Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever. Amen.
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your Holy Name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Following a brief silence, we confess our sins against God and others.
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
May Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.
A Hymn of Praise
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
The Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Old Testament Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.
Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
Psalm 100 Jubilate Deo
1 Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; *
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
2 Know this: The Lord himself is God; *
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
3 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise; *
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.
4 For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting; *
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.
The Epistle Ephesians 1:15-23
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
The Gospel Matthew 25:31-46
Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
The Sermon Mr. Gary Neddo
Today we celebrate Christ the King; the Reign of Christ; the coming of the Son of Man to judge the living and the dead. We should be jumping up and down with joy in our hearts while we give thanks to God. This is the time we have been waiting for; the return of Jesus (the Christ). However, this Gospel passage is not an easy one to read, it is not an easy one to hear and it is not an easy one to accept.
It is however what we believe. It is what we profess every time we stand together; as we will in just a few minutes as we recite the Nicene Creed. We will stand and with profound conviction say the words; “He will come again in Glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.”
And yet, Matthew’s account of the Son of Man’s coming can leave you restless; it can leave you uneasy and squirming in your seat. If you think about it long enough it can make you lose sleep; I know because I have. It can leave you wondering; who are the sheep? Who are the goats? Which herd am I in? Which herd is my nation in?
It all seems pretty cut and dry; you are either a sheep and you are saved or you are goat and you are lost; there is no in between. There is no wiggle room, there is no discussion and there is no appeal.
So where is our feel good story? Where is God’s Grace? Where is God’s love? Where is the hope of salvation? Where is the Good News? Well, the fact of the matter is all of those things are right where they have always been; in the Gospel.
This Gospel lesson is not meant to make us feel good, it is not meant to put us at ease; it is not meant to make us feel comfortable, it is not meant to make us feel safe. It is meant to make us think about what is important in life. It is meant to make us think outside the narrow confines of ourselves. It is meant to make us truly look at the world around us. It is meant to wake us up so that we might really give thought to how we treat others both as individuals and as nations.
This description of the final judgement comes at the end of a long discourse between Jesus and his disciples; where he teaches them what they can expect at the end of time and he tells them how they are to treat one another and others until the son of Man comes in Glory.
The discourse begins with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem at the start of chapter 24 and ends with this judgment scene in chapter 25. It is the only depiction of the final judgement that is to come in the New Testament.
As with many things, Jesus taught his disciples to prepare them for what is to come; he offers up this story for their consideration and then he moves on. What his disciples choose to do with this gift of insight they have been given is up to them.
Jesus shared this insight with his disciples just two days before they entered Jerusalem for the Passover. Just days before all the life changing events that would take place in the week to come.
Events that would lead to his unjust arrest, his imprisonment, his trial, his sacrifice on the cross, his death, his resurrection and his ascension to the throne of Glory as the King of Kings and his eternal rein of God’s kingdom and yes, to this final judgement.
Some of us may be thinking that the timing of this lesson regarding the return of the Son of Man and his final judgement of all the nations is strangely placed; being read and celebrated just before advent. A time when we turn our thoughts toward the joy the birth of the baby Jesus brings into the world and the celebration of Christmas and yet I ask what better time?
What better time is there for us to examine our lives? What better time is there for us to examine who we are as individuals? What better time is there for us to examine who we are as a church? What better time is there for us to examine who we are as a nation? What better time is there for us to examine the health of our humanity?
We can stand with those in both herds and be surprised by the presence of Jesus in both scenarios and ask the question; when was it that we saw you?
Or we can overcome our surprise and shock, we can let go of our worry and our concern over which herd we are in; the sheep or the goats and we can ask the question; when and where will we find Jesus?
Just as in Jesus’ time there are people in this world, in fact in this neighborhood, who are thirsty, who are hungry, who are naked, who are sick and in prison, who are strangers. People lost and alone who need comfort and acceptance both figuratively and literally; people, who we as individuals, as the church, as a nation need to acknowledge and care for in all the ways possible.
On this feast of Christ the King, let us stop to remember that God made all of us; our neighbors and our enemies. God made the people who talk like us, the people who look like us, the people who live like us and he made the people who are different from us in every way – in the way they talk, the way they look and the way they live. The people who many call strangers (the legal and illegal aliens); the people who many in our society fear solely because of their differences; fear that make the differences so great in their minds it’s hard for them to see Jesus in their faces.
God made the people who find themselves homeless without common comforts. God made the people that many consider cast-offs and cast outs (the least) of our society. God made “those people” who live out on the fringe of life, the drug dealers, the drug addicts, the pimps and the prostitutes. The people who many in our society turn away from entirely refusing to acknowledge them in any way, shape or form making it impossible for them to see Jesus at all.
God made the oppressed and the oppressor. God made the victims who have been treated unjustly and God made the victimizers, the people who seek to do others harm. And by the way, God made the people in our society who refuse to see as well.
On this feast of Christ the King, let us remember that God through Jesus is present in all of them as he is in us. No one goes without God’s love. We have but to release our fears, our bias, our prejudices and our judgements and replace them with God’s love to see Jesus’ face in all people.
There is judgement in this lesson; and there is judgement to come for all of us; a judgement that is not ours to make. It’s a judgement that will be decided by God and passed down to us through the Son of Man; the King of Kings; Jesus (the Christ) to be delivered to us.
This Gospel Story (this gift of insight) has been given to us for our consideration as it was given to Jesus’ disciples and through the Gospel to countless followers before us.
What we decide to do with this priceless information both within the walls of this church and out there in the world where we live and move; where the good, the bad and the ugly is happening every day, is up to us.
Will we choose to be sheep and look for Jesus in all people or will we choose to be goats and continue to ask the question; when was it that we saw you? Which herd will we be in when we greet the King of Kings?
Amen.
THE NICENE CREED
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Let us pray for the needs of the church, and for our world. As this church year ends, may we live so that the Lord will recognize us when he comes, for courage to be beacons of light and people of justice, we pray, Lord hear our prayer.
For safe travel for those who return home this week for Thanksgiving with gratitude for the bonds of family and friendship that have brought us together, and for those unable to gather because of COVID 19 restrictions, we pray, Lord hear our prayer.
On this week when people gather at tables of every kind to share a meal, we pray for farmers who grow the food that feeds our nation, for cooks who nourish us in body and in soul, for all who work in the service industry, we pray, Lord hear our prayer.
For those who go hungry in the midst of a nation’s wealth, for change that ensures human dignity, for generosity to share the gifts God has freely given, we pray, Lord hear our prayer.
For the sick and all who are in medical treatment, for those who face addiction, depression or live with mental illness and for families who love them, we pray, Lord hear our prayer.
For those who have died and for all of our beloved dead, we pray, Lord hear our prayer.
For Michael and DeDe, our bishops, and Nelson, our Rector, and all who lead and serve Christ’s Church we pray, Lord hear our prayer.
Loving God, the Alpha and Omega, fill us with a greater desire to bring your kingdom to this Earth. Mold our hearts, sharpen our senses to hear your voice and fill us with your wisdom and grace. Help us create a world where truth and justice find a home. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
So now we pray with confidence to the Father the words our Lord Jesus taught us:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by the 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,
for ever and ever. Amen.
The Closing Blessing
May God almighty bless and keep us, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
We go now in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Amen.
