From Christ the King to Advent

“Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.” (Collect for Christ The King, Book of Common Prayer)

The Feast of Christ the King is celebrated on the last Sunday of the Year (the Church Year, not the Calendar Year). The year begins on the First Sunday of Advent during which the Coming Christ is proclaimed by the Holy Spirit, Angels, John the Baptist and Mary. During the year with the help of the Sunday Gospel readings, we walk with Jesus on his journey as he “grows in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and Human Beings.”

We share in his victories and in his trials and tribulations, we are there when he is welcomed and praised and when he is despised and rejected. Everyone had a vision of who the Messiah would be, of what he would do and of how he would make their world better. As it turned out many people were disappointed in him. He spoke truth to power, the government and the religious establishment. Turns out ‘power’ did not appreciate the truth. He spoke truth to his disciples. Turns out they did not always like truth either.

Borrowing from the Prophet Isaiah, Jesus proclaimed a vision of the Kingdom of God on Earth as it is in Heaven.

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’(Luke 4:16-19)

Jesus gave hope to all those who would listen to him, to those who were open to a God and a life larger than they could ever ask or imagine. He also healed the sick, raised the dead and taught people that the only Commandment that mattered was “love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength, and Love your neighbor as yourself.”

On Christ the King we celebrate the achievement of that goal as well as the reality that its ultimate achievement depends on those of us who follow Jesus on the Way.

We will begin the new year in the same way we end the old: “Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule. Amen.”