Sunday 24 November 2024 Christ the King Sunday – Year B

A downloadable version of this page is available for anyone who would like to save or print it out.

The Faith Action Programme would like to thank members of Integrity, the Church of Scotland's Gender-Based Violence Task Group: Sally Sheail (Convener), Rev Andrew Kimmitt (Vice Convener) and Rev Alastair Bruce, for their thoughts on Christ the King Sunday – the last Sunday before Advent.

Weekly Worship, based on the Revised Common Lectionary, is for everyone – in any capacity – who is involved in creating and leading worship.

It provides liturgical material that can be used for worship in all settings. Our writers are asked to share their approaches to creating and delivering this material to equip leaders with a greater confidence and ability to reflect on their own worship practice and experience and encourage them to consider how this material might be adapted for their own context.

We would encourage continual reflection on the changing patterns of worship and spiritual practice that are emerging from disruption and how this might help identify pathways towards development and worship renewal.

An archive of resources for daily worship can be found on the Sanctuary First website.

We may not all be gathered in the same building, but at this time, when we need each other so much, we are invited to worship together, from where we are – knowing that God can hear us all and can blend even distant voices into one song of worship.

Introduction

Integrity is a task group of the Church of Scotland; our purpose is to raise awareness of gender justice within the Church and society. In doing so, we aim to minimise the instances of gender injustice and bring about equality for all and enabling the Church to provide a safe place for victims and survivors.

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is on 25 November, followed by the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence. This is a global moment to help #EndViolence against women and girls. Preventing this violence is possible, but only if we act together, now. Visit the World Health Organisation website for more information: 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence

It is hoped that you will find some inspiration as you pray and work through the readings for this Sunday and the suggested approaches you could take to incorporate the need for gender justice, how to spot it, how to challenge and how to pre-empt it.

Culture and attitude play a significant part in allowing gender injustice to prevail. There remains within our Church a sector who do not consider women equal to men in leadership, not just citing their own views but assuming God's view through minimal passages of scripture. This influences attitudes and so we need to examine our own culture and attitudes as well as challenging societal attitudes and behaviours, be it in our homes, our communities, our worship…

As we look to the New Testament, various cultural emphases of gender roles are found – many of which don't translate into today's cultures. In encounters with Jesus, women are honoured not for fulfilling the expectations of the gender, but for their faith. They were included in leadership; they were missionaries and teachers. Yet for centuries, the role of women in the Church has been undermined and under-appreciated because of the power exercised by patriarchal structures.

With this Sunday often having been referred to as ‘Christ the King Sunday' and with the heavily gendered language of ‘kingship' a prevalent theme in multiple of the readings, we take the opportunity to explore what sort of relationship there is (or isn't!) between the understanding of the reign of God and the rulership of Christ and earthly social structures that perpetuate patriarchal power.

Gender justice is essential if families are going to work themselves out of poverty, for crime and disorder to diminish, for creation to prosper and the Church to be reborn.

Take some time to reflect on the suggested approaches for each of the lectionary readings for today. See what floats to the top, what strikes a chord with you.

John 18:33-37

The interaction between Pilate and Jesus plays out differently in John's gospel compared to the other three. In all four gospels the conversation begins with Pilate asking, "Are you the King of the Jews?" to which Jesus replies, "You have said so" in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In those three accounts Jesus then falls completely silent, even in the face of subsequent accusations brought by various parties, and even to the ‘amazement' of Pilate and bystanders.

Here in John's gospel, Jesus' initial reply isn't so different – it is similarly evasive, throwing the words of the claim toward ‘kingship' back to Pilate, but further asking Pilate on whose account he is asking. Jesus often answers a question with a question.

What then plays out a spectacularly dissonant conversation: while Pilate and Jesus are conversation partners that are superficially and grammatically replying to each other, each is talking about completely different things. When it comes to the idea of ‘king', Pilate is talking about an explicitly earthly political question (and as a Roman Governor charged with keeping nascent Judaean rebellions under control, a very important question to him); but John's gospel has Jesus answer on a completely different, theological and heavenly level.

This ‘deliberate misapprehension' is a feature of conversations had between Jesus and those He encounters throughout John's gospel (see His interaction on ‘being born again' with Nicodemus in chapter 3; or the ‘living water' conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well in chapter 4). In each case Jesus takes an instance of plain everyday meaning and imbues it with a heavenly truth that His conversation partner doesn't grasp (but readers of the whole gospel are invited to understand).

That Pilate misunderstands what Jesus means by ‘kingship' invites us also to consider carefully whether we have properly understood what it means to talk of Christ the ‘king'. For one thing, Jesus never actually claims the title of ‘king' (though one gets the sense of the narrator's approval in John's gospel when Pilate will go on to have that title of ‘king' written for all to see on the cross, even in the face of objections (19:22)) other than implicitly, accepting that He has a kingdom (which ‘does not belong to this world').

Certainly the misunderstanding around ‘kingship' in this passage allows us good reason to pause and reflect very carefully on what aspects of ‘kingship' may or may not appropriately be said of Jesus, Christ the King. Where ‘kingship' comes with connotations of human patriarchal power and privilege, we should not only be careful, but fulsomely reject the move (consciously or unconsciously) to project these onto our understanding of Christ: the Jesus who confounds Pilate and continually turns the expectations of earthly powers upside-down.

"For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth" (v37) – what is the truth of Jesus Christ the king?

Psalm 93

"The LORD is king" is how this psalm begins, with the rest of the psalm unfolding the description of the royal splendour of the Lord. In commentary, Willem Prinsloo notes that translators are faced with how best to translate the Hebrew original of the phrase: ‘The LORD is king'/'The LORD reigns' vs ‘The LORD has become king'. [1]

The point in highlighting this is not about an exercise in obscure Hebrew grammar, but that it gets to the heart of the question of any language of how a human concept applies to God.

Human language is always going to fall short of speaking fully about any aspect of the nature of our infinite and humanly-incomprehensible God. But clearly that doesn't mean we fall silent. So the question this psalm helps us raise is how human language of ‘kingship' is used meaningfully of God.

When we say/sing/preach/proclaim the ‘The Lord is king,' are we taking something of our sense and experience of kingship on earth (with all its human flaws, imperfections, and fallen notions of power structures) and attempting to project that onto the person of God? Or are we willing to use what we know and experience of God to define what true ‘kingship' looks like?

Which way round is it?

The invitation is to consider that too often we start from our earthly experience of ‘kingship' and then try to use the same sense of that word for God, just with the volume turned up to max. And we don't get to God by extrapolating from earthly things and amplifying them to a perfect degree. This becomes especially problematic if aspects of earthly qualifications for ‘kingship' (among them, being male) find themselves projected onto God, the God in whom there is no male or female. This is therefore a passage which gives us the opportunity to think carefully about any gendered language in relation to God, and the impact that language has.

What if we start from what else we know of God, and then interrogate what ‘kingship' looks like?

Need true heavenly kingship be about power and might? What of our God of love and mercy?
Need true heavenly kingship be about battles won and foes conquered? What of our Christ of the cross?
Need true heavenly kingship be about perpetuating patterns of patriarchy? What does our knowledge of God who is ‘king' say to that?

[1] Willem S. Prinsloo, ‘The Psalms', in Eerdman's Commentary on the Bible, ed. James D. G. Dunn and John W. Rogerson (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), 409.

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 and Revelation 1:4b-8

Handling apocalyptic texts in worship

The readings from Daniel and Revelation share a literary genre in being ‘apocalyptic.' This is a biblical genre within some of the prophetic books and it can be very difficult to approach, largely because of the cultural gap between the conventions of the genre of apocalyptic literature and the way we expect to read and interpret texts. In apocalyptic literature all the images are striking: if it were visual art the colour would be oversaturated and the contrast dialled too high; if it were music the volume is turned up to max. For us the vividness of the images in the passage can be distracting as readers and hearers today. Our culture's ears are not as well tuned to the genre of ‘apocalyptic' as the authors of the books of Daniel or Revelation might expect of an audience. In a literary genre where striking and vivid images are the norm, how do we perceive the heart of the text?

That said, our culture has its apocalyptic genres, and using the analogy of these can help us when faced with biblical apocalyptic. For example, whether you like them or not, our culture does understand the ‘Zombie' genre. In these stories the focus isn't ever really on the horror or the apocalyptic scenes that form the backdrop for the story, but always on the human interactions that play out against that context of zombie apocalypse. What does love/morality/family/survival look like in extreme settings? And therefore what should it look like for us in more everyday settings?

Similarly, biblical apocalyptic has at its heart a series of relational questions, played out against the background of strange or new contexts. Here though, the relationship is between God and God's people: we might gather these questions under the overarching umbrella of what it means to be God's people in these times.

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14

This vision of Daniel's is set with striking apocalyptic imagery. All the descriptions are set vividly with maximum force and paint a scene which has our ears pricked for a ‘sit up and listen' moment. The force of the image might even be overpowering and in a sense scary (with the ‘fiery flames' and ‘burning fire' of Daniel 7:9).

The content of the vision centres around the Ancient One passing an ‘everlasting dominion' to ‘one like a human being coming from the clouds of heaven.' Within a Christian thought-world it is easy to reach quickly for an understanding of this vision through the lens of Jesus: that this is a vision depicting ‘Christ the king' ruling in heavenly glory: certainly centuries of art have taken that mantle and aspects of the visual language of this passage are found in depictions of Christ, reigning in heavenly glory.

If we take a moment to look beyond the striking images, we notice that at the heart of the text are two main themes – both are themes of reassurance (rather than fiery terror) for readers:

At the centre of the passage is the sense that there is one who holds ultimate rulership and authority (dominion) – and that this one rules from heaven. That is, in the ultimate and eternal sense, God reigns – over and above whatever struggles and travails we could ever know.
The one to whom dominion is given, holds that dominion to bring unity (v14 ‘all peoples, nations and languages'). The centre of the text is about the promise of unity under heavenly reign.

These themes of ultimate reassurance of God's heavenly eternal reign, and the promise of unity are the grounding centre points for the entire vision. How ought we live if we know ourselves to be under the eternal reign of the God who calls us to unity? What does acknowledging the heavenly reign mean for our understandings of earthly power (and its use and abuse)? And what does pursuing unity ask of us?

Revelation 1:4b-8

These verses come from the very beginning of the book of revelation, again (alongside the Daniel reading) coming from the apocalyptic genre of scripture (‘Revelation' is the translation of the Greek word ‘apocalypsis'), however rather than coming from the middle of one of the grand apocalyptic visions (and Revelation has cycles of these to come) these verses are more of a headline for the rest of the book.

As a headline, these verses have a function within the structure of the rest of the book but they also carry substance themselves. Functionally, there is a greeting from the author (John of Patmos, by some early Christian traditions also John the Evangelist, although this is not now the majority view) in the typical style of ‘Grace and peace'; but this greeting is also extended on behalf of Jesus Christ. This adoption of the first-person voice of Christ by John is an extended feature of the book of Revelation (such that ‘Red Letter Bibles' often include the relevant parts of Revelation as being among the words of Christ), and here at the beginning it functions as a strong (indeed the strongest possible) appeal to the authority of the revelations within the visions to come.

That the lectionary has grouped it with the reading from Daniel allows us to see shared elements, both of imagery (heavenly clouds, the throne above) and of thematic substance (universal unity: ‘every eye,' ‘all the tribes of earth'). These links allow us to see the literary heritage of the book of Revelation, but also the developments and the especially the new explicitly Christological links being made between the crucified Jesus (the one who was ‘pierced' (v7), and also ‘firstborn of the dead' (v5)) and the eternal and almighty Lord God.

In this passage (as with the Daniel passage) time and eternity play an important role. Specifically the revelation that almighty God reigns over, above and through all time, at the beginning and the end (Alpha and Omega). This focus on time in its widest and eternal sense also provokes reflection on the ‘now': both in terms of how we understand the reign of Christ over this present moment in the history of the Church, and reflect on the features of the ‘kingdom' we have been made into (v6); and ask, what is our part to play in the story, in the now between the A and the Z?

Sermon ideas

Christ the King Sunday, also known as the Reign of Christ, provides us with some challenging ideas and concepts, especially when viewing this through a gender justice lens.

How we perceive a king or kingship greatly influences how we interpret and apply passages such as these. Take time to explore what an earthly king might look like, for example, a king who:

rules with an iron fist.
you would go to war for
a figurehead who and has no power

Then compare them to the attributes of the king, of Jesus, described in our readings.

To truly understand the nature of the Reign of Christ it is helpful to reflect on the character and actions of Jesus whilst on earth. Why did he do what he did, and how?

Psalm 93 helps us to appreciate God's character as being holy.

What does it mean to be holy? It is essentially about what is right. Doing what is right and being what is right.

You might want to work with WWJD (What would Jesus Do?) when considering what is right. Its more than following a set of rules and regulations. God's statutes are perfect, unlike our human attempts at creating laws, which leave big loopholes, yet at the same time, we can end up tying ourselves up in knots.

Daniel's vision reminds us that God's kingdom, God's rule, is here to stay, it will not pass away and can never be destroyed. It speaks of the books being opened, the book of life where every believer's name is written and the book of judgment. This is about hope, it is about opportunity, it is about eternity.

Many victims and survivors of violence and abuse are convinced, by the perpetrator, that they are to blame and can spend a lifetime beating themselves up, judging themselves. Yet God knows, El Roi, the God who sees me (Gen 16:13).

God offers the gift of salvation, writing your name in the book of life. God offers a new life, a life without fear, a life with love and a sense of worth. This is affirmed in the reading from Revelation. Jesus is the First to Rise from the Dead, the perfect sacrifice, revealing death is not the end. For those named in the book of judgment, those who ‘pierced him', there will come a time when they must account for their actions.

In his gospel, John tells us: ‘Pilate asks the question, ‘What is truth?'' How do we interpret truth? Some of the things we are taught as truths are distortions, social media trends, some societal norms are born out of misconceptions. What is truth?

Jesus came to testify to the truth – how do we testify to the truth? How do we testify to Jesus? How do we speak truth to power when power and position are misused?

One day Jesus will come again, with the clouds of heaven, majestic and awesome. We will not miss it. It will be seen by all.

Prayers

Call to worship (from Psalm 95: The Message)
There is a place that calls us apart
summons us beyond, asks us for more.
A place where God is sovereign.

There is a place that fractures the norms
splits the standards, shatters the culture.
A place where God rules.

There is a place that fosters real questions
engenders honest conversation, summons our souls' connection.
A place where God holds sway.

This is that place.
A place that reminds us
of heaven, when we let it.
A place where we come together as one.

Let us worship God

Prayer of Approach and Confession
Loving God,
Long ago, out of the chaos of darkness
You created everything above our heads
and everything below our feet.

And we thank You for it.

In Your great love and goodness,
You created human-kind,
to be co-creators, co-sustainers of the world.

And You created and called it all good.

So, we come this morning to give You thanks
for the wonderful diversity You have placed in humanity.
We thank You for the skills and gifts entrusted to each of us –
gifts of artistry and design, of construction and manufacture,
gifts of compassion and understanding, and of insight and logic.
And we thank You that in Your wisdom You have
given to each of us without prejudice or bias.

Yet, we have not responded with the same kindness.
We have been swift to judge which gifts
should be given to some and not to others.
We have been hasty to assess another's worthiness
based on the world's standards and not on Your wisdom.
We have made snap judgements from ease, rather than
doing the hard work of informing and then transforming our stance.

For the times when we've judged another's worthiness
based on gender, or age, or race, we ask for Your forgiveness.

For the times when, in the muddle of our minds,
we've instantly written another off
based only on what we see from the outside,
we ask for Your forgiveness.

Gracious God,
Challenge us, bother us and inconvenience us, so we are no longer
satisfied with a society that acts out of habit, especially when those habits
habitually disadvantage just one expression of Your glorious creation.

So, gracious God, in these few moments of stillness we bring before You
any times this week we've been swift to judge, hasty to assess another's worth,
and neglected to heed Your wisdom.

[Hold a time of stillness]

God of forgiveness,
we thank You that we can come to You in
humility and ask for Your mercy.

And in Your unlimited love, You forgive us,
but You also dare us to be more like You every day.
To live a life that echoes the equality
revealed in Your glorious creation.

In Jesus' name we pray
Amen.

Prayer of Dedication
(Parts inspired by ‘A Liturgy before Giving…' from Every Moment Holy (Vol 1) by Douglas McKelvey)

Generous God,
we have nothing that did not come from You,
nothing we own is ours, it is all a gift from You.

So, as we offer these gifts, things You have lent us,
may we offer them humbly for Your glory
and to be used to serve You.

May these gifts of money before us,
and gifts of direct debits, bank transfer and standing order
that we cannot see, be used to make Your kingdom more
clear in our world and in our community here in [place name]

And, let our offerings not just be financial.
In these brief moments we offer our lives back to
You in service through Your church.

Lord, let the best love that shapes our lives,
be clear in everything we give and everything we do.
In Jesus' name, Amen

Prayers for Others

Quotes in italics from "An Ode We Owe" by Amanda Gorman – read during the opening the 77th Session the UN General Assembly in New York)

We shall respect and protect
Every part of this planet,
Hand it to every heart on this earth,
Until no one's worth is rendered
By the race, gender, class, or identity
They were born. This morn let it be sworn
That we are one human kin,
Grounded not just by the griefs
We bear, but by the good we begin.

Sovereign God,
Your realm is unlike the world we see around.
Your realm bends towards those the world would rather forget.
Your realm outshines the world in grace and forgiveness, justice and generosity.
Your realm renders worth by the simple truth of Your unlimited love for all of humanity.

Yet, when we gaze around our communities,
when we open our newspapers or apps,
scroll our social media or TV channels,
we are too often hounded by images and stories of
destruction, revenge, imbalance and discrimination.

Where those who need the most help are afforded the least.
And in these moments something kindles our souls
and tells us that this is not the way the world should be.

So, gracious God, we bring before You our prayers for our world,
our prayers for our community and our prayers for those who burden
our hearts at this time.