Westwood Presbyterian Church

November 22nd, 2009

197 Browning  Boulevard, Winnipeg, Manitoba  R3K 0L1

REV. PETER BUSH's SERMONS

Christ the King Sunday (Philippians 2: 5-11)

     There are two things I hope that we take away from this morning.

 

First, the church tells time in a particular way.

     Time is one of the ways we measure things – how old someone is, how long something takes, when some event will begin or end. Time is something that we talk a lot about – we are in many ways governed by time, we watch the clock, we are on the clock, and so on. So time matters.

     The ways we arrange important things – the way that measure them, evaluate them, think about them – is also important. The church has its own way of telling time. It uses the birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and coming again of Jesus as the way it tells time. It orders its life around this cycle – the church does not think of next Sunday as being the last Sunday in November – rather it thinks of next Sunday as being the First Sunday of Advent – the First Sunday of the New Year.

     Advent prepares us for the coming of the King – a first time in Bethlehem, but it also looks ahead to the second coming of Jesus. Advent means arrival and there are two arrivals of Jesus. As Dorothy Sayers says somewhere -- “The once and coming king”. Four weeks of getting ready.

     Then come the 12 days of Christmas – from Christmas Day to Jan. 6 (Epiphany) – 12 days of celebrating Jesus’ first coming.

     Epiphany – means the showing of the light – the light of the world has come. And Epiphany starts with Jan. 6 – the traditional day we remember the arrival of the Magi – the wise men – to give their gifts to the new King. But through Epiphany we remember that the light has come for all people everywhere – that Jesus’ kingship is for all - -and is over all.

     Lent comes next – there are 40 days in Lent plus the six Sundays – for a total of 46. Lent is a time of reflecting on our lives, on those things we have done that have broken faith with God, with others, with ourselves. It is a time of spiritual preparation to hear – to enter into – the events of those three days when the world stops and everyone holds their breath to see what will happen.

    A tangent – someone will ask why not count the Sundays as part of Lent. Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection – a day of joy. Lent carries with it grief – the joy of Sundays overwhelms the grief of Lent – and so the Sundays are in Lent – but not part of Lent.

     Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday – the three great days. The remembering of the events that changed and still change history. These days can not be pinned down -- they move around on the secular calendar – reminding us that the secular society does not control the church – the church marches to the beat of a drummer it alone can hear. As Easter moves we are reminded that we follow God’s time.

     There are 50 days from Easter to Pentecost – called the Season of Easter or Eastertide. Notice 50 days – the celebration for the resurrection of Jesus is greater than the preparation for his death (Lent). There is a reminder here in the way the church tells time to not so focus on the death of Jesus that we never get to the celebration of the resurrection.

     Jesus promised that if he went away he would ask God the Father to send the Holy Spirit – and Jesus left on Ascension Day -- and ten days later was Pentecost – and the Holy Spirit came in power and in the rush of wind and with tongues of fire. The Season of Pentecost runs from this point through to the end of the Church Year – and the church year ends with Christ the King Sunday which is today. Those who read English novels might remember reading the word “Whitsuntide” – another name for the Season of Pentecost.

     Notice that we went through an entire year without mentioning the months as we usually use to talk about time. When we choose to tell time by stating that time by using Advent, Pentecost, Easter, Lent as the categories we remind ourselves of the fact that Jesus’ story is the most important story – the story which we are seeking to live our lives in and under.

 

The Second thing I hope we take away this morning – is just how upside down Jesus’ story is.

     This is a king – who is born in a stable. A king – who hangs out with the poor, the outsiders, the downtrodden, the ones everyone looks down on. This is a king who arrives in the capital city riding on a donkey. This is a king whose followers all run away when the going gets tough. This is a king who gets killed as a common criminal. And then when he comes back to life – is raised from the dead – does not stick around long enough to really enjoy the victory.

     What kind of king is this? This is a king who shows us that losing is winning – that dying is living – that the bottom is the top – that hope is greatest in hopelessness – that being nothing is the best way to be something – that being the lowest is to be the greatest. I know that went by very fast – the fact is that everything we think about what it means to be great and powerful Jesus bangs on its head. And Jesus did not just talk the talk – he also walked the walk. When he says that the last shall be first, and that the one who serves is the greatest – he knows exactly what he is saying because he lived it.

     Jesus’ kingdom is an upside down kingdom – Jesus’ kingdom says that the gold medals at the Olympics should be given to the people who come last in the race. Jesus’ kingdom says that the most important people in the school are the youngest kids in the school. Jesus’ kingdom says that the most important people in the city are the people who pay no taxes and have no vote. Jesus’ kingdom says – “the way to find life is to lose it.” And Jesus knows exactly what he is saying – because he lived it.

 

     As the church tells time it reminds us that there is another story – another way to live – one based on the upside down kingdom of Jesus Christ.