Ministering to the Suffering Servant Messiah before Meeting Christ the King as Our Judge

Last Sunday after  Pentecost: Christ the King Cycle A  proper 29 November 22, 2020
Ezek. 34:11-16, 20-24     Ps.100   
Eph. 1:15-23      Matt. 25:31-46

Lectionary Link

A "Beatles Mass"

The word apocalypse means to uncover.  And when something needs to be uncovered, we might ask what is to be uncovered?

Apocalyptic Christianity consists of people who seem to be obsessed with the end of the world and the return of Jesus as a conquering King.  They can be so obsessed with this that they neglect a genuine care for the people and the environment of the earth right now.  Why take care of earth, if we hope, think and act as though the world is going to end tomorrow?

On this Last Sunday after Pentecost, also called the feast of Christ the King, the Gospel lesson, a parable, gives us some wisdom insights about what the current apocalypse means in our lives right now.

During the time of Jesus, Palestine was awash with speculation about the King who was called another Messiah.  The model for this further Messiah, often center upon someone who would be like King David, who as a military, warrior king was able to maintain the borders of Israel and keep it safe from invaders.

When the followers of Jesus, by virtue of the post-resurrection appearances of the Risen Christ, proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, other rabbinical school within Judaism could not embrace Jesus as appearing in this world to be a King like David, so Jesus could not be their Messiah.  They could not understand how a Messiah could ever be put on the Cross.

If you have ever seen a Christ the King cross, it includes the risen Christ with a crown who is still placed upon a cross.  And what does this mean?  St. Paul said that he gloried in the Cross of Christ.  The Gospel of John quote for Jesus is: "If I am lifted up with draw all people unto me."  One must indeed admit that Jesus is a rather ironic King.

The ironic king and messiah, Jesus, fulfilled the role of being the suffering servant Messiah.  And in the history of the church, when church and state united in triumphant Christendom, the fact remains that the current reign of Christ is still the reign of the suffering servant messiah.  And it would be safe to say that we who live in the results of Empire Christianity, often miss this reign of the suffering servant messiah.

The Gospel parable for today indicates to us that we still live in the reign of the suffering servant messiah.  Do you want to see the king and messiah?  Then you have to know where to look.  And we as communicants might rush to our definition of a sacrament: An outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace.  Yes, Jesus, with faith I know a real presence in the bread and the wine, in unction, in baptism, in marriage, in confession and absolution, in ordination ministry.  Yes, I can see these outward and visible signs.

But what does Christ the king say?  Christ the King says, "I am incognito in the stranger, the prisoner, the poor and the hungry.  Uncover my presence there. "  If you want to be an apocalyptic Christian, uncovered the continuing suffering servant messiah who is found in the stranger, the poor, the prisoner and the hungry.  "But your majesty those are not on the official list of the seven sacraments where we prefer to know the real presence of Christ."

And Christ the King says, "You cannot exhaust my presence in the sacraments or in the Scriptures.  I have hid my continuing suffering servant self in the stranger, the poor, the prisoner and the hungry, because I want you to respond to the obvious meaning of loving your neighbor as your self; it means finding me in all persons."

On this Christ the King Sunday, we are invited to the Apocalypse, the uncovering of the suffering servant Messiah in the poor, the stranger, the prisoner and the hungry.  Why would we want to rush to face the judgment of God until we have ministered to all of the people in the world who need ministry to be able to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?  Why would we want to face judgment, until we can say, we have dealt with the well-being of everyone in world?

This parable invites us as individuals to deal with finding Christ the king in the suffering people as we minister,  even though we as individuals it seems that we can only do small band aid work.  We also need to join with our social selves to do systemic care and justice on a grand scale so that all can have enough and have godly dignity.  We need to convert the corporate powers to do systemic care on a large scale.

My Gospel advice today is this:  Let's not be too quick to want Christ the King as a final judge.  As long as we have so many people who are without adequate care, why would we want to hasten judgment on our role in this failure.

The Gospel advice for us is to honor our baptismal vow: Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself, especially in the stranger, the poor, the prisoner and the hungry?  And what do we answer?  I will with God's help.  Amen.