For
Sunday, November 25, 2018, Last Sunday after Pentecost, Year B, Readings: 2 Samuel 23:1-7, Psalm 132:1-13, 14-19;
Revelation 1:4b-8,
John 18:33-37
John 18:33-37
The
God of Israel has spoken: One who rules over people justly…is like the light of
the morning…But the godless are all like thorns that are thrown away. [2
Samuel 23:3a, 6a]
Let your priests be
clothed with righteousness; let your faithful people sing with joy. [Psalm 132:9]
Grace to you and peace
from him who is and who was and who is to come..."I am the Alpha and the
Omega"... [Revelation 1:4b, 8]
Everyone who belongs to
the truth listens to my voice. [John
18:37b]
We have arrived at the Last
Sunday after Pentecost, celebrating Christ the King. Coming next we begin the Season
of Advent, preparing for the birth of the Child, who frees us from our sins.
The reading from 2nd Samuel contains
the last words of another King, David. The contrast of the just ruler with the
godless is stark, explicit, and worthy of comparisons with our own lives. The
just ruler, God has told David, is like
the light of the morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning…Is not my
house like this with God? God will help us all be secure and prosper. But the godless are all like thorns that are
thrown away…entirely consumed in fire…
The passage from Revelation brings mysterious
and almost abstract descriptions that are difficult to comprehend for most
modern, western minds. While they also maybe somewhat familiar to anyone who
regularly reads the Christian [New] Testament and/or hears them read in a
church setting, these words may seem irrelevant in the scheme of daily living in
today’s world. How does one concretely grasp Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, firstborn of all creation and also of
the dead, ruler of the kings of the earth? Or the Lord God, the Almighty who is
and was and is to come, the Alpha and the Omega. Yet we, who would be counted
as faithful Christians, should take heed and examine these words more closely. It
is in this daily life in this time that we may easily lose track of our
allegiances and settle in more with the temporary earthly powers than in the
everlasting divine Kingship of Christ. Although Jesus says his kingdom is not from here, it is here and in
this time and place where we encounter him, if we seek him, and if we choose
to follow.
For me, the crux of this Sunday’s lessons
is the moment in John’s Gospel that Jesus tells Pilate that everyone who belongs to the
truth listens to my voice [John
18:37b]. Are we listening? Do we hear it? Interestingly, what
comes next is not in our appointed reading and I wish that it was! Maybe it is
even more difficult for us to fully understand. In verse 38: Pilate
asked him, "What is truth?" For
us who endeavor to follow, Christ is our unearthly King in this world who shows
us the way to the true unending Kingdom. The easy question for each of us to answer is: To what truth do we choose to belong? The hard question and answer is: How do we live
it?
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader:
~ O God Almighty, our
Light and our Rock, keep us from collapsing in fear whenever we, Your restless
multitude, tremble at earthly tumult from both human behavior and natural disasters.
In our fleeting mortality turn us always to Christ in whose Kingdom we are
forgiven and saved.
O
Christ, our King
RESPONSE: Keep us in Your Truth
~ O God Almighty,
our Light and our Rock, we implore You to infuse the wisdom, sanity, and humanity of
Jesus into all who govern Your people everywhere. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O
Christ, our King
Keep us in Your Truth
~
O God Almighty, our Light and our Rock, send healing grace to all who suffer in
spirit, mind, or body, and compassion to all who give them care. We now join
our voices to pray aloud for those in need… We now join our voices to pray
aloud for those in need…
O
Christ, our King
Keep us in Your Truth
~ O God Almighty,
our Light and our Rock, ease our grief as the souls
of our cherished departed arise from earthly death into the ceaseless joy of
Your Eternal Kingdom. We pray
especially for:
O
Christ, our King
Keep us in Your Truth
~ O God
Almighty, our Light and our Rock, we pause
in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions,
petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…
O
Christ, our King
Keep us in Your Truth
~ O God Almighty,
our Light and our Rock, empower the spirits of
those who lead us in Your Church, through Your Word and Sacraments, with the
peace, unity, and truth of Christ’s all-encompassing love. We pray
especially for: add your own petitions
O
Christ, our King
Keep us in Your Truth
The
Celebrant adds: Christ of All Peoples, rescue us from the power of darkness and transform our
anxieties into fruitful action. Keep us striving toward Your purpose by offering
our labors to soothe the sufferings of humanity near and far. We ask through
Jesus our Christ, the Faithful Witness, and the Holy Spirit, the very Breath of
Love, who together with You are our One God, now and forever. Amen.
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