Sermon (November 24) “Thankful for the King” by Rev. Robert McDowell

November 24, 2024

Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC

     As your pastor, I have some advice for you when you gather for Thanksgiving this week with family members you haven’t seen in a while. My pastoral advice is for you to interject your political thoughts into as many conversations as possible. Yes, you heard me right. Bring up the topic of politics whenever you get the chance.

     Now, before you tune me out for the rest of the sermon, let me explain. By politics, I’m not talking about Republican vs. Democrat. I’m talking about a much larger perspective of politics that often gets ignored in our political conversations and it has nothing to do with blue vs. red.

     Today is known on the church calendar as “Christ the King Sunday.” Whenever you throw in the word, “king,” we’re talking politics, aren’t we? A king by definition is a supreme ruler, someone who has been given all authority to rule.

     This is the title that the New Testament uses for Jesus. He is the king of kings. The word, “Christ” isn’t Jesus’ last name as many people think. Jesus’ didn’t have a last name. Like many Jewish people in Jesus’ day, he was known in reference to his father, “Jesus, Son of Joseph.” He also was known for where he was from, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

     The word, “Christ” however, is referring to his title. Jesus, the Christ. Jesus, the King. The word, “Christ” is the Greek word for king and the Hebrew word for king is “Messiah.”

     And I never thought about this, but “Christ the King Sunday” is not the best way to refer to this Sunday on the church calendar. “Christ the King” is redundant, isn’t it?

     The title for this Sunday is taking the Greek word for King which is the word, “Christ,” and also using the English word for “King” so essentially this Sunday is mis-titled as “King the King Sunday,” which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

     As I’m thinking about this, it should be changed to “Jesus the King Sunday.” I’ve been in pastoral ministry for almost 40 years, and I just noticed this as I was working on this sermon. Today should be known as “Jesus the King Sunday.”

     One of the reasons this Sunday is on the church calendar is to remind us that our faith is political. There’s no way around it. Who is in charge of the world? Not a political party as we think of today, but “Jesus, the King” rules over the world.

     This is such a deeply embedded understanding of who Jesus is that many of our hymns refer to Jesus in some fashion as king or as ruling over creation. Just listen to these hymn titles as a sampling:

     “All Praise to Thee, for Thou, O King Divine.” “Crown Him with many Crowns.” “Jesus Shall Reign.” “Majesty, Worship His Majesty.” “Rejoice the Lord is King.” “Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven.”

     By the way, during my first dentist appointment with my new dentist last year, we were getting to know each other. I had told him that I was a retired United Methodist pastor. He said that he attends a United Methodist Church.

     And then I just couldn’t resist asking him this question. I asked him if he knew what a dentist’s favorite hymn is? And he said, “no.” I said a dentist’s favorite hymn is “Crown Him with Many Crowns.”

     Hymn after hymn reminds us that our faith is political. Jesus has been crowned as King. Jesus rules over all creation. And so, it’s impossible to separate our faith from politics since we refer to Jesus as the one and true king. Since Jesus is King, my primary allegiance is to Jesus and not to any political party or candidate.

     But what kind of king is Jesus? And this is what makes today’s appointed Gospel reading for this special Sunday on the church calendar quite interesting. It’s the story of Jesus dying on the cross of all things.

     The true king over all creation doesn’t sit on a throne of gold. No, this king hangs from a cross offering his self-giving, sacrificial, and redeeming love for the world.

     Self-giving, sacrificial, and redeeming are NOT the first words that come to mind when we think of our everyday political vocabulary. But really, that’s the way it’s always been whether in democracies like our own or in empires like the one that put Jesus on the cross. We think in terms of protecting our political ideologies, increasing our voter base, and doing whatever it takes to stay in power.

     Jesus operates under an entirely different set of rules that is rooted in God’s love for the world, a love that is willing to risk everything in order that all of creation might be redeemed and claimed by God. It was this love that led Jesus to take his place on a cross hanging between two thieves. And even as Jesus was hanging on a cross, he continued to show mercy.

     I was making a visit to see someone who was in the hospital and a hospital volunteer took me to the pre-op area and I noticed that she was wearing a red volunteer coat. A nurse came up to meet us and she was wearing a blue nursing uniform.

     So, I said to both of them, “Together, you are very patriotic!” And I said, “God bless America.” And the hospital volunteer obviously, not happy with the the state of politics in our country said, “Our country can use all the help it can get right now.”

     Her comment to me has led me to wonder why on one hand we can be so passionate about politics but on the other hand, it often leaves us so unsatisfied. I know of some people who are so set in their politics, that it is almost like a religion to them.

     I think this is why it’s very wise to not talk about that understanding of politics around the Thanksgiving table this Thursday, unless you really enjoy eating your turkey and mashed potatoes with lots of tension in the air. So, when I say to talk politics around the table, that’s not the kind of political talk that I’m referring.

     The kind of politics I’m talking about is based on this Sunday on the church calendar where we celebrate and honor Jesus as King. This affirmation of faith is what helps you and me to be thankful people.

     Jesus, the King is the one who suffered, died, and rose again. Jesus, the true king over all creation offers the good news of self-giving, sacrificial and redeeming love for the world. That’s the political platform of Jesus, the King. That’s the kind of political talk that is at the heart of our faith.

    This political news is what leads me to having a grateful heart in this season of Thanksgiving. We offered this gratitude in the singing of our opening hymn referring to our King. “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation! O my soul, praise him, for he is thy health and salvation! All ye who hear, now to his temple draw near; join me in glad adoration.”

     If we must talk politics around the Thanksgiving table, let’s use this kind of political talk instead. The King of creation is our health and salvation.

     This political news isn’t confined to the boundaries of a country. It’s not tied to a political party. It’s much bigger than that. It is the politics of a God who rules over all and whose reign is from coast to coast. All other authorities and powers are subject to this king of kings and lord of lords.

     One of the members of a church I served was a retired US congressman who had a distinguished career from 1967 to 1993. When I would go visit him at his home, I would always walk over to his stairway where he had pictures with him next to a US president. I remember one in particular with him standing next to LBJ.

     I had his funeral a couple of years after I got to know him. When I met with the family to prepare for the service, it was obvious that they were very proud of his work as one of the leading politicians in our country.

     They specifically told me that he was known to do his best to respond to any mail that was sent to him.  And he would often tell his staff that they were not to worry about their politics as much as in meeting their needs.  And if they did anything less, they weren’t working for him anymore. It was refreshing to hear that he cared less about the politics of his party and more about meeting the needs of the people.

    His funeral reminded me that even in our country’s contentious political climate, there are examples of elected officials who truly do care about making a difference in our world. And I was so proud that he was a member of my church even though I wasn’t a member of his political party.

    But it sounds like we shared the same politics of our Creator God who offers self-giving, sacrificial, and redeeming love for a broken and hurting world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

     I’m glad that Christ the King Sunday falls on this Sunday before Thanksgiving because it gives us the opportunity to be thankful for the King.

     One of my favorite prayers is an old thanksgiving prayer that I like to reflect on during this week of Thanksgiving. I love this prayer because it beautifully sums up the good news of our faith and why we are called to be thankful for our king.

     Let’s pray together:

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

Pastoral Prayer (November 24/Christ the King Sunday)

November 24, 2024 (Christ the King Sunday)

Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC

Fairest Lord Jesus, thank you for this Sunday on the church calendar in which we are reminded that you are the true King and ruler over all earthly powers. We join our prayer hymn this morning in expressing that “in thee will we cherish, in thee will we honor, thou, our soul’s glory, joy, and crown.”

 

We are thankful that you are our true King. We are thankful that you are ruler over all nature. We are thankful that you lived, died, and rose again. We are thankful that you have promised to come again and make all things new. And as we remember from last Sunday’s worship service, we are thankful that you are now seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty.

 

As we observe this week of Thanksgiving, we are thankful that you are a King who is loving, gracious, and merciful. We are thankful that you are our Good Shepherd who provides for all our needs. We are thankful that you hear our prayers as we lift up to you those on our church’s prayer list, those needs that we have shared this morning, as well as many other joys and concerns that are in our hearts this day.

 

In this world in which we can become so passionate about elections and supporting a political party, may we never ever forget that first and foremost, we are citizens of your kingdom. We pray that your kingdom be done on earth as it is in heaven, a kingdom in which the first become last, swords are turned into plowshares, love wins over hate, and where all are welcome and where there is more than enough room around the table of your heavenly banquet.

 

O, Fairest Lord, Jesus, we now join together in praying this prayer that you taught us to say together…

 

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Sermon (Nov. 17) by Rev. Robert McDowell “Seated at the Right Hand of God”

November 17, 2024

Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC

     Our Hebrew’s scripture reading this morning offers us great comfort whenever we are feeling spiritually tired, empty, and down. It reminds us that the best thing for us to do when we are feeling drained is to simply kneel and offer ourselves to God.

     Kneeling and spending time in quiet rest, isn’t an easy thing to do in our fast-paced society. It seems like we always need to be doing something.

     In the world of the Bible, people did a lot more standing and walking then they did sitting or reclining.  Most jobs in that time period included standing or walking for long periods of time.  There weren’t a lot of office jobs back then.

     One of those standing jobs was a very important one for the people of Israel.  It was in being a priest, an intercessor between the people and God. 

     Priests spent a lot of time on their feet because they would sacrifice animals to God so that the sins of the people would be forgiven, until they would sin again.  And then another sacrifice would need to be made.   

     This point about priests standing while doing their work, might seem like a trivial piece of information from the Bible, but it’s not trivial to the author of the Book of Hebrews. 

     Our scripture passage this morning begins by saying, “And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again, the same sacrifices that can never take away sins.”

    I wonder how many times these priests, after standing all day sacrificing animal after animal, would wonder, “Is all this effort really worth it if people simply go on sinning anyway?  There has to be a more satisfying job out there.  There just has to be!”

     In a standing room only type of culture with busy people going here and there, maybe we should think about sitting more often and inviting the Holy Spirit to work within us. 

     Which brings us to the very next verse from our Hebrews scripture reading.  The first verse in this passage talks about priests standing all day trying to sacrifice enough animals to keep up with the sins of the people.  But this is a never-ending process. 

     No wonder priests had tired feet! Talk about job security. They had it!

     But just look at the next verse in this passage of scripture.  “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, ‘he sat down at the right hand of God.’”

     What a contrast.  Our scripture begins with priests who are on their feet all day long, week after week, and year after year, and then it talks about Jesus Christ, who after offering a sacrifice for the people, ends up being seated at the right hand of God.

     He is able to be seated, because, he has offered a better sacrifice, a perfect sacrifice.  Jesus can be seated because he was able to accomplish what no one was able to accomplish on their own power or strength – the offering of one’s life in perfect submission to God.

     That perfect sacrifice that Jesus made didn’t involve animals.  Jesus became the sacrifice itself.  Jesus offered his very life and died on a cross in order that we might have forgiveness from our sins. 

     That’s the good news of our faith.  There’s no need for Jesus to be on his feet again.  Jesus has done everything necessary in order for you and me to be the people He has called us to be.

     If you’re longing to be forgiven and you feel like God doesn’t love you or that you have to do something to earn God’s favor – hear the good news from the Book of Hebrews today – Jesus says, “I will remember your sins no more.”

     When the Apostles’ Creed includes this short phrase in the middle of the creed, “and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,” it is announcing the good news that Jesus Christ has completed his work of salvation through his suffering, death, and resurrection.

     Jesus is seated.  He has completed what he came to do.

     For those of us who like to be busy and always on the go, it might be especially difficult to pin our ultimate hope on someone who is seated in a place called heaven.

     The busier our lives become in our fast-paced world, the more difficult it is for us to fathom that the Christian faith is about a Savior who has done everything for us that we will ever need.

    Whenever someone comes to me for spiritual support, I will often ask them this basic question, “how are you taking care of yourself?” The reason I ask them this question, is because one of the ways that we can have a stronger faith is simply by taking better care of ourselves, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

     We can do this by slowing down, spending regular time in quiet reflection, getting enough sleep, eating right, and just taking care of ourselves. They expect me to say to read the Bible, go to church, and pray which I do highly recommend, but we first need to see if we’re taking care of ourselves.

     God created all of who we are which includes our mind, body, and soul, and they are all inter-related. How we take care of ourselves in one of those areas, will have an impact on the other areas of our lives.

     Sometimes, the most important thing that we can do to draw closer to God is to simply slow down and practice self-care. Sometimes, the most important thing that we can do is to let go and let God as that old saying goes. 

     When I was a freshman in college, I was really struggling with what I was supposed to do with my life. I wasn’t happy with my major and so I decided to put all of my focus on playing baseball in college. When baseball was no longer fulfilling my happiness, I started to feel really, really empty.

     I didn’t know what to do with my life. I was at a really low point.

     Until one day, when I happened to come across an old cassette tape from a county-wide youth rally that I had attended when I was in my early teens. After I dusted off that old cassette tape and played it I listened to the speaker who offered a very powerful message at that youth rally.

     He was challenging the youth who had gathered for that rally to make a commitment to put Jesus Christ first in our lives.  He said that if we would put Jesus first in everything we did, that we would experience a sense of peace and purpose in our lives.

     Now, remember, I was there at that youth rally and heard that message in person when I was in my early teens, but when I listened to it on tape several years later as a struggling freshman in college, it was like I was hearing if for the very first time.

     I listened to that tape over and over again, just taking in the message to put Jesus first in everything I do. And then, one afternoon, I’ll never forget it.

     I got on my knees, and I made a recommitment of my life to Christ. I did a dangerous thing, but I had nothing to lose. I promised Jesus that I would do whatever he wanted me to do. I told him that I had tried to do things my way but now I wanted to trust in him.

     When I stood up from that prayer, it was like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I felt a peace that I had been missing. Sometimes, instead of being on our feet all the time, God wants us to kneel.

     That moment of surrender would later lead me to respond to a calling into the pastoral ministry. It was only when I finally stopped running and started to yield my life to what God wanted me to do, that I was able to have peace and direction in my life.

     I learned to trust in the one who lived, died, rose again, and is now seated at the right hand of God. The one who is seated on the heavenly throne wanted me to stop running and start trusting.

     In one of the churches I served, I was walking through the sanctuary one day when someone yelled out to me in a not so polite way, “Hey, where’s the chair that used to be up there in the front of our sanctuary?” 

     At first, I didn’t know what she was talking about, (what chair?) but then I looked to where she was pointing.  She was pointing to a side of our chancel area in the front of our sanctuary.

     “The chair that used to be up there by the pulpit.  Where is it?” she demanded to know.

     “It’s back there behind the new sound board desk,” I said, rather nervously.

     “Well why is it there and not back up here where it’s been for as long as I can remember?”

     The tone of her voice indicated to me that I was in deep doo-doo.

     “Well, the worship team needed a chair for the sound technician which would match the woodwork of the new sound board desk and since we never use this chair up front during worship, this seemed like the way to go.”

     That was not the answer she wanted to hear.  Shaking her head in disgust, she yelled back, “The person back here can just as easily sit on a folding chair.  This other chair belongs back up front so people can see it!”

     She walked out of the sanctuary.  Meeting adjourned. End of conversation.

     Such are the risks and perils of furniture donated to the church.

     As I look back on that little episode which happened several years ago, I can still picture that very chair which used to sit on the right side of our chancel area.  Sunday after Sunday, that chair would sit empty. 

     The author of Hebrews has good news for us. The chair to the right of God is not empty.  In that chair is seated the one who died on the cross for your sins and my sins.  In that chair is seated the one who we proclaim as Savior and Lord.

     This chair that you see in the front of our sanctuary is a powerful reminder that even though it may look empty, it really isn’t. The risen Christ is seated there, and he promises to come again.

     And when he comes again, this world will be made new again. It will be a world where there is no more death, no more sorrow, no more pain, no more suffering, no more injustice.

     So, I’m glad you came to church today, especially if your soul is in need of some peace. Our Hebrew’s scripture reading has reminded us that the chair is not empty. The risen Christ sits there and promises to come again and make all things new.

     Let’s remind ourselves of this good news of our faith by reciting the Apostles’ Creed found in the back of your hymnal, No. 881. And yes, let’s stay seated as we do this.

 

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;*
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic** church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.