Reign of Christ / Christ the King

Thou hast taken thy great power
and begun to reign.
Revelation 11:17

Ephesians 1:15-23

¹⁵ I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason ¹⁶ I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers, ¹⁷ 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, ¹⁸ so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.

²⁰ 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, ²¹ 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. ²² And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Reign of Christ / Christ the King

A king like other nations have! I Samuel 8:4-22

But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, "No! We are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like other nations and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles." 1 Samuel 8:19-20

As Pastor James Howell describes it, Christ's reign is only powerful by its lack of power, its gentle compassion, its subversive humility. His palace is a lowly manger, his crown one of thorns, his retinue a bunch of clueless dudes fleeing for the exits, his armies the poor and pitiful of the world.

Every year the church's year of grace concludes by celebrating Jesus Christ as Lord of all. Pope Pius XI instituted the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe in 1925.

This King reigns from a cross:
"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. John 12:32-33


Reign of Christ 2023

Martin Luther reminds us if we want to see God's power, sovereignty, and lordship, look to the Bethlehem manger. Look to the Calvary cross. This Jesus, this Christ, rules against all ordinary human ideas of power, glory, fame. Unlike other gods of the ancient near east, Jesus reveals a god not of a particular people and place, but a God for all people and all places. Jesus' authority and reign is one of servanthood.

My July 2022 reflection Colossians 1:15-20 for Pentecost 6 fits today well. The pre-existent Christ fills and rules the entire cosmos, subverts empire, inverts the political, social, economic, and religious status quo.


Today's Second Reading

Jesus Christ's ascension refers to his reign, rule, sovereignty, power, authority, stewardship—his caretaking and responsiveness to creation's needs. Does Christ the King /Reign of Christ sound and look something like Ascension? Today's Ephesians passage is the second reading for Ascension Day / Sunday in all three lectionary years; it's also sometimes scheduled on All Saints.

"Seated at God's right hand," [1:20] is a way of saying Jesus ascended, or assumed authority over all creation. Unlike with human governments and organizations, Jesus' authority has no checks and balances. It is supreme. It is absolute. Jesus is "King of all the earth," as Psalm 47 says.

These verses from Ephesians provide three poignant (body part!) images of Jesus' ascendancy, lordship, leadership, rule:

• 1:20 – seated at God's right hand
• 1:22a – all things under his feet
• 1:22b – made him the head over all things for the church…

…1:23 which is Christ's body!


The Church…which is Christ's Body

As Luke reports in Acts 1:6-11.

So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:6-8

When the disciples ask the risen Christ if now he finally would "restore the kingdom to Israel," Jesus replies, "the question is wrong," and tells them to wait. They will receive power (that's the dynamite word), and then they'll be his witnesses everywhere. In other words, in the power of the pentecostal Spirit of Resurrection, Jesus' disciples (that's us!) will continue restoring the reign of heaven on earth.

The Heidelberg Catechism asks,
"Why is the son of God called Jesus, meaning Savior?" And, "Why is the son of God called Christ, meaning anointed?"
And then: "But why are you called a Christian?"
Answer: "Because by faith I share in Christ's anointing, and I am anointed to reign over all creation for all eternity."


Jesus' Presence and Reign

You may have heard about reformers Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli in their encounter at Marburg. Arguing the eucharistic real presence, Zwingli claimed the real or authentic presence (Geneva Reformer John Calvin preferred "true presence") of the risen Christ in the Lord's Supper wasn't possible, because the ascended Jesus Christ sits (is incumbent, rules from) at the right hand of God the Father.

Though along with Zwingli he acknowledged Christ's ascension to God's right hand, in response to Zwingli Luther pointed out the Right Hand of God – God's sovereignty and dominion – is everywhere and throughout: in, with, and under all creation. Thus the right hand of God to where Jesus Christ ascended and from where he now reigns is in Zurich, in London, at Marburg, in Los Angeles, in Tokyo, in Sydney—all places at all times. And, of course in Holy Communion.

Amen? Amen!


Prayer

So that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which Christ 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. Ephesians 1:18-19

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see you

To see you high and lifted up
Shining in the light of your glory
Pour out your power and love
As we sing holy holy holy

© Paul Baloche – Integrity Hosanna! Music, 1997

Pentecost 25A

Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
From everlasting to everlasting
you are God.
Psalm 90:1-2

Matthew 25:14-30

¹⁴ "For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; ¹⁵ to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
¹⁶ The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. ¹⁷ In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. ¹⁸ But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

¹⁹ After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, "Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.' ²¹ His master said to him, "Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'

²² And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, "Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.' ²³ His master said to him, "Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'

²⁴ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, "Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; ²⁵ so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' ²⁶ But his master replied, "You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? ²⁷ Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. ²⁹ For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. ³⁰ As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

This Week

The next to last Sunday of this year of grace, and here's the Parable of the Talents, beloved of stewardship committees! Although parables in the gospels often begin with, "The reign of God is like, the kingdom of heaven will be like," this one doesn't mention the reign of heaven/kingdom of God. Today's good news comes between wise and foolish virgins waiting for the bridegroom and Jesus separating sheep from goats on the last day by assessing who had faithfully fed, clothed, welcomed, and visited needy people.

Jesus told this story shortly before his arrest and crucifixion. Is it about managing finances? About overall stewardship? Is it about characteristics of the reign of heaven on earth? The reading seems to start out with a cash infusion. It goes on to tell us two of the servants increased the value of the huge sum they'd been entrusted with.

Torah forbids charging interest on a loan. Not only charging excessive interest (usury—think of payday loans)—but any amount of interest whatsoever. So our contemporary practice of "investing" money in securities, commodities, derivatives, or another market would have been against Torah. (Two millennia later, if money is making money, someone still is being exploited.)

Some commentaries in-your-face point out a talent isn't an ability or tendency to do a particular thing well, yet we derive our concept of talent as a special way to gift the community from the instrument of financial exchange called talent. One source said a talent was about twenty years' wages. Although it would vary depending upon the person's job and skill, in that case, five talents would be 100 years' pay!


Stewardship

We need to contextualize scripture into our own social and economic setting. Stewardship committees love this parable. Is it about using God-given resources of talent, treasure, and time in ways that multiply the presence of the reign of God in the world?

This passage isn't about entrepreneurship; it ain't Max Weber's Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism; it's not investment banking or municipal bonds. On its own, money is neutral, and to keep afloat, we absolutely need ways to get what we need, with dollars, pesos, or euros; with baking for baby-sitting, or another type of exchange. Individuals, churches, governments, and other organizations need money to survive and do their things. Tracking cash flow and reserves is an important aspect of trusting God in areas of receiving and giving.

When we contribute to the church's ministry and the world's future, both giver and gifted enter into the joy that results from faithful use (stewardship) of monetary and other gifts. But what is this parable really about?

• The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. 25:16-18

• The master chides, "Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest." 25:27

Torah forbids charging interest on loans, so "investing" in stocks, bonds, cryptocurrency (or likely even your neighbor's startup) not only would have been risky; it would have been morally suspect. But at least on paper, would growth of the original sum offset any apparent decrease in financial holdings of any party?


Then and Now

In Jesus' time and place, people believed all resources were finite, so everyone assumed a zero-sum existence. If the rich got richer, the poor must have gotten poorer. If someone's social status increased, someone else's had to have decreased, and so any changes the third slave experienced would have been negative ones. Given that expectation, he logically pursued the then common practice of burying the money so his assets wouldn't decrease. However, a slave was bound to do the master's grunt work, that in this case meant growing his wealth, which explains the master's anger.

• The master chides, "Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest." 25:27

Despite the master telling the guy he could have invested that money, Torah forbids charging interest on loans.

What do you make of this parable? In his first act of public ministry recorded by Luke, Jesus announces the time of Jubilee when debts will be canceled, when all creation will thrive in shalom-filled "enough." When that time arrives, saving, investing, and stockpiling won't be considerations. But given the size and diversity of this planet, will that ever happen? Can it happen? Besides, some inflation is necessary to maintain a healthy market economy.

Textual note: New Testament words for slave and servant get translated into English almost randomly as either servant or slave; the Greek here is "slave," so these weren't voluntary at-will or contracted workers.


Into God's Future

"Well done, good and trustworthy one, enter into the joy…" The master promises faithful servants will be in charge of (steward of) many things, "more will be given." But what is this parable really about?

During formal stewardship drives the church asks for pledges of money, abilities, and linear time people will contribute to the church's ministry and the world's future.

• Rather than identifying with one of the servants/slaves or imagining Jesus as the master, what does this passage reveal about the gifts of God?
• God already has been to our future and waits for us there; we've received talents/gifts to contribute.
• Does this scripture promise or imply anything about trusting God with our future?
• Would you call this a parable of grace or a parable of judgment?
• Jesus announces Jubilee when all debts will be canceled, and all creation will thrive in shalom-filled "enough" so saving, investing, and stockpiling won't be considerations.
• What do you imagine God is doing at your future, at the church's future, and for the world's future?

Pentecost 24A

The people said to Joshua, "The Lord our God we will serve,
and the Lord our God we will obey." Joshua 24:24

Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25

¹ Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. ² And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors – Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor – lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. ³ Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many.

• Intervening verses 3b-13 narrate salvation history from Abraham to Isaac, Jacob, and Esau; to Egypt, Moses and Aaron; then to deliverance in the Red Sea to Exodus wanderings through the desert; finally entry into Canaan with the gift of the land. God's actions. God's faithfulness. This history with God's grace-filled provision forms "why" for Israel continuing to trust Yahweh as their real god.

¹⁴ "Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵ Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

¹⁶ Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; ¹⁷ for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; ¹⁸ and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God."

¹⁹ But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. ²⁰ If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good." ²¹ And the people said to Joshua, "No, we will serve the Lord!" ²² Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him." And they said, "We are witnesses."

²³ Joshua said, "Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel." ²⁴ The people said to Joshua, "The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey." ²⁵ So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.

Hearing, Doing

Today's alternate first reading from Joshua pairs well with the designated first reading from Amos 5:24 that concludes, "Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." Amos 5:18-24

Joshua, the sixth book of the OT, chronicles Israel's actual entry into the Promised Land of Canaan forty years – four decades! – out of imperial slavery. Not very far into the exodus or departure trek, God and people had covenanted at Sinai to serve God by serving the neighbor that later on would include strangers, sojourners, outcasts, and people who in many ways were "very other than" Israelite. They'd be going into Canaan that already was occupied with people who worshiped many other gods of various types. Joshua 24:15 includes the famous "…as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." This is another covenant text.

In an echo of the rationales for keeping covenant with the God of the Exodus, before Joshua asks the people whether or not they will serve the real God of heaven and earth, "The Lord," he gives them reasons for trusting God by retelling substantial portions of the people's experiences with God. This God hears and heeds, acts and cares; God rescues, protects, frees, and redeems. This God of signs and wonders is powerful enough to annihilate enemies. This God reliably comes through for the people every time.

¹⁹But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. … ²⁴The people said to Joshua, "The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey."

After the people affirm they will serve God, Joshua tells them they cannot serve this holy God, yet again they insist they definitely will. What does it mean to put away other, "foreign" gods (we all have them now and then—a god is anything we put before and above God at any time) and serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God of Israel, God of Jesus Christ?


Holy God, Holy People

What does it mean to put away other gods and put the God of presence, power, mercy, and grace first before anything or anyone else? What does it mean to serve a holy God? What does it mean to be holy people in the image of that Holy God?

In Leviticus 19:2 God instructs Moses, "Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." The chapter then summarizes the commandments and includes love your neighbor as yourself in verse 18b. The Ten Words or Commandments of the Sinai Covenant call us to righteous lives of justice, love, and mercy, revering God by serving the neighbor and establishing a common-wealth of care, sustenance, and shalom sufficiency.

You may have some acquaintance with holiness churches that derived from the traditions of John and Charles Wesley. Historically members of those churches don't drink alcohol or smoke nicotine; recreational drugs are off limits, too. (Some don't dance socially… just like some pietist midwestern Lutherans and Scots Presbyterians?) Those practices and prohibitions help keep head, heart, and body clear and clean for lives of service to God and neighbor, because true holiness in God's image is both inward and outward.


Witness, Testimony

Seeing, hearing, telling.

²²Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him." And they said, "We are witnesses."

Although the people agreed to testify to their choosing to serve God, chapter 24 continues,

²⁶ Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord. ²⁷ Joshua said to all the people, "See, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us; therefore it shall be a witness against you, if you deal falsely with your God." ²⁸ So Joshua sent the people away to their inheritances.

• This stone shall be a witness against us, but how can a rock, a river, a plant or any natural or inanimate object testify? Stones and other objects that serve as witnesses (seeing or hearing) in the Hebrew bible would make a interesting standalone study. Who would like to prepare and present one? Let me know! I'll blog it here and on desert spirit's fire! and circulate it on social media.

• You might enjoy Joshua chapters 16-17-18-19 where Joshua portions out inheritances of allotments (land plots and cities) to the different tribes with a poetic description of each tribe that Marc Chagall drew upon for his stained glass Jerusalem Windows.

All Saints 2023

All Saints ELCA in the University City neighborhood of San Diego, California

All Saints Day / All Saints Sunday

Though we especially commemorate and celebrate those in the Church Triumphant and their forebears, All Saints also is for those of us in the visible church, a day for everyone God has chosen, called, sanctified, and sent.

When churches observe Reformation and October 31st isn't a Sunday, the last Sunday of October becomes Reformation. You may know Halloween on October 31st as All Hallows' Eve—the day before All Saints on November 1st. A hallowed person, place, or event is a holy one.

In Central and Latin American culture, November 2nd is Day of the Dead – Día de los Muertos.

Sanctification, theosis, and divinization all mean the same thing. Eastern Christianity tends to use "theosis" with its Theo or God word root; Western Christians typically refer to "sanctification." That sac prefix means holy, as in the Sanctus–"Holy, Holy, Holy" we sing during the liturgy. With its root in divine, "divinization" means the same. All three terms describe the Holy Spirit inspired process of claiming, growing into, and living out our divine nature of being holy, just as God is holy. Some church bodies place themselves very consciously within what's called holiness traditions.


Saints Alive

For All Saints many churches display pictures and mementos of beloved saints; we celebrate their lives, cherish their memories, often still feel and grieve their loss. Saints or holy ones could be neighbors, parents, friends, relatives, colleagues still on earth or in heaven. Saints can be people in scripture or universally famous ones. What saints do you especially admire, remember, and maybe try to emulate? Today's remembrance includes all of us still in the visible church. "All of us" because in baptism we receive the Holy Spirit and become hallowed or sanctified; we become saints.

At the start of Leviticus 19 we hear,

¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
² "Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy."

Holy people? Holy God? Leviticus 19 then outlines the essence of the Ten Commandments, with added details.

Writing to the church in diaspora, 1 Peter 1:16 quotes Leviticus, "for it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'"

The baptismal hymn in 1 Peter declares to us:

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, people of God's possession,
So that you may proclaim the mighty acts of God who called you out of darkness into marvelous light.
Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people;
Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1 Peter 2:9-10

Becoming more holy, just as God is holy. Hallowed be each of our names? Yet even as we act with greater justice, love, mercy, and righteousness, our holiness (sanctification, divinization) depends not on our actions but on God's grace and love.


All Things New

Our Judeo-Christian scriptures are clear about the reality of death. Physical, social, emotional, financial and other deaths. Death is real but hope is real.

The Día de los Muertos website explains, "The skulls are often drawn with a smile as to laugh at death itself."

With many life-giving, hopeful promises, Revelation 7:9-17 is the first reading for All Saints.

Later on in Revelation 21:1-5:

¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

"See, the home of God is among mortals.
God will dwell with them;
they will be God's peoples,
God will be with them and be their God;

⁴ "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." ⁵ And the one seated upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true."

All Saints 2023.