Sermon at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic
Chapel, Whaddon, Salisbury Evening Prayer - Sunday - Sunday 23 November 2014
2 Samuel 23:1-7;
Matthew 28: 16-End
May I speak in the name
of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen
Today we celebrate the Festival of Christ the King, a
Festival very much for the Church united here on Earth – a reminder that the
Kingdom of God and Christ’s reign on Earth is here and now and not at some
future time. It is, therefore, quite
fitting for us to be worshipping together this evening in this lovely chapel at
an ecumenical service where we as Christians, both Catholics and Anglicans, can
put aside any denominational differences and spend an hour in praise and thanksgiving
to celebrate the wonderful good news that during his brief period on this
Earth, God, as a man incarnate, came down to establish his kingdom here and
now.
Many theologians and Christians have really not understood
what the the term Christ as King really means.
Many arguments and wars have been fought and blood shed over this.
Pilate struggled with this question when he confronted Jesus on that Good
Friday morning. “You say you are a King,
but where is your Kingdom” asked Pilate. Jesus’s answer was that his kingdom
was not of this Earth and this has led many to believe that we as Christians
are still waiting to go to some other place – but in his many parables which
are to be found in Matthew’s gospel, he describes in the Kingdom of Heaven very
much in earthly terms – often starting his parables with the world “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…..”
In this evening’s gospel reading we hear those famous words
of Jesus’s Great Commission to the disciples – the sending out of them on a
mission; a mission to “make disciples of
all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” But
the greatest news for all of us is the final sentence of all in Matthew’s Gospel
– “And surely I am with you always, to
the very end of the age”.
This is the end of the gospel – there is no ascension
narrative but a clear unequivocal statement from Jesus that he is with us
always – to the end of the age.
Our earlier reading set out David’s last words – David that
great though flawed king who had started life off as a shepherd boy. In those ancient biblical times a nation was
judged by the effectiveness and strength of its leadership. You will recall, earlier in the First Book of
Samuel, how the people had clamoured for a king to rule over them. A king was regarded as a shepherd of the
people – someone to protect and provide for the people and so it was not mere
co-incidence that Jesus often used stories of shepherds or illustrated his
teachings by the use of shepherds to get across his message of the Kingdom of
Heaven; neither is it a co-incidence that the first group of people to be told
of the birth of god incarnate should be shepherds tending their flocks in the
fields around Bethlehem.
This morning’s readings included that famous passage from
earlier in Matthew – the separation of the sheep and the goats and the
questioning of when did either group see the Lord hungry, thirsty, homeless or
in prison – the answer being that whatever either group did or did not tend to
the needs of anyone they did or did not tend to the needs of God. A powerful message.
When Jesus finally catches up with Peter on the shores of
Lake Galilee that morning, when they breakfasted on fish together, he asks
Peter not once but three times (signifying the absolution of the three denials
on the morning of Jesus’s trial and execution in Jerusalem, if Peter will feed
Jesus’s flock.
A child once asked me recently that if Jesus did not die
where is he now? Of course, the
ascension story, which as I have pointed out is absent from Matthew’s gospel,
suggests that he is somewhere beyond our Earthly domain but those last few
words of Matthew’s gospel which we have tell a totally different story – they
tell us that Jesus is with us – his disciples – always – even to the end of the
age. Wow, powerful stuff.
So where is Christ to be found? Well I think the answer is clear – he is to
be found amongst the poor, the hungry, the oppressed. He sends each and every one
of us out to minister to them and in so doing he brings us closer to himself.
As Christians we are expected to have a living relationship
with Jesus Christ. We are expected to obey everything he has commanded – just
as he asks us to spread his word to those who have not heard, and to feed his
sheep.
Back in the biblical times the relationship between a Master
and his Servant was very strong.
Whatever a Servant did by way of acting for and on behalf of Master was
imputed to the Master. If a servant, for
example, was sent by the Master as a messenger to another Master, if that
servant wasn’t treated with due respect and with utmost hospitality then the
poor treatment he thus received would be an indication of a slight against his
Master. Therefore, we as servants of
Christ the King should act in ways which impute the love and hospitality which
Jesus himself would provide.
So, if we find Jesus in these places where the oppressed and
poor and hungry are what should we do?
Well. In fact we probably all know what we should do but find it so much
harder to actually do it. We often make
excuses or simply, with the best of intentions, conclude that we cannot do
anything because either we do not have the resources – in terms of energy,
finance or personal or in time. In fact,
we only need to offer a small bit of our resources to make a huge
difference.
The story is told of a man walking along a beach one morning
where an enormous storm the night before had washed up tens of thousands of
starfish onto the shingle. He started to
pick some up, one by one and carefully return them to the water. Another man
walking along observed this for a short while and intrigued approached the
first man and enquired “Why on earth are
you doing this? There are thousands and thousands of them and what you are
doing will make no difference at all.
The first man stooped down, picked up one of the starfish and held it in
the palm of his hand and showed it to the second man. Then, gently, he placed
the starfish into the water. “It made a difference to him” he
replied.
Such a little thing can make a difference. In my role as chaplain to the homeless at
Alabare Place, a little bit of time spent chatting to one of the service users
can make a lot of difference. To make
them feel that they are worth talking to and being prepared to listen to their
troubles makes a huge difference to them.
We all suffer from lack of time. It is easy to concentrate on
answering our emails instead of spending ten minutes chatting to somebody who,
at that moment, needs our attention.
There are numerous examples in the bible of where Jesus, either tired or
intent on completing another task does stop and spend time with the faithful –
the bleeding woman, Zachias, the woman at the well and so on. What time we might save by not being the body
of Christ might cost us dearly when it comes to life in the eternity.
This morning we were told that the sheep and not the goats,
will be the righteous ones. In this
evening’s reading Jesus tells us how we can truly act out his Commission and
live the gospel. Not necessarily in
grandiose ways but by simply seeking Jesus out amongst the poor and oppressed,
being his arms and feet and eyes protecting and providing as the King is
expected to do for his people or the shepherd for his sheep. Like the Master and Servant relationship of
old, what we do in the name of Jesus will be imputed to Him and this brings
with it a great responsibility as evangelists of the bible.
Jesus’s words to Peter “feed my sheep” apply to us today. Let us make time to carry out that Commission
and not allow ourselves to be distracted or allow the fear of lack of time or
resources make us wobble.
Let us pray in the words of a prayer by St. Theresa of
Avila::-
Christ has no body now
but ours.
No hands, no feet but
ours.
Ours are the eyes
through which he looks with compassion on this world.
Ours are the feet with
which he walks to do good.
Ours are the hands
through which he blesses the world.
Lord Jesus, ours are
the hands, ours are the feet, ours are the eyes for we are your body.
Amen
