Called for Something More

Colossians 1:11-20
May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers-all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

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This morning we're given a special chance to reflect more deeply on what it means for Christ to be king. But what does it mean for Christ to be king? My mind, for some reason, automatically jumps to "The Lion King." Specifically, I think about the scene where a young Simba sits on top of a mountain with his father and is told, "Everywhere the light touches is part of our kingdom." Appropriately I think this fits with how we should think about God's kingdom, the kingdom where Christ reigns because as the light that came into the world bringing hope, love, and good news, the truth is that the entire domain of creation is under Christ's dominion, Christ’s kingship. Christ is king, so we should rejoice and be glad! Right? 

Christ is king! So why do we live our like we are shut behind closed doors, tall fences, and a vast tapestry of no trespassing signs? Perhaps it's because there are patches of darkness that make it feel like the light of God has no control over the evil that happens (i.e., racism, sexism, terrorism, etc.). And that fear can be a powerful force that keeps us from living as ones who have been touched by the divine light. The thing about darkness that we need to understand, unless you find yourself in an extraordinary situation, is that if there is even a tiny crack, light can still shine through. And as the hands and feet of Christ in this new kingdom it sometimes falls on  us to make the crack a little bigger, and a little bigger, and then together we can expose evil for what is evil, hate for what is hate, and love for what is truly the love of God. 

The thing about the place where Christ reigns is that there is more to it than love, grace, and compassion. There is a level of conviction, dare I say discomfort that goes along with being a citizen in God's kingdom. It's a poke that is meant to jolt us into action, into being a living community. It's more than just praise and worship songs, and it's more than saying that you belong to a church that has "x" number of members and "x" number of programs. Being a person who lives in Christ's kingdom means that the whole of our being, our prayer, and our worship has to stand for something more than just an attitude of insular self-preservation. This mixture of reassurance, discomfort, and hope calls us to live in the light of Christ that brings us into a deeper relationship with God and one another, which we find in our act of worship. 

However, the primary function of our worship in God’s kingdom  shouldn't be to make us feel good (stick with me). Because if we looked at Christ's earthly ministry, we would find that there were a lot of people who ticked off or left uncomfortable with what Jesus said. There is a time and a place for everything, sometimes our worship will soothe us, comfort us, but there should be numerous other times that it convicts us, makes us uncomfortable with the status quo, and shifts our focus from thinking about "me" to "us." Our time spent in prayer and praise is a time that is a sacred time set apart from the rest of the week. While "discomfort" and "challenge" sound like negative words, they should be the elements of worship that revitalize, that push us, to go out and live as though Christ has bestowed us with radically transforming love. 

And when I talk about our worship in Christ's kingdom, I'm talking about an act of devotion that goes beyond our time here on Sunday morning. I am talking about a culmination of practices, essential a stewardship of our time, our vision, our language, our actions, and our resources. Our worship needs to be an all-encompassing act. We can't compartmentalize our sacred time on Sunday morning and think that it is separate from what we do for the rest of the week! As we heard this morning, Christ is not only the head of the church but is also the overseer who sits enthroned over everything that has breath and moves. There is not one thing that is outside the realm of God's kingdom. And as much as we like to hem and haw about authority, the world is a corporate entity, one that requires all of us in order to function. 

Christ is king! And we know what happens when we fail to show care to our neighbor, when we neglect the poor, and when we treat the alien from a foreign land as if they weren’t also created in the image of God. We have heard these words from Christ, but still, on many days, it seems like they fall on ears that are unwilling to take them and take them to heart. When we fail to acknowledge the claim that Christ, that God has on our lives when we choose not to love our neighbor as ourselves, the result becomes like that of a parable that was attributed to Rabbi Haim of Romshishok:

The rabbi tells a story about how the inhabitants of an unnamed place are given food. But instead of eating using typical utensils, they are given long, unwieldy tools. Unable to cooperate, the people consequently start. Yet in another unnamed place, the people sitting at the table are able to feed one another across the table until all are filled. 

Christ is the one who holds us together, the one who inspires us to use our tools to help one another. It is by Christ's example that we see that there is more to life than just ourselves. In Christ's kingdom, the widows and orphans are not neglected. In Christ's kingdom, the hungry are given something to eat without asking for anything in return. In Christ's kingdom, the broken, the weary, and the tired are given a place to lay their head and reminded that they are enough. Because it was God made flesh in Jesus Christ, that the world was shown a new path. A path that did not need swords, but plowshares. A way that did not need saints, but tax-collectors, prostitutes, and lepers. An approach that asks that we give our all so that we may be blessed by the all of others. 

What I find reaffirming for us this morning is that Christ is king, but Christ is also the good shepherd who brings us home. As the prophet Jeremiah reminds us, Christ is also the shepherd who brings the wayward sheep back into the flock. And perhaps, more importantly, Christ goes after the sheep who have been “kicked out” or ignored by the others because they didn’t think they conformed. Christ as king and Christ as the good shepherd is a challenging thing for us. Not because we don’t want Christ to be king or a good shepherd, but it’s challenging because Christ never does what we expect. It is in those uncertainties, however, that the light of Christ can permeate every aspect of our being. 

As we come to an end of our time of honing in on what it means to be stewards of our various gifts, I find it fitting that we should end on Christ the King Sunday. Stewardship is an idea, a practice that pushes us to grow, and Christ the King Sunday reminds us of why the act of stewardship is essential. Yet there is something else that I find appropriate, which is that we are told on this day, and really every day, that it’s not the size or amount of our gifts and talents that matter, but what is at the heart of our being that God cares about. When we think about it that way it really puts everything else into perspective. It doesn’t matter if our church is not as big as what used to be. All the little things that we fear of losing don’t seem as significant in the grand scheme of things as long as our hearts are willing to take a risk on what things God can do if we are willing to trust. 

So are we willing to come out from behind our closed doors? Are we willing to tear down our no trespassing signs? Are willing to let the light of Christ in, so that we might live more freely? It takes trust and it takes a willingness to risk something so that God can work wonders that would blow away the boxes we try to build. So what do you think? As I’ve said from the very beginning Christ is king! And for God’s kingdom taking a risk and having a little more trust might lead to something new and wonderful if we bring it into the light. Amen.