Reflection for 24th November 2024Christ The KingDaniel 7.9-10, 13, 14. Revelation 1.4b-8. John 18.33-37This Sunday, we reach a triumphant end to our journey through the church’s year from last Advent Sunday to this Feast of Christ the King. This journey has guided us through the story of Jesus and the Kingdom of God, as narrated by Mark. Now we’ve reached the highest peak on our journey, with the imminent return of Christ as King and Judge, as shown in the readings today. Next week, it will be Advent Sunday, and we’ll begin again to prepare the way of the Lord by waiting and watching in penance and reflection.Keeping this in mind, it can be challenging to follow Christ when our society is already focused on Christmas. The first Christmas ad appeared at the end of October! Christmas will be far more financially challenging than ever due to high inflation and increasing energy bills. I already know of some people who are forced to choose between food and heating. How can we, as Christians, show life has more meaning than having “the best Christmas Eva”?!As we worship Christ the King, we celebrate the gospel being a message of hope and certainty to a society facing incomprehensible instability. Christ’s kingdom is both now and not yet, as His reign will be more visible in the time to come when He returns with the clouds and all will see Him. This is the hope that lies at the centre of our faith—for a once and future king whose reign is not fully obvious, even to the eyes of faith, but who nevertheless rules overall and lasts eternally throughout all time.However, Christ’s rule is, and will be, unlike anything the world has experienced before. The disciples and Pilate struggled to comprehend Jesus' purpose, as he was not the King they had anticipated or desired. The Kingdom of God, so 'unworldly', so unexpected, and all-encompassing, is also unfathomable.This explains why Pilate found Jesus' response so confusing. Like other political leaders, Pilate struggles to envision a world devoid of violence or a kingdom triumphant without the use of destructive force. In v. 36 of John's passage, Jesus comes closest to declaring himself king when he says, "My kingdom is not of this world." His obscure language avoids stating that kingship is a political fact. Working for the emperor, who was a king in all but name, Pilate could never comprehend the powerlessness of the Lamb of God. Jesus’ truth is that he dies for all people, a direct opposite of Pilate’s sense of truth born from his corrupted desire to rule at the expense of others. Jesus also reveals God’s purpose in his response: “The reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." Jesus, as King, rules in a divine way that is gracious, merciful, and grounded in love. His life, death, and resurrection demonstrate His truth. His truth unveils our true nature and the path we need to take to become like Christ.Daniel, both prophet and visionary, gives a glimpse of Jesus’ enthronement as the Ancient One surrounded by fire. In his glorious vision, fire is the element that accompanies deity, being the source of both light and purification. When Jesus returns, He will bring judgement and purify the world from all that is not of God.Until that day comes, God’s kingdom is not completely visible or acknowledged by the entire world. However, Christ is the King for all people, as His reign, although not originating from the world, affects the entire world. Christ rules with love, mercy, truth, and justice. Christ is our pattern for fighting the spiritual war raging around us through not being embarrassed by the one we love, who loves us. God commands us to speak about Him. How He has changed our lives, healed wounds, and released us from oppressions and addictions. As followers of Christ, by the grace of God, we live as people freed to see this world with His eyes. No longer blinkered by a world that demands violence to be met with more violence and where self-preservation is king.The assured hope that Christ’s reign will become more visible is the substance of the Advent season that this feast introduces. Advent celebrates Christ’s second coming and the fulfilment of all things, not as the end of a process but as a fresh act of grace. By exposing the meaninglessness, inhumanity, and contradictions of this world's empires of consumerism, financial greed, and unethical practices, this grace challenges us to bear faithful witness. Jesus invites us to speak and live as those under God's rule, as children of His kingdom. A kingdom that stands strong with hope and certainty in a world that ignores Christ. The Christ is our King, our Saviour, Lord, and ruler of all. May today’s stir-up Sunday stir us up to being even more wholehearted followers of Christ! Blessings and prayers, Emma
Reflection for 4th August 2024The Tenth Sunday After TrinityExodus 16.2-4, 9-15, Ephesians 4.1-16, John 6.24-35I was in a shop the other day when I heard a little girl shout at her mother, “But I NEED it! I WANT it NOW!" The mother, slightly embarrassed, said, “You’ll have to wait for your birthday next week." Unsurprisingly, this did not go down with the little girl, who proceeded to cry as if her whole world had just crumbled down. Each of us has probably seen or experienced scenes like this. We can all understand the pain of a child demanding something they want but can’t have right away. We also understand that the child will hopefully learn to distinguish between need and want as they grow up. Such awareness develops through discipline and experience with how life works. However, there is a spiritual yearning in all of us for something we need and want, but for some, we may not be able to articulate or even accept it.Need and want are both themes that run through the readings. In Exodus, the people wander through the desert while fleeing from Egypt. The crowd is in a state of crisis because of their hunger, to the point where they are literally starving. Like all groups of people, they start complaining bitterly to their leaders, Moses and Aaron, that they have been brought out here to die. I always wonder at this point: Where is the people’s faith in God? They had not long ago had their thirst quenched by water flowing miraculously from a boulder struck by Moses. Why were they grumbling again? Had they forgotten God’s care for them so quickly? Despite their lack of faith, God does hear the cries of His children and promises to provide bread from heaven. Quails are strangely migrating across their path. However, verse 4 reminds us that with the gifts comes a test. God will see if the people will obey God's instructions or not, which include the command to only gather as much as they need to eat (verse 16) and not leave any for the next day (verses 19–20). Of course, they do not obey, and their lack of obedience tests the patience of both Moses and God. It appears, however, that the disobedience is not solely due to stubbornness or defiance; they simply do not know God enough to trust Him.John's reading further explores this lack of sufficient knowledge to trust God. In this passage, a crowd of people has chased down Jesus because they want to see more godly signs and want Jesus to become their king. Although they need Jesus as king, their reasons are wrong. They wanted a political king who would free them from their oppressors, just like Moses did in the Exodus. Jesus, however, wanted to open up their understanding of the fact that the new Passover, the new Exodus, was taking place right in front of them, and that He was leading it. This is why Jesus' rebukes appeared almost churlish, as the crowd was on the verge of crowning him king. When people referred to Moses leading the Jews in the Exodus, they meant a journey from oppressive governments to political liberation. Jesus points out that during the Exodus, God provided not only physical nourishment by dropping bread from the sky but also spiritual nourishment, which kept alive their faith and hope. However, Jesus would provide something far greater and deeper than political freedom or spiritual sustenance. In contrast to what the crowds expected, Jesus will rule in a different way. The crowd was unaware that they had just witnessed the feeding of the five thousand, which was a prelude to the true nourishment they would receive from the Son of Man, Jesus himself. We know that Jesus would go on to offer His life for all on the cross, bringing them freedom from sin and into true relationship with God. Jesus is the true bread from heaven, the food they and we really need and should want.The crowd did not realize that who Jesus is was more important than what he could do for them. In verse 27, Jesus is the one for whom "God the Father has set his seal." Like a goldsmith with a hallmark or like a king with his great seal, God has stamped Jesus with a mark that declares not only where he comes from but that he carries his authority. Jesus bears the marks of what he is doing by providing care, preaching the coming of God’s kingdom, and healing the sick—actions that say this is the kind of thing that, in Israel’s scriptures, God himself does. Verse 35, the climactic conclusion of the passage, reveals this point with the first of the famous 'I am' sayings in John's gospel, "I am the bread of life." Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." God is imposing a demand on both the people and us: while we may feed them with bread and fish until they recognize who Jesus truly is, a deep hunger within them remains unsatisfied.Believing in Jesus requires a change of heart away from what we think we want or need. This requires a yearning heart that is open to discipline, obedience, and acceptance of who Jesus truly is—the saviour and true king of our lives. Although faith in Jesus will never remain untested, God assures us that even in the midst of seemingly meaningless troubles and trials, there are deep purposes for Him at work, and He calls us to faith obedience. He invites us to actively offer the little we have, for He will provide the resources we need because God chooses to work through and with us. Are you ready to face the true nature of Jesus in a fresh perspective? This will help you understand what he can do for you. Make verse 34 your prayer: "Sir, give us this bread always" to meet your deepest needs. Blessings and prayers, Emma
