The Last Sunday after Pentecost

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The Feast of Christ the King (Proper 29), November 20, 2005
Ezekiel 34:11-17, I Corinthians 15:20-28, Matthew 25:31-46
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, West Valley City, UT

Today we celebrate the feast day known as Christ the King, the Last Sunday after Pentecost. The Collect for today is most telling for me: “Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well- beloved Son...” The thrust of the collect seems to be at cross purposes with the Gospel: “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Mmmmmmm, another Sunday conundrum. Well, maybe not. The Gospel is clearly speaking in hyperbole, exaggeration. I cannot believe in a God that would cast into “eternal punishment” everyone who has never visited a sick person or prisoner, given clothing to charity, or the hungry food or the thirsty water. It seems a rather arbitrary set of standards for eternal salvation v damnation. I would expect something along the lines of loving others and world peace as opposed to murder and mayhem, but not food and beverage service.

I do believe Jesus makes a powerful point in that he expects us to care for one another. He doesn't just want it, he expects it. My perspective is his use of exaggeration is to get our attention, get us thinking about what we are about in life. Our choices have consequences on other people and ourselves. A way to impress upon someone the importance of choices is to use exaggeration. For example, “I am going to ground you for 15 years!” as a parental case in point.

But this brings up a more troublesome issue for me. There is the expectation by many that Christianity is about the doing, the doing of good things for others. We do good works. We are called to do good works. We like to do good works. But not all of us can do good works right now. Sometimes we just need to be.

Christianity is a religion of doing. We do good works and that is a good thing. But we also need to be a religion of being and seeking, of questioning, discerning and discovering, of meditating and wondering, and yes, even doubting.

I worry that sometimes we do not leave enough space for people to question, to ask, to doubt and to wonder about God, church, creeds, faith, and on and on. Sometimes I feel our emphasis on an active faith can hinder a person's asking questions of their own faith, their inner wondering and seeking along their spiritual path.

We promise in our Baptismal Covenant to “respect the dignity of every human being.” This is more than their race or sex or sexuality or any other distinguishing characteristic. It also includes their doubts and fears. Their questions and concerns about their faith. Their wonderment and their confusion. We need to respect their doubts as well as their faith, we need to respect where they are on their faith journey.

To this, I re-read recently a portion of a sermon by the theologian Paul Tillich, which I have always found very moving and so will share with you:

“Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of meaninglessness and empty life. It strikes us when we feel that our separation is deeper than usual, because we feel we have violated another life, a life which we have loved, or from which we were estranged....It strikes us when, year after year, the longed for perfection of life does not appear, when old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying: ‘You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now; perhaps you will find it later. Do not try to do anything now; perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted!’”

This Feast Day of Christ the King, when we pray that God will “restore all things” in Jesus Christ, may we feel free to just be. Free to do good works. But equally free to stand still, bow our heads and feel the grace of God wash over us and hear: You are accepted.

Jesus said he would draw all the world to himself through the cross. All the world. That means you too. Yes! Yes! It is important to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and visit the sick and seek justice for the oppressed. And - and - it is important to feel the grace of God in your life for no other reason than you are a beloved child of God, made in the divine image, and held in love by your God.

As we move into the wonder-filled season of Advent, may you feel the grace of God filling your life and soul with the simple truth that you are loved. You are treasured by God. You are accepted.