Worship for November 21, 2010
Christ the King Sunday
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Let us pray... Gracious God - we pray for ourselves at this time - that we
might remember who is in control in creation - who hold together all things -
and that he might be the one who controls our life.
Help us to let go of ourselves and our fears and worries and to rest ourselves in Christ Jesus.
Help us to grow in faith, to rejoice always in what you have done, to submit
our will and our plans to your will and your plan for our lives.
Lord, remember us…
(sung #569) …Jesus, Remember me when you come into your kingdom.
Gracious God, we pray for others - we pray that those who are ruled by money, by status, by the desire to get ahead, by addictions, or by any other force other than that of our Lord, may awaken and realize their poverty, and reach out to you.
We ask for those who are afraid that their life is in a downward spiral that cannot be reversed that they may realize the authority and the power of Christ over all that afflicts them;
we pray for those who have no hope - those whose days consist of a meaningless cycle of frantic work, desperate pleasure, and restless sleep. Lord, remember us…
…Jesus, Remember me when you come into your kingdom.
We ask for the special burdens upon our hearts at this time - we praise and thank you for all the blessings you give us without our even asking.
We pray those who dwell in places of strife, need, and want:
We pray - for those who have been bereaved in the past week
We pray too for those others named before you this day by our brothers and sisters in faith. We remember
Lord, Remember us…
…Jesus, Remember me when you come into your kingdom.
We pray to you Lord, through Jesus our King - our brother - and our redeemer. Amen.
Luke 23.33When they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified him, along with the criminals, one on his right and the other on his left.34Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.” They drew lots as a way of dividing up his clothing.
35The people were standing around watching, but the leaders sneered at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself if he really is the Christ sent from God, the chosen one.”
36The soldiers also mocked him. They came up to him offering him sour wine37and saying, “If you really are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 38Above his head was a notice of the formal charge against him. It read “This is the king of the Jews.”
39One of the criminals hanging next to Jesus insulted him, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
40Responding, the other criminal spoke harshly to him, “Don’t you fear God, seeing that you’ve also been sentenced to die?41We are rightly condemned, for we are receiving the appropriate sentence for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43Jesus replied, “I assure you that today you will be with me in paradise.”
“Thanks for a King?”
Christ the King Sunday always catches me by surprise, even though I know for a whole year in advance that it is coming. It is Christ the King Sunday, that wonderful time of year when we American Christians can give thanks that we have no king and try to figure out at the same time what it means to have one!
Of course, we don’t want a King. We’re Americans! We barely want a president. Whoever’s in office, we moan and complain about for four years, then catch our breath and start complaining again. One of the reasons that I pray for our political leaders on schedule like I do is I kinda’ hope that it balances out the complaining I do!
We don’t want a king. We declared our independence from
And here it is, the last Sunday in the church year, rolling around to remind us that whether we want one or not, we have one.
Does that make it hard to invite our unchurched friends to worship? The notion of king smacks of pre-enlightenment patriarchy, triumphalism, classism.
And, folks, what evidence do we have that there even is a King Jesus? What evidence is there in the world that it is ruled by someone loving and beneficent, powerful, just, healing--or by anyone at all, for that matter?
When I think of a king (and this is true of a lot Americans of my generation), this is the guy that usually come to mind. (Elvis slide). Maybe if I could think of him (Elvis carrying cross slide). Nah.
What kind of king is this, anyway?
One who is hung on a cross in the most humiliating and painful form of capital punishment the world has ever seen?
A king who is put to death as a common criminal-along with two other criminals, whom he invites into his kingdom.
Two criminals die with Jesus that day. Not a very regal sight. Yet, today we honor Christ as our king at the lowest point of his life. Not ruling from a throne, but nailed to his throne. Not wearing a crown of gold but one of thorns. Not waving to his citizens from a balcony, but hanging from a cross convulsing in pain. He is the king who is abandoned, ridiculed, and mocked. He is the king who wields no power and has no army riding to his rescue. He writhes in pain utterly powerless and defeated.
This is our king and we are his subjects. So how will we serve him? Here is what he says to us: I am the hungry person in the street weary and underfed; I am the waiting and the anxious parent; I am the nursing home patient, wheelchair-bound and alone; I am the confused and abused child; I am the teenager whose parents just divorced; I am the convicted man isolated in a prison cell. I am the least significant human person in need. These are the faces you are to serve . . . they are mine. Remember them as I remember you.
Can we really give thanks for a king like that? One who presents himself to us as the dregs of society?
What kind of king is this? What kind of king do we have anyway? The one who thinks of the other first even as he draws his final breaths. The one who dies for the other. The one to whom the criminal on the right asks, “Jesus remember me.”
That same king hears us today as we plead with him. When we are facing a long illness. When one of our children is struggling. When cancer returns after being in remission for years. When we receive a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum from our employer. When we regret the way we have lived our life and don’t know where to turn for forgiveness. “Jesus remember me.” He who mercifully extended forgiveness in the last moments of his life . . . remembers us.
And for this, we can indeed give thanks. What do you think?
Prayer for the Gifts
Eternal God, we offer to you these gifts and our lives. May Christ the King rule in our hearts and lives so that we are powerful witnesses to the truth of your kingdom of love, justice, mercy and peace. May the gifts of time, talents, and future gifts which we give to you this day, be blessed by your joyful and loving spirit, that we too may be joyful and loving in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Benediction
Though the days increase in their darkness, the Lord of light and love reigns supreme. May the power of God’s love be in your hearts and reflected in your lives now and always. Go in peace and may God’s peace be with you. AMEN.
