By Deacon Timothy Siburg
RCL reflection for Christ the King/Reign of Christ Sunday, Year B
November 24, 2024
Key Verse: “Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. 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
With some days and weeks of the church year, the central part of stewardship is simply telling the story. Christ the King or Reign of Christ Sunday is one of those. It’s the last Sunday of the church year, before we begin anew next week with Advent, and we are reminded again of Jesus final moments before his crucifixion. Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary closes with this familiar passage from the longer passion narrative of John. If you find yourself in the United States, given we just had an election in this country, this passage might hit a little differently than it would during Holy Week.
Here we find ourselves in the dialog between Pilate and Jesus. We know this story. It’s central to the faith. Letting the story do the work could be a good stewardship imperative for your context. But to go a little deeper, ponder Jesus’ answers to Pilate. After Pilate asks, “What have you done?” (John 18:35). Jesus responds, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here” (v. 36).
This might provide an opportunity to think about the Kingdom of God. Jesus talks more about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven than anything else in the gospels. Why might this be? What might this kingdom look like as it breaks into the world today, bit by bit? As one church year ends and one begins, God’s people are invited to be awake and alert to the invitations and signs of the Kingdom breaking into the world with, for, around, and through God’s beloved. This Kingdom is both a now and not-yet, thing. It is coming into being but has not fully been realized. Which makes it all the more important to look for the signs of its in-breaking and to know that God is always active and up to something.
These signs also might point to Jesus’ message to Pilate that repeatedly emphasizes his spiritual reign. Pilate, in hearing about the Kingdom, asks Jesus, “So you are a king?” (v. 37). Jesus answers, “You say that I am a king. 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’” (v. 37).
To testifying “to the truth,” Jesus came to point to the kingdom of God, reorient God’s people, remind everyone that God’s love is real, and show through word and deed that salvation has come near.
The stewardship question for this week might be, “How do we respond and belong to the truth?” Jesus shows the way through his incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. He points to the Kingdom of God, and proclaims the truth for he is the truth, the very word of God. Though we know the rest of the story – that the events of Good Friday and Easter are not far behind – we save that for Holy Week. In letting this passage sit by itself this week we have an opportunity to dig in once more and ponder what this truth is that Jesus is, and to imagine how we respond and belong to it.
One way is by being part of the living Body of Christ as the community of God’s beloved today. Through this body we show up in the world and engage the world all around us. As One Body together, we respond to our neighbors in need. We also pay attention to the signs and invitations of the Kingdom of God, proclaiming and pointing to the good news that the Kingdom of God has come near.
We are also reminded in this week’s stories that God’s Kingdom is not limited to a few but is expansive and inclusive. We hear from Daniel, “To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14). The truth that God is for “all peoples, nations and language” is important, especially in a context like ours, where the dangers of Christian nationalism are very real.
At the same time, the psalmist reminds us that it is God who creates all and is everlasting: “He has established the world; it shall never be moved; your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting” (Psalm 93:1-2). This is echoed in the second lesson from Revelation, reminding us that God in Christ is “the Alpha and the Omega’…who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). God is God, and we are not, and we can all say, “thanks be to God!”
The Revelation reading underscores perhaps the biggest distinction about Jesus’ reign – that it is built on love, freedom, and grace. As Revelation proclaims, “To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:5-6). The promise of God’s abundant love is part of God’s gifts of life, grace, and salvation. We are freed through God’s work on our behalf, and this is the truth that Jesus proclaims. And it’s the truth that we both belong to and have the opportunity to respond to through all that we do and all that we are as stewards of God’s love.
In Worship and Congregational Life
If your context observes Christ the King (or Reign of Christ), lean into these familiar stories this week. They speak for themselves and call for a response that frames the work of stewardship well. If your context (as some in the Midwest) observes a sort of mash-up of Christ the King and Thanksgiving, then connect the dots between the stories and our response. Help the congregation give thanks for all that God has done, and especially give thanks for the way the community of God’s beloved gathers, supports, shares, and responds. Realistically, that would be more than enough for the day. To remind God’s people of God’s story. To invite God’s people to respond. And to give thanks for all that God and God’s people do and are a part of. Perhaps the only thing better than this might be to end worship with a pie social, observing Thanksgiving a couple days early.
Worship with Youth and Children
The stories speak for themselves this week, but youth and children might lean into the idea of thanks and praise. They might lead the congregation in song about Jesus being the king, and about the joy that Jesus. Hymns or worship songs that could fit this theme include the spiritual by Andrae Crouch, “Soon and Very Soon,” or the song by Willard F. Jabusch set to a familiar Israeli tune, “The King of Glory.” Both songs are rhythmic and might give an opportunity to enjoy shakers or other rhythmic instruments in worship, so that the whole body of Christ might together join in hopeful and joyful praise of Christ the King. Thanks and praise are central to our response as stewards, and perfectly fitting for this day and time of year.
Previous reflections for Christ the King/Reign of Christ Sunday, Year B:
2018 – Legacy and an uncommon King
2015 – Not from around these parts
2012 – Listen … can you hear him?
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