Opening Reflection:
This is Christ the King or Reign of Christ Sunday. The readings share images of Christ our King and of God as the Ruler of all. The artwork above is William Blake`s "Ancient of Days", which is the artist`s view of God, drawn from the Book of Daniel.
As we begin this study, consider your own image of God. If you were to draw a picture, write a poem, share a description, choose some adjectives....who is God for you? What images come to mind.
How do you react to Christ as our King, as God as the King of Heaven? Do these kinds of images speak to you or do you find them alienating...?
Background to this Sunday
Christ the King Sunday is a relatively new development. It does not bear the history of Christmas or Easter and does not possess the deep and traditional biblical backing of these celebrations. It is a modern observance, designed for the modern world. Pope Pius XI brought Christ the King Sunday into the church's liturgical year in 1925. He was attempting to do several things, but mainly to advance the message of God in Christ over and against that of the political forces moving in the world at that time--people like Mussolini, Franco, Stalin and Hitler.
It was a time of focusing inward and rebuilding after the first Great War. People regarded some humans as saviors. The pope thought that the time was right for a refocusing on the One who is ultimately the king in our lives as people of faith. We, then, celebrate Christ as our king in order to help us realize that it is, first, Christ whom we serve.
Prayer to Begin:
Most High God, majestic and almighty,
our beginning and our end:
rule in our hearts
and guide us to be faithful in our daily actions.
Gather into Christ's holy reign
the broken, the sorrowing, and the sinner,
that all may know
wholeness, joy, and forgiveness,
praying in the name of the one who comes
as Savior and Sovereign,
and who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen
The study this week is written by Steve Clifton. Please post your comments and feedback and I will do my best to respond during the week.
Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
The book is set in the days of the exile in Babylon. Daniel is a famous character from that time; according to Ezekiel, he was renowned for his piety and wisdom. The book was written about 165 BC, in Daniel's name, to give hope to people who suffer persecution under Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a Hellenistic ruler who tried to eliminate Judaism. Our reading is of a vision: earthly kingdoms will pass to make way for the kingdom of God. It presents past events as though in the future and continues slightly into the future.
Out of the primordial “sea” (v. 2), the chaotic “deep” of Genesis 1:2, stirred up by the spirit of God (“winds of heaven”), Daniel sees four beasts arise – all agents of God. The first three are like a “lion” (v. 4), “bear” (v. 5) and “leopard” (v. 6). The fourth beast is too horrible to be likened to any animal; it has horns. Another small horn appears, symbolizing Antiochus. Thrones are set in place and God (“the Ancient of Days”, v. 9) takes his place, surrounded by attendants; his court sits in judgement. The fourth beast is put to death; the second and third are allowed to linger on. Then “one like a human being” (v. 13, or a son of man) comes from heaven and is presented to God, who gives him a universal, eternal, unconquerable kingdom (v. 14). (Christians saw this figure as the messiah, Christ, but to Jews he represented the archangel Michael and faithful Jews.) The interpretation begins in v. 16. King and kingdom are used interchangeably, so the “four great beasts” (v. 17) symbolize world powers that dominated Israel: Babylon, Medea, Persia and the Seleucids. The “holy ones of the Most High” (v. 18) are Jews who defied Antiochus’ decrees against Judaism; there will again be an independent Jewish state which will last for ever. The current persecutions will end. God has permitted Israel to be conquered, but will act soon to rescue his people.
- Consider human history and all the changes that have occurred as empires rise and fall, as ways of thinking change, as world views shift... Recently the world recalled the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the Soviet empire. The Cold War which dominated the last half of the 20th century just faded away. Daniel reminds us that empires come and go. History bring surprising changes, but there is one who is "Ancient" and who is above it all...
- What changes have occurred in your life time? My grandmother passed away not long ago at the age of 103. The changes in politics, technology, communication, transportation, culture, science, geopolitics witnessed in her life time are staggering in scope. Consider the changes just in the last 100 years? What seemingly solid and everlasting things have faded away?
- What Empires have faded in the last 100 years? Ottoman, Austria-Hungary, Soviet, British...
- What that is part of the fabric of our world today will still be with us in 100 years? Will we be driving cars fueled by petroleum in 25 years? Will print media, which began with Gutenberg endure this century? What will fade away in the near future?
- What remains constant? What promises to last?
Psalm 93
This is the first of enthronement psalms, the others being 94-99.
This psalm is a hymn extolling God as king; it deals with the kingly rule of the God of Israel and was probably composed for use in connection with a festival.
V. 3 speaks of waters raising up and “roaring”. To the ancients of Babylon and Sumer, waters were chaotic, very difficult for the gods to control. The ancient gods did battle with them; when the gods had won, creation followed. We find echoes of this in Genesis Chapter 1. Here God wins definitively, establishing world order, which “shall never be moved” , changed or defeated. God rules over all of creation, even the forces of chaos.
V. 5a recognizes that the Law (“decrees”) are firm and offer dependable guidance (“very sure”).
- God`s rule is seen in God's power over chaos. The Primal forces of chaos and disorder are subdued by God. Where do we see the forces of chaos rising up today. Where in your life do things seem disordered or beyond control?
- What difference does it make to think that God really is in control?
Revelation 1:4b-8
John begins and ends this book as a letter. Literally, it is “to the seven churches that are in Asia” (v. 4a), Asia being a Roman province in western Asia Minor, but “seven” symbolizes totality, so John may speak to all churches in the province, or to all everywhere.
The letter , coming through John, is from God, here described as being throughout time, meaning eternal. The salutation is also from “the seven spirits”: this may mean the Spirit of God (in Isaiah 11:2, the Spirit operates in seven ways) or the seven angels (Michael, Raphael, etc) closest to God (“before his throne”, v. 4) in contemporary Jewish thinking.
Further, it is “from Jesus Christ” (v. 5), who is:
- “the faithful witness”:
- “firstborn of the dead”: in his resurrection, he inaugurated a new era;
- “ruler ...”: being now exalted, he has power over all creation.
“Amen”, a Hebrew word, means It is sure and trustworthy! or so be it!: it is both valid and binding. (In 3:14, Christ is called “the Amen”.)
V. 8 tells us that, from A to Z, God is sovereign over all events of human history; his power is supreme (“Almighty”).
- Written to persecuted churches living under Roman rule, this proclamation of Christ as ruler of all, of God who is supreme, stands opposed to the claims of Rome in that day. In their world Caesar was proclaimed everywhere as the supreme authority.
- Who or what is seen as the supreme authority in our day? Where does power lie today? Who or what rules our lives? What would it mean to remember that God is actually in charge? That all other powers fade. After all, where is Caesar today?
- How would things change if we recognized Jesus as the ultimate authority?
John 18:33-37
- Think of a King. Louis the XIV and the wealth of Versailles. Henry the VIII and his many wives. When Pilate thought of a King he may have thought of Caesar Augustus who ruled the Roman Empire through military might and administrative power.Now Jesus, a Galilean carpenter and itinerant preacher is brought to Pilate and he is said to be the King of the Jews. `Puzzled he asks : Are you the King of the Jews?"
- Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus wants to know why Pilate asks this question. What do you think?
- Pilate evades a direct answer. He implies no knowledge of Jesus prior to this exchange. Do you think Pilate had heard of Jesus already? What would it be like to hear of Jesus first and only from those who hated him, like the chief priests?
- What does it mean to testify to the truth? Have you ever had to give testimony in court? Can two people describe the scene of an accident differently and still think they are telling the truth? Jesus says we "belong to the truth." What do you think he means?
- Clearly, if Jesus is a King, when compared to Caesar, Jesus is a different kind of King. Jesus talks about his kingdom being "not from this world." Some people take that to mean that God's kingdom has no earthly place, but is that what he means? Jesus says elsewhere that the kingdom of God is here and now and arriving and at hand.
- What kind of King is Jesus? Where is his Kingdom? How do we live in it?
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