Christ Is King

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Sunday Scripture Readings: John 18:33-39 (NRSV)

3 So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Read more…

Looking to Sunday: Preparing to Hear From God

by Elaine Poproski

According to the Christian calendar… (Yes, Christians have a calendar that’s different from the regular one. It’s shaped around the story of Jesus. Advent, the 4 weeks leading up to Jesus’ birth, is the beginning of the year because it’s the beginning of the story.) …this coming Sunday is Christ the King Sunday. It marks the end of the Christian year. It’s the Sunday we are reminded of the guaranteed end of all history – the reign of Jesus over “all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come” (Ephesians 1:21).

When you come to church this week you’ll be invited to engage in worship like that described in Revelation, in which all the saints and all the fantastical heavenly creatures are gathered around Jesus’ throne singing, “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come” (see Revelations 4). You’ll hear Old & New Testament words that celebrate and promise Jesus’ kingship. We’ll step into the conversation between Jesus and Pilate during Jesus’ trial, before He was crucified, and we’ll be challenged to consider what it means for our lives when we call Jesus Lord and King.

As you prepare for Sunday, I invite you to spend some time thinking about what the word king means to you – not specifically Jesus as king, but kingship in general. When I think about a king, the images and ideas in my head are formed primarily by fairy tales and by stories of England’s historic monarchy, mostly as portrayed in movies. What informs your understanding and assumptions of the word, king? How does that understanding and those assumptions colour your understanding of Jesus? As you prepare for Sunday, perhaps spend some time reading through one of the Gospels (Mark is the shortest, if time is an issue for you) to remind yourself who Jesus was and is. How does the Gospel presentation of Jesus compare to your understanding and assumptions of a king?