Proper 29

Christ the King

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; Revelation 1:4-8; John 18:33-37

Christ the King and the First Sunday of Advent present some of the most vivid and — troubling passages of Scripture — and they can seem quite out of place as the rest of the world gears up for the holidays.

What to make of them? Well, if Christ is our king and He says He is not from this world, then ultimately our allegiance is not to any power in this world. It also means that our faith does not originate in (and cannot be placed in) anything "from this world."

This has several implications. The first is that though it be called one, Christianity cannot be just another world religion, because it is not (as Jesus puts it) "from here."

The second is that the Church, whether the Jewish Church of Jesus' time or the nearly defunct Christendom of our own times, often bears little resemblance to God's kingdom.

The third is that the truth is the only thing that matters. Jesus says, "For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice" (John 18:37).

Watch or read this and next Sunday's sermons to hear more our Messiah-King, and how knowing the truth about Him will change us.