irrevocably destroyed the power of death and hell, not only as an historical event, but forever (Hebrews 2:14).
The cross of Christ depicted above is the symbol of the matchless King who, forsaking its shame (Hebrews 12:2), took it upon himself to rescue humanity in its entirety forever, for his victory is neither temporary nor partial since ‘God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him (John 3:17). This is the basis of Christ’s unique claim to kingship in our lives. It is a kingship which is for the present as well as for the future. His kingdom is already here, whether we perceive it or not (Luke 17:21), and it will become an even greater reality at the end of this present age (John 18:36). We are all subject to him whether we know it or not in this life and the next, whether a king, a president, or beggar. As believers who are baptised into Christ, we can either acknowledge his kingship now, as even Pilate did, or we can ignore it; but none of us can avoid it. Let us then, earnestly seek his kingship in our lives as we pray, ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven’, wholeheartedly embracing his lordship, and accepting the consequences of his kingship in our lives.
Collect
God the Father,
Help us to hear the call of Christ the King,
And to follow in his service,
Whose kingdom has no end,
For he reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
One God and one in glory,
now and forever.
Daniel 7.9-10,13,14
As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took his throne; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and flowed out from his presence. A thousand, thousand served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him. The court sat in judgement, and the books were opened.
As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.
Revelation 1.4-8
John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. So it is to be. Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
John 18.33-37
Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. 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.”
This week’s events:
Monday (Catherine of Alexandria, C4th; Isaac Watts, Hymn Writer, 1748)
Bell ringing at 7.30pm in St Laurence. Contact Jan on 07835 461361.
Tuesday
Zoom Morning Prayer at 9am ID: 748 9970 4493 Password: Trinity or contact Didier on [email protected]
Daytime Bible Study Group (2nd and 4th Tuesdays), contact Paula on 07803 942 687 for more information.
Evening House-group contact Jo on 07803 942 687 for more information.
Wednesday
Morning Coffee from 10.00-11.45 in the St Laurence Rooms.
Midweek Holy Communion at 12.00 noon, St Laurence Church.
Thursday
Daytime Homegroup, contact Jo on 07803 942 687 for more information.
Christmas Fayre and Tree Lighting, 6pm St Laurence Rooms and Church.
Friday (Intercession and Thanksgiving for all Missionary Workers)
Junior Choir at 6.30pm, followed by full Choir Practice at 7.30pm.
Saturday 30th (Andrew the Apostle)
Church Coffee Morning, 10.00-12.00 in St Laurence Church.
Advance Notice of Christmas Services
Sunday 1st December
- Advent Carol Service, 6pm at St Laurence.
Sunday 15th December
- Family Nativity Service, 09.30am at St Laurence.
- Nine Lessons and Carols, 5pm at St Mary’s Addington.
Sunday 22nd December
- Nine Lessons and Carols, 6pm at St Laurence.
- Nine Lessons and Carols, 6pm at St James’.
Tuesday 24th December
- Candlelit Nativity Service with Christingles, 3pm at St Laurence.
- Candlelit Nativity Service with Christingles, 4.30pm at St James’.
- Benefice Midnight Mass, 11pm at St Laurence.
Wednesday 25th December
- Holy Communion, 9.30am, St Laurence.
- Holy Communion, 11.00am at St James’.
Pastoral Care: Call 07305 271148 or email [email protected]