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Donate| November 23, 2008 Thirty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Proper 29 Reign of Christ/Christ the King Commentary by Bruce G. Epperly |
See also: [2005] Coming Up:
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Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Psalm 100
Ephesians 1:15-23
Matthew 25:31-46
Healthy and life-transforming preaching involves the interplay of vision, promise, and practice. Well-grounded in a holistic theology, transformative preaching shows the congregation a vision of God’s presence in the world and our lives, promises that we can experience the god of whom we speak within our daily lives, and provides practices that help us experience the divine. Accordingly, transformative preaching must address the heart and hands as well as the mind.
What are we to say about the celebration of the reign of Christ” or “Christ the king” in a pluralistic age? Are such global affirmations simply whistling in the dark in a world in which 1) the majority of the world is non-Christian; 2) fear for the future of the planet is ubiquitous; 3) some of the most vocal Christians also advocate USA imperialism, unrestricted capitalism, incarceration and deportation of undocumented residents, and discrimination against persons on the basis of sexual identity? If Christ is “king,” where is Christ’s kingdom? If Christ is Lord, where is Christ being followed in ways that are saving the planet and its peoples?
We begin our journey through the lectionary with theological reflections from Ephesians. Paul connects vision, promise, and practice in his words to this early Christian community. Grateful for their faithfulness, the author prays that God will give them “a spirit of wisdom and revelation” so that they may know God, be filled with hope, and see their lives joined to a holy power who has resources beyond their imagination. While not going into details, the author of Ephesians makes clear that Christ is global in presence and impact. His cosmic vision complements the prologue of the Gospel of John, which – like Ephesians – joins universality and intimacy in God’s saving presence in Jesus Christ. Christ is the beginning and end of all things and the head of the church, which is Christ’s body. A cosmic Christ leads to a cosmic vision of the church. The struggling churches reflect and point to something far beyond the churches themselves, the Christ “who fills all in all.”
On the celebration of the “reign of Christ,” congregations are called to ponder Paul’s implicit image of the “mind of Christ” within Ephesians. In line with the words of Philippians 2:5-11, followers of Jesus are called to the have “the mind of Christ.” What does the mind of Christ mean in the context of twenty-first century pluralism and post-modernism? How do we experience Christ’s mind as the center and integrating power of all that we are and all that we do? Surely, the mind of Christ is mystical, but it is a practical mysticism that transforms our vision, values, actions, and attitudes. The mind of Christ involves more than “what would Jesus do?” it also embraces “how would Jesus experience the world?” and “what would Jesus think?”
In the context of holistic and complementary medicine, we can imagine the mind of Christ permeating every person in our congregation and beyond; we can also imagine our own values and behavior contributing both to the health of the body and the impact of the mind throughout the body, including both church and world. As cells in the body of Christ, enlivened and inspired by the “mind of Christ,” we can claim our role, in the spirit of Martin Luther, as “little Christs” who mediate grace and healing to one another and the body at large.
Matthew’s vision of the final judgment challenges those who see salvation as purely individual or doctrinal in character. Matthew’s vision is visionary, ethical, and political, and challenges Christians to think and act globally as well as locally. Right belief is important, but belief must be completed by faithful responsiveness. While many interpretations see Christian ethics as primarily individualistic, Matthew sees judgment as involving the “nations” as well as persons.
Recently, a pastor noted to me that his congregation was considering withdrawing funds from the denomination’s global ministries in order to respond to local issues, in part as a result of some members’ disagreement with the denomination’s liberal stand on issues such as marriage equality. He shared that he worked hard to remind the congregation that we are part of one world and that a congregation’s “wider ministry” extends to include hurricane and earthquake victims and political and economic refugees. The body of Christ is not confined to our neighborhoods, but extends to embrace the whole earth and beyond. Our response to suffering is not a matter of liberal or conservative but our willingness to experience the “other” as God’s beloved child, whose life is intimately connected with my own.
While I do not wish to explore the nature of divine judgment in detail, it is clear that Matthew 25 sees judgment in terms of ethics, economics, and politics as well as individual generosity. God’s care embraces all things, but God has special concern for persons experiencing hunger, thirst, captivity, illness, poverty, and alienation. The implication is that we are not to make distinctions between fellow citizen and stranger, Christian and non-Christian, past and present lifestyle, health or illness, or national boundaries. God cares for the “least of these” and calls us to do likewise. Today, this call must include congregational, economic, and political as well as individual care.
Matthew 25 provides a theology of care that includes our understanding of God as well as our neighbor. Are we to take the words, “as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me,” as expressive of God’s relationship to the world? If so, we must consider what it means for God to be served in our care for those around us, especially the most vulnerable. Does God truly experience their pain and our responses? Do we shape God’s experience by our actions and attitudes? If we take these words seriously, then our lives are truly our gifts to God. What we do matters because God feels everything from the inside; God embraces sorrow as well as joy in a way that contrasts with deistic isolation or classical changelessness. Accordingly, we must ask ourselves, “Do we want to give God a world of beauty or a world of ugliness?”
Ezekiel 34 and Psalm 100 portray God as a lively seeker whose care embraces all of God’s sheep; but has a preference for the weakest members of the flock. God seeks completeness and wholeness among the flock and this involves uplifting the weak and challenging the strong. Judgment is real in the flock: the fat sheep have flourished because of their intimidation and manipulation of the leaner sheep. Justice involves providing an environment in which the lean will have the ability to flourish. As the congregation hears this text, it is impossible to avoid seeing the connection between fat and lean sheep, and those who have profited at the expense of persons who have lost jobs, homes, and health care. In the spirit of the “parable of the lost sheep,” the whole flock of hundred will not find healing until the lost sheep is brought him. In the body of Christ, everyone matters; the health of the body includes the well-being of every member. In ways that confound unrestricted capitalism, these gospels suggest in order for God’s justice to be served, the rich must become poorer while the poor become richer.
Bruce Epperly is professor of practical theology and director of continuing education at Lancaster Theological Seminary and co-pastor of Disciples United Community Church in Lancaster, PA. He is the author of fifteen books, including Holy Adventure: Forty-one Days of Audacious Living (Upper Room), his recently-released response to the Purpose Driven Life.
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