Christ the King: expressing God's love in a diverse world...
A reflection on the readings for Christ the King, Last Pentecost
The other day I was doing some work around the church
building. It was quiet and I was all alone. Suddenly I heard a scrambling sound
and went to investigate. Down the hall from my office, I came upon a squirrel.
The squirrel froze in place and looked me in the eye. Without comment the
squirrel turned and bounded down the hall, tail switching. He took a left
toward the entrance to the parking lot, and then because the doors were closed,
circled through Bobs office and then back down the hall the other way toward
the church. Following it I closed interior doors along the way, minimizing its
options. I opened the exterior doors
hoping the fresh air would guide it outside. I finally arrived in the church
where I found the squirrel hiding under a pew in the choir loft. It scampered
past me down the stairs and into the church hiding under pews in the front
couple of rows. Around and around we went; me and the squirrel. Jan arrived and we worked together to minimize
the direction the squirrel could take. Suddenly it went out the door, down the
hall, and down the stairs toward Chapel Day. Then, suddenly there it was,
behind me once again, heading toward the church. With a swish of its tail it
made it a right hand turn out of sight. The last I saw of it, the squirrel was
jumping off the ramp into the grass.
I'm grateful the squirrel found its way out the door I
propped open. I really didn’t want to lose it in the building, call animal control and set traps, or worry about
what mischief or harm might ensue from its captivity.
Since Pentecost we have been in the season of Ordinary Time,
also known as the Season after the Pentecost. Today we celebrate the last day
of this season and of the liturgical church year – which is known as “Christ
the King.” Christ the King is a relatively new feast day established by Pope
Pius XI in 1925 as a response to increasing dictatorships in Europe, the end of World War I, and the
church’s loss of power.
The feast was initially set for the last day in October, the
day before All Saints Day. Later, in 1969, Pope Paul VI moved the feast to the
last Sunday before Advent. Placing it on a Sunday, the last Sunday of the
church year increased its importance.
The feast day was created to remind people that salvation comes
through Christianity. However, now, in an increasingly global world, this concept
is complicated.
Perhaps it helps to know that every tradition claims -
at least in principle - that salvation comes through that particular faith.
Hindus see Jesus as a manifestation of the timeless Brahman; Buddhists claim
the universality of Buddha’s Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path; and Muslims
freely interpret Hebraic and Christian scriptures in light of Allah’s
revelation to Mohammed. [i]
Claiming Christ the King - in the context of other world
religions - reminds us that God reveals God’s self in the world in many ways. Different cultures and ages experience the
divine in unique ways.[ii]
By the creativity in the world around us,it seems
that God loves diversity. Take for example, the many different kinds of
squirrels, which come from a rodent family called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree
squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks,
marmots
(including woodchucks),
flying squirrels,
and prairie dogs.
Squirrels are divided into five subfamilies,
with about 58 genera
and some 285 species.
Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa.
We have some very brave squirrels around the church property
– not only the one that found its way into the church, but a whole variety of
tree squirrels, chipmunks, and woodchucks that live in the backyard of the
rectory and entertain us endlessly with their antics.
Variety is an expression of God’s self –in creation, of
which squirrels are just a tiny example - and in the varieties of religions and religious
experience.
In light of global world religions and cultural diversity
what can we claim on this feast day of Christ the King?
Our scripture readings this morning remind us
that God’s love for us and all creation is formed in an everlasting covenant of
love and compassion. God is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. As
Christians we know God’s love as it is manifested in and through the life of
Jesus. Jesus expresses God’s love in acts of compassion for all people.
Today we come to the end of our year of learning what it
means to know God’s love in Jesus through the lens of the Gospel of Mark. Since
Advent last November, we have read Mark, and we have pondered the question Mark’s
Gospel seems to address – “Where do we find God?”
Where have you found God this last year?
In what act of compassion
has God been revealed to you?
When were you the hands and heart of Christ to another?
[i]
Bruce Epperly, The Adventurous Lectionary: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/livingaholyadventure/2012/11/the-adventurous-lectionary-the-reign-of-christ-sunday/
[ii]
ibid
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