Jeremiah 23:1-6
Canticle 4, Page 50 BCP
Colossians 1:11-20
Luke 23:33-43
Today is Christ the King Sunday. The season of Pentecost is ending, and next Sunday Advent begins. This is also the beginning of Thanksgiving week when we take time to be with friends and family to thank God for all the blessings God bestows upon us.
In our opening reading from the prophet Jeremiah, we hear about Jesus, the righteous Branch. He is the Good Shepherd who leads us to the green pastures and guides us to the still waters.
Our reading from the Letter to the Colossians reminds us that God has rescued us from darkness and made us children of the light. We are reminded the Christ is the head of the Church. He is the Vine; we are the branches. We are part of him; and he is part of us. We are alive in him and he is alive in us. He has come to reconcile the world to himself. We are one in him.
In our gospel, we go to be with Jesus as he is crucified. Jesus asks God to forgive the crowd because they do not know what they are doing. But the people continue to mock him. There are two criminals, one on each side of our Lord. One joins in the mocking, but the other one sees who Jesus truly is. He asks to be a part of the kingdom of Jesus and Jesus says those words we will never forget: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
Jesus is a very different kind of king. We have a beautiful hymn which says, “The King of love my shepherd is.” Love is the basis of his kingdom. He loves each of us even though he knows that we are far from perfect. He knows each of us so well. He knows our strengths and weaknesses. He has seen us at our worst and he has seen us at our best. And he loves us through all of it. He is our King, and we are citizens of his kingdom of peace and harmony. We are members of his Body called to share his love with everyone.
Our loving God gives us every gift we need to live our lives and to carry out our ministries. God gives us gifts of listening, music, art, sewing, sweeping the floor, writing checks, doing woodworking and carpentry, rescuing dogs, helping addicted people recover, caring for our elderly folks and our children, community organizing, advocating for young people, and the list goes on and on.
God also gives us the gifts of faith hope, and love which are the core of our lives and our life together.
And for all of this, all of these amazing gifts, we are grateful. We are here today because we know that God loves us, and we love God. We want to share that love with each other and with others in our communities.
Later this week, we will celebrate Thanksgiving, that special time when families gather to share love and delicious food and just be together, which is such a great gift.
This Sunday and next, we will be doing our United Thank Offering in-gathering. We put a coin into our little blue UTO box every time we feel thankful. It doesn’t take much time for those coins to accumulate. Each year at this time, we bring in our offering to send to UTO so that they can give grants to help people all over America and indeed all over the world. Thanks are such a powerful thing. We have so much to be thankful for.
This is also the time when we prayerfully think about our pledge to Grace Church. Our pledge is our expression of thanks to God for all that God gives to us.
God has called us to be stewards of God’s creation, to take care of the earth and to return to God a worthy portion of all the gifts God gives. God gives us time, talents, and treasure. When we devote the time to coming to worship God, that is a worthy portion of our God-given time. When we give time to a friend or neighbor who needs a listening ear and some wise guidance, that is ministry on behalf of God which uses our God-given talents of listening and caring. When we come and clean the church or mow the lawn or shovel snow or paint railings or window trim, those are offerings of time and talent.
Our offering of treasure includes not only our offering to the Church but also our support of organizations which help people, such as the Red Cross or the American Cancer Society or any one of the many groups which do such good work. Please prayerfully consider your offering and then take one of the cards on the table at the back, fill it out, and put it into the offering plate. We would like to have these before our Vestry meeting on December 18.
There is so much to be grateful for. Thanks be to God for coming among us to show us the way to new life. Thanks to each and every one of you for all that you bring to this community and for the ministries of caring and compassion which you do out in the world.
Let us pray together the Collect for Thanksgiving Day, page 246.
Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: Canticle 4, Christ the King Sunday, Colossians 1, Jeremiah 23, Luke 23, Proper 29C |
Grace Episcopal Church (Sheldon, VT) 