Readings for November 24, 2013: The Reign of Christ/Christ
the King
Christ the King Sunday had its beginnings in the Christian
tradition in the last century. The head of the Catholic Church, Pope Pius XI
first called for a celebration of Christ the King in 1925. Europe at that time
was witnessing the rise of great dictatorships. Fascists were rising in Germany
and in Spain. Mussolini had begun to rule Italy. The Communists controlled
Russia. There were voices that were calling people to war, conquest, genocide
and violence in the name of an ideology or nation state. There were forces
calling for attention, for allegiance: Militarism. Nationalism.
Totalitarianism. Anti-Semitism; all these things cast large shadows. In the
midst of all of this, Christ the King Sunday began as an attempt to remind
Christians that Jesus is Sovereign. Jesus, in the end, is King. Even in the
face of the great war machines of nations... Jesus is really in charge.
Jesus is the one we should follow.
From Chapter 1, we know that Jeremiah was either born or
began his ministry in 627 BC. During his life, Babylonia succeeded Assyria as
the dominant power in the Middle East. He was a witness to the return to
worship of the Lord (instituted by the Judean king Josiah), and then (after
Josiah's death in battle in 609), the return of many of the people to paganism.
When Babylon captured Jerusalem in 587, Jeremiah emigrated to Egypt. God called
him to be a prophet to Judah and surrounding nations, in the midst of these
political and religious convulsions.
In the preceding Chapters Jeremiah has made prophecies about
four of the five last kings of Judah. Three of these kings he considers bad, as
they sided with foreigners. Rather than predicting the fate of the last one,
Zedekiah, God now speaks (through Jeremiah) about an ideal future king. God
blames Judah’s kings (“shepherds”) for scattering his “sheep”; they will be
punished “for your evil doings”. But God will bring the people together again,
to perfect safety, and will set good kings (“shepherds”), over them. Their
state will be as God originally intended in the first creation story God makes
a formal pronouncement (“the days are surely coming”) when God will “raise up”
a “Branch” (shoot, descendant) of David’s line who will be wise, just and faithful,
ruling over both “Judah” and “Israel”. Later prophets, in dark times of
unfaithful kings, recalled this ideal rule and promised its realization in the
future. This led to expecting a new era, when God would himself rule the
faithful.
What do you think of the worldly rulers of today? Rob Ford?
The Senate? The American government shut down? Where are the good shepherds to
be found? What good and faithful leaders do you see in our world?
What would good government look like? What problems would be
addressed if we let Jesus rule our lives? What would our priorities be?
Colossae was a city in what is now southwestern Turkey. It
had a flourishing wool and textile industry and a significant Jewish
population. It seems that most Christians there were Gentile. Although long
thought to be written by Paul, today this epistle is considered non-Pauline for
a number of reasons. The most compelling is that it emphasizes what God has
already done for his people: Paul tells us what God is going to do in the
future (although some argue that Paul shifted his viewpoint in later life.) It
gives descriptions of false teachings which were being promulgated in the
churches. Some scholars consider this evidence of later authorship. In the
ancient world, writing in the name of a respected author was not considered to
be dishonest; rather this practice was accepted and regarded as an honour.
The author has heard of the trust in Christ his readers have
because of their hope of eternal life. “This hope ... is bearing fruit and
growing ... from the day you ... truly comprehended the grace of God” So he
prays for them that they may experience God’s ways to the full, leading the
ethical lives God expects, and growing in knowledge of him. Faced with errant
teaching, may God make them “strong” and “prepared to endure everything”. God
(in Christ) has “rescued us” from the power of evil (“darkness”) and moved us
to Christ’s realm, enabling us to share with others in the “inheritance” ,
being God’s children).
The last half of the reading is a hymn about Christ
(“He”); he is how we see and access God. Angelology was popular at
the time; “thrones ...” were orders of angels; each was “created”, had its
origin “in him”, and exists “for him”; any power they have is subordinate to
Christ’s. The whole of creation, both heavenly and earthly, were created
“through him” -with his participation. He is the “firstborn”), the inheritor
from the Father, he governs all and is the cohesive power of the universe. He
existed “before all things”, before the first creative act. Greeks saw the
“head” as the body’s source of life and growth. Christ is this to the Church,
and “head” of it in the modern sense. He is “the beginning”, the nucleus of
restoration of humanity to union with God, of the new created-ness. In his
resurrection, and ascension to the Father, he is the forerunner of
our elevation to being with the Father, of our reconciliation with the
Father. Christians at Colossae tried to find ultimate power and truth in
various deities, but in Christ all power and ultimate truth is found.
Reflection:
What seems to be powerful in the world right now? What big
forces do we live under?
What are we asked to do, to think? What forces are good and
what powers are destructive?
What does Jesus ask us to do in the world? What claim does
the gospel make in us?
Matthew 25:31-46
This is the first half of the story; Jesus shares a vision
of the end of the age. In the final judgement, all people are separated into
two groups- sheep and goats- saved and condemned- chosen and discarded. One
group has served the King who has come in judgement; they cared for the poor
and vulnerable and so served the King. It’s interesting that they served the
needy without knowing they served the King through the poor. They were not
seeking reward.
Reflection:
Sometimes we hear that to be saved we must give consent to
certain concepts. Salvation comes from saying the right words, from believing
the correct things. If you want to be “saved” you must accept certain
propositions. In this story what leads to salvation? How do you get to be a
sheep and not a goat?
The new Pontiff, Pope Francis has asked people to live with
compassion and mercy. What you do, how you live the gospel comes before “right
thinking”. Catechism and ideas take a back seat to love. Some find this
shocking? What do you think?
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