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Christ our King; The Reign of Christ Sunday Christ our King; the Reign of Christ SundayOur Church has become politically correct: Christ the King Sunday has been renamed 'Reign of Christ Sunday'. That beautiful hymn often sung that day "The King of Love my Shepherd is" has been renamed "My shepherd is the King of love" -- with many new words added. Does it matter? To some it certainly has, which brought about these changes. To many in the ranks of the Church the praise of God continues unaltered in our hearts regardless of the new words! Who is this King of the Church and of the world? Matthew 25: 31 to 46 was recommended as the Gospel reading for that Sunday on Nov.23, 2008. It tells of a divine judgement between compassionate earth-dwellers and those who didn't see the countless opportunities offered to them to do good and thereby to serve the 'King' = their Lord [and ours, namely Jesus] in a very meaningful and personal way. As I thought about this passage I couldn't help singing to myself: "What a friend we have in Jesus, ... what a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer ..." . At our community choir we learned a new tune to this most famous of English-language hymns. After some thought, I conclude this hymn -- even with the 'wrong' tune conveys best what the parable of Jesus tells us in the Bible. Jesus is our friend even though he is also our Judge. According to the Epistle of Hebrews he's also our advocate before God ... The friendship of Jesus dispels the fear we should have of God and allows us to call God 'Daddy' just as Jesus does. The parable doesn't scare me anymore. I realize it was told as a warning to Jesus' listeners in his day to be more compassionate. It warned of an imminent judgement for everyone. But, mostly it offered hope for those who thought God unapproachable; who thought God was remote and uninterested in daily life ... What a surprise, to find out that even our smallest acts of kindness actually serve Jesus the King! What a shock to realize our ommissions to do good are noted! What a wonderful thing -- to be called the 'beloved of God' just because we are a little kind -- Since Hallowe'en the stores have been restocked for Christmas. Some of my friends have completed their Christmas shopping. Our choirs are almost ready for their Christmas music presentations -- which always occur early in December in Care Homes and Seniors' Homes. -- Everything is in the swing of Christmas except me. "What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer ..." has stayed with me. It will be my 'Advent song' for the coming weeks and maybe even my favourite Christmas carol -- because something in its message has made my King and His reign very special to me this year! Have a wonder-filled winter!
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