Christ the King Sunday
November 25, 2007
S071125
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Psalm 46
Colossians 1:11-20
Luke 23:33-43
ONE Sabbath resources; Christian Century 11/13/07, p. 45
First Congregational, UCC, Waterville

Read Psalm 46

Today is Christ the King Sunday. or the Reign of Christ Sunday, when we celebrate the ultimate rule of Christ on earth. It's the last Sunday of the church year. Next Sunday is new years in the church. We begin the church year preparing for the coming of the Christ-child. In the time between Christmas and Pentecost we remember, in compressed time, major events in Jesus' life. In the second half of the church year, we learn about Christian discipleship, about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Now, at the end of one church year and on the cusp of the beginning of another, we think about what the rule of Christ on earth would look like.

I'd like you to imagine what our world would be like if indeed it were ruled by Christ. I want to raise two points in particular this morning: First, I think a world ruled by Christ would not have extreme poverty, hunger, and starvation. I have seen reports of studies that claimed the world could produce enough food for everyone to have an adequate diet if our resources were better used and more fairly distributed. Second, I think a world ruled by Christ would be a world in which sick people had access to medications that could, if not cure, at least alleviate their illnesses. An example of success would be Rotary International's efforts to eliminate polio. A situation not yet adequately addressed is HIV/AIDS, particularly in Africa, but also around the world.

ONE Sabbath is a coalition of organizations across the Christian tradition with organizations from other faith traditions. Listen to a quote from their literature:

“Every major faith tradition emphasizes giving to others, especially to those in need. This universal appeal to charity is rooted in tradition, sacred writings and theological understandings. The faith-based call to care for others – to seek justice especially for the least among us – has motivated dramatic change and been an instrument of caring and healing throughout history.

“ONE is a coalition of Americans from all beliefs and every walk of life – united as ONE – to help make poverty history. We are a campaign of more than 2.4 million people from all 50 states and more than 150 of America's most well-known and respected non-profit, advocacy and humanitarian organizations. As ONE, we are raising public awareness about the issues of global poverty, hunger, disease and efforts to fight such problems in the world's poorest countries. As ONE, we are asking our leaders to do more to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. ONE believes that providing for basic needs like health, education, clean water and food would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the world's poorest countries.”

Today, we are joining in the observation of ONE Sabbath.

Unfortunately, Christians in the United States seem to be almost paralyzed. We've talked a little about economic justice here at First Congregational, but it hasn't really gotten traction yet. Last week I read a review of a book I would like to read and might propose we do a study group on. The book is Justice in a Global Economy: Strategies for Home, Community, and World. Listen to how the reviewer described our situation. It is a long quote, but I couldn't say it better. “Christians can be quite good at feeling guilty. We feel guilty if we commute to work by car, but we also feel guilty if we don't earn enough money to buy a house in the suburbs with a yard for our kids to play in. We feel guilty if we buy jeans manufactured cheaply in sweatshops, but we feel guilty if we spend money on expensive clothes that could otherwise be spent on charity toward others. “Not surprisingly, this kind of guilt tends to be the privilege of the few–those educated, well-intentioned people of some means who live in the industrialized world, where we have the luxury of almost unlimited economic choices. Ironically, awareness of our position near the top of the globalized consumer chain can lead many Christians to a paralyzing – one might even say convenient – sense of hopelessness in the face of the apparently impervious machine that we think of as the global economy.”

Our awareness of the problems and our own sense of guilt and complicity, combined with a sense of hopelessness in the face of great global problems, can paralyze us and keep us from responding.

But our faith challenges us with hopes and dreams not grounded in the excuses of a world with a lack of hope. We know that “with God all things are possible.” We know that our faith challenges us to aid and to express our love for our brothers and sisters even at the cost of sacrifice on our part.

The Old Testament has many challenges and calls to care for others, including this from Deuteronomy 15. If there is a poor man among your brothers [and sisters] in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother [or sister]. Rather be openhanded and freely lend to him [or her] whatever he [or she] needs…. Give generously to the poor and do so without a grudging heart … be openhanded toward your brothers [and sisters] and toward the poor and needy in your land.”

Jesus reminded us, in the Parable of the Last Judgment, that when we help the poor and those in need, it is as if we were helping him. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus reminded us that brothers and sisters are more than blood relatives. And Paul strongly urged the faithful to be generous to those who are in need and to be ready to share with others always.

We here at First Congregational have not been completely paralyzed by our privileged position in the global economy. We have heard and responded to the call of God through the scriptures to reach out to our neighbors.

Locally, we support and directly participate in programs like the Homeless Shelter, the Evening Sandwich Program, the Food Bank (which we heard last week, is very low on financial resources), Habitat for Humanity, and the Ministers Discretionary Fund. We reach further through our mission trips to Pennsylvania and Massachusetts and Honduras and through our support of UCC mission work and UCC special offerings and through offerings designated for disaster relief.

But our arms are still too short. We need to lengthen the reach of our outreach. The problems of extreme poverty and of AIDS/HIV are enormous. All of the denominations and all of the non-profits and all of the non-governmental organizations put together can hardly make a dent in the problems. The commitment and cooperation of governments is also necessary. Information on ONE is available at ONE.org. ONE is a cooperative effort of many, many groups, including traditional church relief organizations we have supported for years, to extend our reach.

We can avoid, or side-step, the kind of paralysis of guilt I mentioned earlier by remembering the hope and the promise of God's coming kingdom and Christ's reign over the earth. With hope, we take our steps, however small they may seem, in the direction of loving and assisting our neighbors near and far. We reach out with arms lengthened by faith and by the collective outreach of the Church; we reach out to inaugurate Christ's rule on earth.

Most of us probably celebrated Thanksgiving this week with an abundance of food, and with an abundance of thanks for our blessings. And today we are remembering and celebrating the rule of Christ, not only in our lives and in our churches but also in our world. As followers and disciples of the King of Kings and Prince of Peace, we work to move our world closer to the realities of God's Kingdom. We have the resources, financial and political, to begin the task of sharing.
No mandate of our faith is clearer than the mandate to love and care for our neighbors. No needs in our world are greater than extreme poverty and AIDS/HIV.
Our response as Christians, individually and collectively, can (as the Psalmist put it) exalt God among the nations. Amen