People's Prayers: Prayers of the People: Christ the King, Last Sunday after Pentecost '17 Yr A

For Sunday, November 26, 2017, Christ the King, Last Sunday after Pentecost, Year A, Readings: Ezekiel 34:11-16,

Psalm 95:1-7a, Ephesians 1:15-23, Matthew 25:31-46

I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep...I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak...I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at the weak animals with your horns...I will save my flock and they will no longer be ravaged...I will judge between sheep and sheep. [Ezekiel 34:15a, 16,20b-22]

Come, let us sing to the LORD; let us shout for joy to the Rock of our Salvation...For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. [Psalm 95: 1, 7a]

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ...may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe... [Ephesians 1:17-19a]

When the Son of Man comes into his glory...All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats...Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me...but the righteous [will go] into eternal life." [Matthew 25:31a, 32, 40, 46b]

In this Sunday of Christ the King, the Final Sunday in the Season after Pentecost, or The Season of the Kingdom in some places, we look at the Christ of Wisdom, of Eternity, of Majesty, and Jesus, of human form. The kingly Christ is now, has always been, will forever be, but the Divine-Human Incarnation, the manifestation of the love of God that is Jesus is just over 2,000 years old. Jesus - the human face of God - came and will come again as God's own divine self on earth. It is more than difficult to comprehend, in those times we stop and remember to try, as inexplicable and unsolvable mysteries often are.

Ezekiel reminds us of God as the Shepherd, rescuing, feeding, healing, finding, and strengthening the weak, while separating the weak sheep from the fat sheep who butted and scattered the weaker. In Matthew’s Gospel account, Jesus speaks of separating sheep and goats, and between the two accounts, goats and fat sheep are not faring well with divine judgment.

As we strive to be good sheep, our everyday lives, with their ups and downs on a variety of fronts, keep us fairly distracted and it is often very difficult, when confronted with particular issues, to remember to look for Christ in strangers, the sick, the imprisoned, and the poor - and especially in those who seem better off in life than we are, or those who, in our less than best moments, we disparage as goats (or those very fat sheep!). Yet our divine calling is to specifically: seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves, and, to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being [Baptismal Covenant, U.S. Book of Common Prayer]. Some days, some seasons, some years, it's much easier to be a goat and rest in the more comfy Jesus - the sweet Baby of the Christmas glitter, and, ignoring the other “reason for the season”, the resurrected Jesus in the bright colors of Easter flowers, dyed eggs, and candy.

But as we are at the end of one liturgical season and beginning another, it is time to reconsider our actions as members of the Body of Christ, and follow Jesus with intention and consciousness ~ Jesus who is our Messiah, the Rock of our Salvation, Christ the King of Glory. The writer of Ephesians prays for our wisdom, our enlightenment, and for us to know the glory of God’s immeasurable greatness. Let us not discard divine mystery for a false reality, but rouse ourselves from the haze of distraction, indifference, and complacency. Let us, as the blessed inheritors of the Kingdom, turn toward the inconvenient call of Christ. After all, if we believe that our very existence on this fragile island planet, is truly a gift from God, what is there to lose if we live it through Christ? Everything that matters! Wait, and you’ll see.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Christ Jesus, King of Glory, awaken us again to the wonder of God’s fullness in You and to find You first place in our lives. Guide our faith that we may be gathered as Your sheep, and live into our divine blessings by caring for all among us, even to beckoning the goats of this life, to join with us in Your eternal flock.

Jesus, Face of God

RESPONSE: Let us seek and serve You in all faces

~ Christ Jesus, King of Glory, guide our hearts and intentions, that we and the leaders of governments on this Earth, may seek the lost, bind up the injured, feed them on justice, and not ravage, use, or abuse your flocks, anywhere, across the entire realm of God’s Creation. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, Face of God