MORRIS-ROSENFELD ECUMENICAL SHARED MINISTRY
ORDER OF SERVICE FOR SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2024
TWENTY SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
CHRIST THE KING
Due to copyright limitations, we are unable to print the words to many of the songs. However, our musicians have chosen music to fit the scriptures. We invite you to look up the words in your worship book and ponder them. If you do not have a worship book, ponder the words of one of your favourite hymns and listen for God’s voice. Those who have the internet may find the songs on YouTube.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Consider Jesus. Know Jesus. Learn what kind of Person it is you say you trust and love and worship. Soak in the shadow of Jesus. Saturate your soul with the ways of Jesus. Watch Him. Listen to Him. Stand in awe of Him. Let Him overwhelm you with the way He is.
– John Piper
Before we worship, we reflect…
For historical context about this relatively young festival on the church’s calendar, Frank Senn has written “The Not-So-Ancient Origins of Christ the King Sunday” for Lutheran Forum. It is a day that was set apart by Pope Pius XI in 1925 in the face of rising fascism and communism in Europe. This day lifts up Christ as a different kind of king than the oppressive powers of this world. The liturgical calendar is in conversation with human history, even in our own time. It is an evolving practice that helps us move through human history without being captive to it.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & PRAYER
We acknowledge we gather and worship on Treaty 1 Territory, the original lands of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Anishininew, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.
Lord God, bring us together as one, reconciled with you and reconciled with each other. You made us in your likeness, you gave us your Son Jesus Christ. He has given us forgiveness from sin. Lord God, bring us together as one, different in culture, but given new life in Jesus Christ, together as your body, your Church, your people. Lord God, bring us together as one, reconciled, healed, forgiven, sharing you with others as you have called us to do. In Jesus Christ, let us be together as one. Amen
– Bishop Arthur and Mrs. Colleen Malcolm, A Prayer Book for Australia p.203[1]
CALL TO WORSHIP
Come to worship Jesus Christ, Alpha and Omega, the one who is, who was, and is to come.
We come to worship the one who rules justly.
Come to worship Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, the ruler of the sovereigns of the earth!
Bread of Heaven, God with us!
Good Shepherd, True Vine!
Eternal Word, Great I AM.
Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace!
We come to worship Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords! To him be glory and dominion forever and ever! Amen.
GATHERING SONG: VU 213 Rejoice! The Lord Is King!
CENTERING PRAYER
God of Eternity, we stand with the courage of those who Insisted, even in perilous times, that not even the most powerful rulers of this earth hold our eternal destiny in their hands. We are secure in Christ, whose reign is just, whose power is endless, and whose love is unfathomable. God of Eternity, we join the chorus of saints who continue to declare that Christ is our King. Amen.
CANADIAN LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF – Birhan’s Story
SIXTY-ONE-YEAR-OLD Birhan Desta is a single mother to five children living in Tigray, Ethiopia. The family survived on the income her husband earned through farming, until he was killed during a war and they lost their livelihood. Birhan initially depended on relatives to help provide food for her children. She eventually began making and selling a local beverage in an attempt to become self-reliant. Then conflict broke out in her region yet again. “Everything is upside down with war,” Birhan says, “I am just thankful we survived. My children and I had to hide in the mountains for weeks while our homes were targeted by armed groups.” When they came back home, they found that everything, including all their food and the raw materials she needed to make the beverage she used to sell, had been looted.
Ongoing conflict had affected the availability of basic services in Tigray and even the distribution of emergency food was frequently interrupted. And Birhan wanted to start her life afresh, “I am here to work for myself, not passively wait for someone to provide me food.”
So, when CLWR partner Lutheran World Federation Ethiopia began providing support for beekeeping, Birhan jumped at the opportunity. “It was my lifelong interest to work in beekeeping, but I didn’t have the facilities or skills before,” says Birhan. The prospects for beekeeping as a livelihood were strong in Birhan’s area, as nectar and pollen were readily available and the market demand for local white honey was on the rise. Along with other conflict-affected households in her area, Birhan was given training in beekeeping management and colony transfer demonstrations. She also received two packages of beehives to get her started. “Beekeeping doesn’t demand much space,” Birhan says, “What it needs is continuous supervision, which I received training for. Now I am confident that I have the skills to shape my future.”
A NEW CREED
We are not alone; we live in God’s world.
We believe in God: who has created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God’s presence, to live with respect in Creation, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone.
Thanks be to God.
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Almighty and everlasting God, you are the giver of the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. It is your will to restore all things to Christ, whom you have anointed priest forever and ruler of creation. Open the eyes of our hearts this morning, and teach us to know the hope to which you have called us, so that we might learn to see you in the face of those in need around us. Amen.
READINGS AND PSALM
First Reading: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
To the community for whom this passage was written, it seemed as though the oppression they were experiencing would never end. Daniel’s message is: It shall end. The Ancient One, who is judge, will call all nations to account and will give dominion to “one like a human being,” the Messiah.
9 As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took his throne, his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire.
10 A stream of fire issued and flowed out from his presence. A thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him. The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.
13 As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him.
14 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.
Psalm 93
1 The Lord is king, robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength. The Lord has
made the world so sure that it cannot be moved.
2 Ever since the world began, your throne has been established; you are from everlasting.
3 The waters have lifted up, O Lord, the waters have lifted up their voice; the waters have lifted up
their pounding waves.
4 Mightier than the sound of many waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea, mightier is
the Lord who dwells on high.
5 Your testimonies are very sure, and holiness befits your house, O Lord, forever and forevermore.
Second Reading: Revelation 1:4b-8
The book of Revelation begins by celebrating the Almighty God, who spans all of time. Similarly, Jesus is celebrated as the firstborn from the dead who rules over the world’s rulers. He is the one whose return we eagerly await.
4b Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
Gospel: John 18:33-37
In John’s gospel, the story of Jesus and Pilate presents two different ways of exercising power: through force or with love.
33 Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” 35 Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “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.” 37 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.”
HYMN: VU 220 Praise To The Lord
SERMON
Canada is part of the British Commonwealth. We have a king, and yet, we do not have a king. Royalty are people Canadians watch on television, read about in the paper, follow on the internet. There are those in Canada who have actually met the king. Still, it was a moment in time. In Canada, we really do not have a mindset for royalty. They are “over there”, in Britain.
This makes the conversation between Jesus and Pilate difficult to follow. The power and authority of the king today is not nearly what it was for a king in Jesus’ day.
I looked up the current authority and role of King Charles in Canada. Britain’s King Charles remains the nation’s head of state, although we are an independent country. Under the constitution, The King is the source of executive authority and the Command-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces as well as being a part of Parliament. The King does not play an active role in Canadian politics and his powers are mostly symbolic.
Knowing that kings of antiquity had a very different authority, and since Rome was an occupying nation, why is Pilate concerned about whether or not Jesus is a king?
At this time, Romans knew of a number of people who had been identified as divine, as gods, and all of them had been kings of one kind or another. In this light, Pilate’s question was only natural given the charges Jesus faced. Not only that, the Roman emperors declared themselves divine.
Pilate’s question “Are you the king of the Jews?” comes from a religious motive. Pilate was daily reminded that any human of divine status was also a king. The two notions could not be separated in Roman minds. Whether the question was respectful or sarcastic, we will never know. It is clear that divinity and kingship went together in Pilate’s mind. When he later placed a plaque on the cross saying this was the “King of the Jews”, the gospel writer would have seen it as a proclamation of Jesus’ divinity.
This is the last Sunday in the Church year. Next Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent, a whole new year for the Church. On this last Sunday of the Church year, we acknowledge the power and peace that is Christ, the Son of God, who has authority over life and death. On this last Sunday of the Church year, we focus on the cross, the place where God meets creation at the end of life. On this Sunday of Christ the King we look at Jesus’ ministry, the living out of his power through humility, compassion, boundless love and forgiveness. We contrast it with the Roman understanding of power – gained through violence, oppression and fear. On this Sunday, we declare our allegiance. Do we stand with Christ, or not?
There is another question Pilate asks Jesus, which the lectionary has chosen not to include. “What is truth?” Sadly, Pilate leaves Jesus’ presence before Jesus can answer the question.
Pastor David Lose, senior pastor at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, was conversing with a colleague on this text. As a long-time interpreter of scripture, David thought he had nailed down this text over the years. Then along came his colleague who turned this text, and his interpretive world, on its head. He paraphrases her words:
Jesus has come to witness to the truth, the truth that God is love (John 3:16), and that because we have not seen God and have such a hard time imagining God (John 1:18), all too often our imaginations are dominated by our experience. So rather than imagining that God is love, we imagine God to be violent because we live in a world of violence. Rather than recognize the cross as a symbol of sacrificial love, we assume it’s the legal mechanism of punishing Jesus in our stead because we have way too much experience with punitive relationships. Rather than believe that God’s grace and acceptance are absolutely unconditional, we assume God offers love, power, and status only on the condition that we fear, obey, and praise God – and despise those who don’t – because so much of our life is quid pro quo.
But Jesus is not of this world. And therefore, his followers will not fight for him because to bring the kingdom about by violence is to violate the very principles of this kingdom and cause its destruction.[2]
Amen, sister!
Violence. It doesn’t matter how many times one says it, there are many who do not seem to hear that violence does not solve anything, it only creates more violence.
Jesus said to Pilate, “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Sometimes that is easier said than done.
God, is there no hope at all?!
Yes, absolutely there is hope! Our hope is rooted in love. You have heard this before. Only now, you have to live it like you have never lived it before. Sometimes, living out love means to be shown how we are not so loving as we thought we were. Sometimes, living out love means confronting a family feud, embracing the prodigal, acknowledging our anger and walking through it to healing. Sometimes, living out the love means hitting the knees and confessing to God that we are tired, lost and just don’t want to love so deeply anymore. Unconditional love is work. Unconditional love is illogical. Unconditional love holds a mirror up to ourselves. Who wants that?
Ah, there’s the rub! Our allegiance to Christ isn’t about us. Our allegiance to Christ isn’t about our wants. Our allegiance to Christ is always about Christ and following the voice of truth. Our allegiance to Christ isn’t about success, it is about faithfulness. It isn’t about being perfect. It is about being honest.
In one of my former parishes, I had a church member who was angry at me. She said she came to church to feel good, to be uplifted, not to leave feeling ‘confronted’. I thanked her for her honesty and the fact that she had approached me directly about her feelings. I also told her that if all I ever did was preach so that she could leave worship feeling happy, then I was not being faithful to my calling. The Gospel is a call to change. Change is hard work. Change can be painful. Just look at the disciples. Their time with Jesus was not a walk in the park. AND, in the end, they became the foundation, the hope, the love, the acceptance that people needed to reconnect with God in a new way. The disciples went through a refiner’s fire and came out the stronger for it. They are the reason the Church, the body of Christ exists. The Holy Spirit keeps calling us and inspiring us and we, the body of Christ, are still here. Oh yes, hope exists!
“Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
May it be so, Lord Jesus. Amen.
HYMN OF THE MONTH: More Voices 94 Love Knocks And Waits
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Rooted in God’s abundant love for the world, let us pray for our neighbors, the church, and all of creation.
Revive our congregations, synods, regions and national church body to reflect the love, justice, and kinship of your kingdom. Raise up diverse leaders who teach and serve your people. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
Nourish parched lands and bring relief to flooded places. Protect wildlife habitats and endangered species, that the chorus of creation’s praise resounds with joy. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
Grant wisdom to the leaders who govern, legislate, and deliberate on our behalf. Advance your nonviolent reign of justice-seeking love through their work. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
Draw near to those who are detained, on trial, or incarcerated. Transform systems of retribution into systems of reconciliation and restoration. Empower activists who advocate for change. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
Remind us of your enduring love in all seasons. Guide the planning efforts of worship leaders and volunteers who usher our congregation into a meaningful Advent. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
In your eternal presence the saints sing of your majesty. Join our voices with theirs in praise to the one who loves us and frees us from sin. Merciful God,
receive our prayer.
We offer our prayers to you, gracious God, trusting in your boundless love for all that you have made, through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it
is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against
us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
SENDING SONG: MV 106 I Am The Dream
BENEDICTION
It is not enough to acclaim Jesus Christ as our Lord and King. Our mission in life is to make his kingdom a reality among us and to bring it to those around us by our words and deeds. The way to do this is to live as he lived: for others, in love and service. May almighty God bless you for this task. Amen.
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© 2011 The United Church of Canada/L’Église Unie du Canada. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/byncsa/2.5/ca.
[1] https://www.abmission.org/resources/prayers-for-reconciliation/
[2] http://www.davidlose.net/2015/11/christ-the-king-b-not-of-this-world/