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SERMON ON STEWARDSHIP: FEAST OF THE KING
Sister Mary Christian Cross, November 24, 2013
Sermon Notes READINGS: Jer. 23:1-6, Col. 1:11-20, Lk. 23:33-43 Jeremiah: discussion of leadership in the line of David. Colossians: God reconciles all things through the Blood of Christ. Luke : Accusation of the Jewish leaders of the time: Jesus is acting as the Messiah. Roman soldiers: Jesus jibed as “King of the Jews”. “Good thief”: penitent and says “Remember me when you come to your kingdom.” INTRODUCTION: Feast of Christ the King instituted 1925 so relatively recent. BACKGROUND: Leadership in the Old Testament: Patriarchy: eg. Noah, Abraham Theocracy: eg. Moses, Isaac , Joshua, Judges, Priests, Eli , Samuel. Monarchy: ca 1700 B.C.E. Request for a King seen as apostasy against former theocracy. Eventually Samuel anoints Saul. Saul succeeded by David. (Priests appointed by Kings, but not the Prophets.) Monarchy fails ca 720 BCE and Jews go into Exile. GOSPEL: A.
Jesus did not refer to himself as King.
Cf. Pilate “you are a king then” Jesus, “You say so but my kingdom is not of this world.” Jesus ridiculed as Messiah as King
by Jewish leaders by Roman Soldiers
Jesus petitioned by the “good thief” – “remember me when you come into your kingdom” B.
Jesus has much to say about the Kingdom.
Cf. several passages in Mt. 13 Kingdom is like a Treasure hidden in a field
Page |2 Merchant seeking pearl of great price Mustard seed Yeast OUR PERCEPTION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Cf. the Lord’s Prayer: “thy kingdom come on earth as in heaven”. What do we understand by this term as we repeat it daily, often more than once? Peace, joy, love, everlasting life are some terms that we might use. STEWARDSHIP: We have been considering for the past few weeks this as members of the Parish, and we have seen stewardship in terms of : Gifts: - time, talents, money For: buildings, personnel, programmes. And all this is good. BUT WE NEED TO ASK THE QUESTION WHY?: WHAT IS THE REAL BOTTOM LINE FOR STEWARDSHIP? The bottom line is not in terms of material or human assets, but in terms of the reason Dioceses, parishes, churches exist: and that is to work for the glory of God, for the Kingdom of God, where Christ is King. We are not just a service organization, a mutual support system, an outreach organization, excellent though these pursuits might be. And all of this is: is so that we can be obedient to the Gospel, to God’s call to each and every one of us to exercise our baptismal ministry, to be disciples of Christ in bringing in the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.