Sermon Title “Jesus is Lord” Below is not a full manuscript or transcript. It is notes from the sermon.
Every year, we go through what’s called the liturgical church calendar. And today is the last Sunday of the present liturgical year. Today, it’s what is called the Reign of Christ or, more clearly, Christ the King.
Now, before I talk about our scripture readings today within the context of the Reign of Christ, I want to highlight and pull out some strings of thoughts from key moments in the past year and then, by the end of this sermon, bring them together.
At the beginning of Advent last year, on Dec 3rd, we read from the Gospel according to Matthew. We were foretold the Birth of Jesus, the Messiah, which means the anointed one. Joseph was told Mary would deliver a child, and he would be called Emanuel, God with Us.
On Christmas, We began the service with a reading from the Prophet Isaiah chapter 9: For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Great will be his authority, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. From this reading, my sermon reminded us that we follow and worship the Prince of Peace.
I recounted the World War 1 Christmas Truce story when, on the first Christmas of the war,in 1914, men on either side of no man’s land briefly stopped fighting and joined together in the middle of the battlefield, celebrating and singing Christmas hymns And then I wondered, what might have been if the truce had ended the war rather than the fighting continue for another 4 years. And millions were killed. And I concluded the sermon that we are to work for Peace… because we serve the Prince of Peace.
The next season of the liturgical year is Epiphany. On January 7th, we celebrated Epiphany Sunday. We read: The magi arrived from the east to pay homage to Jesus. They gifted him with frankincense, gold, and myrrh. Gifts like these would have been given to a king. When King Herod heard that they were honoring Jesus like he was a king, Herod sent troops to kill him. But in the middle of the night, An angel of the Lord told Joseph, in a dream, to take the child and his mother to Egypt, and immediately, they fled.
We can already see that Jesus’s kingdom contrasts with the violence of King Herod.
On January 14, we baptized Cooper into our faith. Cooper’s baptism landed on the day we celebrated the baptism of Jesus. And on that day, we read that when Jesus emerges from the water, a voice from heaven says, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
The Psalms say something similarly Psalm 2 verse 7: “You are my son; today I have begotten you.” This Psalm is one of the royal psalms. Perhaps sung at the anointing of a king.
When we view Jesus’ baptism through this Psalm, we see that Jesus is being anointed a king.
On Ash Wednesday, February 14th, we began the season of Lent. We turned our hearts to prepare ourselves to serve Jesus by following him to Jerusalem to witness who he is, to his crucifixion, and to his resurrection. We imposed ashes on our foreheads because we are humble servants of Christ. And then, after forty days,
And then finally, On Palm Sunday, March 24th, we finally made it to Jerusalem. We shouted triumphantly about Jesus’ arrival there. He rode in on a donkey, not like a warrior king, but a king of peace. He came not with the violent force of an army but on the back of a lowly donkey. Here, too, is a call back to the Old Testament: This one from Zechariah 9: Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Jesus is a king, not like other kings.
On Maundy Thursday, we gathered around the table to receive the bread of life and the cup of salvation.
At the end of the service, we joined Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and saw a mob with swords arrest him. He did not resist. He did not lead his disciple into a bloody battle. He willingly let them take him. He was taken to Pilate because religious leadership feared the violence of Rome. Pilate had him crucified, soldiers mocked him, and they dressed him up in a purple robe, which is the color of nobility, gave him a crown of thorns, beat him, then stripped him of the robe and placed his own clothes back on him. Then, they led him out to crucify him. And he died,
The powers of destruction and death believed in the might of their own power. They thought they could kill him. They thought if he truly is a king, he should have the power to stop them. But Oh, how wrong they were.
On Easter Sunday, we sang triumphantly, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.” We celebrated that a lord and king like Jesus could not be defeated. We celebrated it in part by welcoming new members into the life of our beloved church, Emanuel. We asked them, Do you promise, by the grace of God, to be Christ’s disciple, to follow in the way of our Savior and Teacher, to resist oppression and evil, to show love and justice, and to witness to the work and word of Jesus Christ as best as you are able? And they said I promise with the help of God.
During the rest of the Easter season, Jesus goes on a resurrection tour. He shows his disciples… that he is a king that Rome could not defeat.
On Pentecost Sunday, May 19, the Holy Spirit rushed and empowered the disciples to go forward and spread the good news of Jesus resurrection. And we celebrated it by welcoming the confirmands as members of our church. Did they say the same thing?
So, After Pentecost Sunday… is the season of Pentecost which ends today. This season is when we reflect more on what Christ has called the church to do, how we might serve him as disciples and on how to incorporate his teachings in our daily life of faith.
In the past several months, we have connected the scripture passages to what the kingdom of God means in our lives. We reflected on what it means to serve Christ as Lord and King.
On August 4th, it was communion Sunday and we baptized Evie, Harlan, and Molly, offered a blessing for their older sister, Freya, and sang of God’s enduring presence in their and our lives.
In the Sermon, I said: We talked about how communion is a time when we embody the kingdom of God in worship by haring a meal together.
On the 13, we baptized Maverick. We talked about how God’s kingdom is not about the riches of the world but about richness in relationships, peace of mind, and hope for a better tomorrow. And that this kingdom breaks through right here and now.
On Oct 27, we baptized Coriana. We reflected on that a faithful relationship with the Lord leads to transformation. A transformation of the mind, body, soul, towards love.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, on November 3, we read the names of the people who died in the last year. At the end of every Eugolgy, I say Well done, good and faithful servant. We also read Matthew 25. Jesus tells the parable of the King who says to the nations: Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ They say when did we do these things to you and he says when you did it to the least of these.
We have served the Lord over the last year, raising money, collecting food, underwear, and coats, preparing hygiene kits, and volunteering at the Gathering.
We brought people to this path. When we welcomed new members and our confirmands and baptized our youngsters, we worshiped together, learning to serve and follow Jesus.
All this leads us to today, Reign of Christ Sunday. All of this reveals to us what kind of King we serve and what kind of kingdom awaits us, in the present life and the life to come.
But before Jesus walked the earth, before King David, before King Saul, the story goes that Judges oversaw the Israelites. That a prophet named Samuel helped guide them. When Samuel was old, he appointed his sons, who were corrupt. Because of this, the people asked him to appoint them a king. Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered: They are not rejecting you, but rejecting me. So comply with their request, but give them a clear warning, telling them how the king will rule over them.”
Then Samuel explained everything the Lord had said to the people who were asking for a king. “This is how the king will rule over you,” Samuel said:
“He will take your sons and will use them for his chariots and his cavalry and as runners for his chariot. He will use them as his commanders of troops of one thousand and troops of fifty, or to do his plowing and his harvesting, or to make his weapons or parts for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, or bakers. He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves and give them to his servants. He will give one-tenth of your grain and your vineyards to his officials and servants. He will take your male and female servants, along with the best of your cattle and donkeys, and make them do his work. He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and then you yourselves will become his slaves! When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you chose for yourselves, but on that day, the Lord won’t answer you.”
But the people refused to listen to Samuel and said, “No! There must be a king over us so we can be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us and lead us and fight our battles.”
Samuel listened to everything the people said and repeated it directly to the Lord. Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Comply with their request. Give them a king.”
The people got what they wanted and knew who they would serve. They heard the warning signs. They knew it would lead to trouble. They knew their lands would be taken. They knew that they served him to enrich him to give him power. They knew they would build weapons. They knew it would lead to war. They knew and still And they said, yes to a king and yet they thought he would govern them and go out before us and fight our battles.
And so then Samuel anointed Saul.
But what they wanted wasn’t what they needed–what we needed.
Jesus is the King we need.
We have seen him as the Prince of Peace. He comes not with swords but with love. He comes with justice for all. He’s a king who doesn’t lord his power over others. He reveals to us that those who follow in his path can’t be defeated. He shows us that his kingdom differs from any other kind of kingdom. He doesn’t send us off to war.
He asks us to serve him by serving others. We serve him by serving the least of these. We serve him by breaking the chains of oppression. We serve him by living a life of peace. We serve him by sharing our bread with the hungry. We serve him by standing up for others. We serve him by lifting people up, not tearing them down. We serve him by keeping people in power accountable. We serve him by
So let us remember that we worship and serve one Christ who is a king, Jesus. Amen.