Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming amid the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. All the peoples of the earth will lament him. Yes. Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, ” says the Lord God, “the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.” Revelation 1:5-8
Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King in his 1925 encyclical Quas primas. The encyclical was written in response to growing secularism and secular ultra-nationalism. The encyclical, wedged between two World Wars, attempted to focus people’s minds and hearts on Christ whose power unites and directs us to peace rather than domination.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We pray to be agents of peace and justice in our world, sustained by our devotion to Christ who modeled his kingship by loving service, especially to the poor and marginalized.
Beloved, you are faithful in all you do for the brothers and sisters, especially for strangers; they have testified to your love before the Church. Please help them in a way worthy of God to continue their journey. For they have set out for the sake of the Name and are accepting nothing from the pagans. Therefore, we ought to support such persons, so that we may be co-workers in the truth. 3 John 5:8
Most of us have felt like strangers at some point in our lives. It’s not a nice feeling. You might have attended an event without a date or companion. You might have been the only woman in a group of men, or vice versa. You might have been the only Black person at a White funeral or the other way around. Didn’t we hope to find someone to connect to, someone who would offer us an open door?
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: As we think about Paul’s teaching, and our own experiences, let’s prayerfully consider our attitudes and actions regarding immigrants and refugees. Persons displaced by climate, politics, poverty, lawlessness, and a host of other causes deserve our help, as Paul describes. Let’s ask ourselves how we’re doing with that.
Poem: The Kindness of Strangers – Sally Van Dorn
Here I am with all my flaws seeking form and shelter.
I blanche at the notion of violence, but it’s coming
after us, closing in like a superstition I can’t shake.
If I acquiesce to your harsh future you must promise me
one thing. Where we go we will find our youth again. Can you
see it there under the yellow linen tablecloth? I’m depending on it.
Music: Wayfaring Stranger – published in 1858, author unknown
I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger Traveling through this world below There is no sickness, no toil, no danger In that bright land to which I go I'm going there to see my father And all my loved ones who've gone on I'm just going over Jordan I'm just going over home I know dark clouds will gather 'round me I know my way is hard and steep But beauteous fields arise before me Where God's redeemed, their vigils keep I'm going there to see my mother She said she'd meet me when I come So I'm just going over Jordan I'm just going over home I'm just going over Jordan I'm just going over home
Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’ The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ Luke 16:1-4
When I was a kid, this parable was referred to as the Parable of the Wiley Steward. We’ve gotten sophisticated now and call it the “Unjust Steward” or the “Penitent Steward”. But I still like “wiley”, maybe because I love the cartoon character “Wile E. Coyote” (pictured above.) Like the Gospel steward, Wile E. continually tried to advance himself by devious plots against the Roadrunner or Bugs Bunny. These deceptions always backfired and Wile E ended up in worst shape than before.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We pray not to try to fool God or ourselves by false excuses or self-serving plots. We ask for the courage to be good stewards of God’s gifts, using them generously and truthfully for God’s purposes.
Prose: St. Augustine on The Wiley Steward – (Sermon 359 A.10)
Why did the Lord Jesus Christ present us with this parable? He didn’t approve, surely, of that cheat of a servant; he cheated his master, he stole from him, and didn’t make it up from his own pocket. On top of that he also did some extra pilfering; he caused his master further loss, in order to prepare a little nest of quiet and security for himself after he lost his job. Why did the Lord set this before us? Not because that servant cheated, but because he exercised foresight for the future, to make Christians blush, who make no such provision, when even a cheat is praised for his ingenuity. I mean, this is what he added: Behold, the children of this age are more prudent than the children of light. They perpetrate frauds in order to secure their future. In what life, after all, did that steward insure himself like that? What one was he going to quit when he bowed to his master’s decision? He was insuring himself for a life that was going to end; won’t you insure yourself for one that is eternal?
Music: Stewards of the Earth – Omar Westendorf
A little addition for those who never heard of Wile E. Coyote:
And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. Luke 12:42-44
In the language of his times, Jesus defines the attributes of a good steward: faithfulness, loyalty, dependability, justice, and mercy. We are the stewards of God’s Creation, given into our hands by our loving Creator.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We pray to recognize God’s trust invested in us. Through our relationships with all God’s creatures, may we tend faithfully to all that God has loved into being.
Thought: from poet Jane Kenyon
Be a good steward of your gifts. Protect your time. Feed your inner life. Avoid too much noise. Read good books, have good sentences in your ears. Be by yourself as often as you can. Walk. Take the phone off the hook. Work regular hours.
Music: Elk Creek in the Fall – Kathryn Kaye
As the weather begins to change, I think this is a nice song to use for meditation as it brings us into relationship with natural Creation.
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” Luke 12:13-15
We’ve all heard the all too true adage, “You can’t take it with you.” That’s the lesson in Jesus’s parable today. But the story conveys an even broader meaning. It is not only greed for possessions that waylays us, it is the distraction they cause from the true essence of life in God.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We ask for the courage and grace to focus our lives on God and God’s Creation. Within that focus, we will have a clearer understanding of what we truly need in life and what is simply a diversion.
Poetry: I Dream a World … – Langston Hughes
I dream a world where man No other man will scorn, Where love will bless the earth And peace its paths adorn I dream a world where all Will know sweet freedom's way, Where greed no longer saps the soul Nor avarice blights our day. A world I dream where black or white, Whatever race you be, Will share the bounties of the earth And every man is free, Where wretchedness will hang its head And joy, like a pearl, Attends the needs of all mankind- Of such I dream, my world!
Music: Mercedes Benz – Janis Joplin
Joplin’s rock song might move us to realize that, even in unrecognized greediness, we sometimes ask God for the wrong things.
The Lord said: “Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. Luke 11:42
Jesus got fed up with those who lived a loveless law. The Pharisees were meticulous in their outward observation of the Law of Moses, but they failed its core test to love their neighbor as themselves as written in Leviticus.
Thought:
The only love of God that has any substance is the love of God enacted as love of neighbor.
Walter Brueggemann
Music: Love God, Love Your Neighbor – Dale Sechrest
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:33-37
Mercy sees you, welcomes you, acts for you, abides with you. Wrapped in Mercy, we find the spiritual comfort which allows us healing rest from those who did not see, welcome, act for, or abide with us.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: May we open ourselves to receive such Mercy. May we strenghten ourselves to give it generously.
Poetry: Xenia – Ryan Wilson
“Xenia” is the ancient Greek concept of hospitality, the generosity shown to those who are far from home.
One day a silent man arrives At your door in an outdated suit, Threadbare and black, like a lost mourner Or a Bible salesman who’s been robbed. Penniless, he needs a place to stay. And you, magnanimous you, soon find This stranger reading in your chair, Eating your cereal, drinking your tea, Or standing in your clothes at the window Awash in afternoon’s alien light. You tire of his constant company. Your floorboards creak with his shuffling footfalls, Haunting dark rooms deep in the night. You lie awake in blackness, listening, Cursing the charity or pride That opened up the door for him And wonder how to explain yourself.
He smells like durian and smoke But it’s mostly his presence, irksome, fogging The mind up like breath on a mirror … You practice cruelty in a mirror, Then practice sympathetic faces. You ghoul. Your cunning can’t deceive you. You are afraid to call your friends For help, knowing what they would say. It’s just you two. You throw a fit when He sneaks water into the whisky bottle, Then make amends. You have no choice Except to learn humility, To love this stranger as yourself, Who won’t love you, or ever leave.
Music: The Good Samaritan – Dallas Holm
Beaten, weary, left along the way Dry from thirst ’til word I could not say Then you came walking by and looked into my eyes And saw my need and stopped to rescue me
Others came and others went on by Refused to help or just too tired to try Alone at last I sat, my head fell slowly back And words from deep within me reached the sky
‘I’m hungry, please feed me I’m naked, please clothe me I’m so alone, won’t someone come to me?’ The sound of my words died Oh, well, at least I tried And trying seemed the only thing to do
But no sooner had I stopped and you were there And then I knew that God had heard my prayer I should have realized, and not have been surprised His eye is on the sparrow, so why not me
Beaten, weary, left along the way Dry from thirst ’til word I could not say Then you came walking by, and looked into my eyes And saw my need and stopped to rescue me Then you came walking by, and looked into my eyes And saw my need and stopped to rescue me
The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor and to proclaim liberty to captives.
Luke 4:18
In today’s Gospel, Jesus zealously launches his universal ministry. He has been rejected in his hometown of Nazareth and revered in Capernaum. Now he readies himself to break in a redeeming tide over all the nations. His ministry promises waves of joy to those who are poor and liberty to those held captive.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: Christ’s ministry in our world has not changed. We are his agents called now to break over our suffering world in waves of mercy, justice, and joy.
Poetry: Tides – Mary Oliver
Every day the sea blue gray green lavender pulls away leaving the harbor’s dark-cobbled undercoat
slick and rutted and worm-riddled, the gulls walk there among old whalebones, the white spines of fish blink from the strandy stew as the hours tick over; and then
far out the faint, sheer line turns, rustling over the slack, the outer bars, over the green-furled flats, over the clam beds, slippery logs,
barnacle-studded stones, dragging the shining sheets forward, deepening, pushing, wreathing together wave and seaweed, their piled curvatures
spilling over themselves, lapping blue gray green lavender, never resting, not ever but fashioning shore, continent, everything.
And here you may find me on almost any morning walking along the shore so light-footed so casual.
Brothers and sisters: Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.
The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:17-18
Paul writes that the meaning of the Cross depends on who you are. If you believe, it manifests God’s Power. If you do not believe, it signifies foolishness.
The Gospel and the Cross turn the realities of the world upside down. For those who have falsely believed that power exists in egotism, legalism, division, aggression, vengeance, and greed, Paul says, “No!”. These are only signs that you are perishing.
The power of the Cross is manifested in mercy, justice, community, peace, forgiveness and generosity. This is the path to salvation.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We ask for the courage to trust the contradictory wisdom of the Gospel, and to live a life that reveals the “foolish” power of the Cross.
Poetry: Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross – Malcolm Guite
See, as they strip the robe from off his back And spread his arms and nail them to the cross, The dark nails pierce him and the sky turns black, And love is firmly fastened on to loss. But here, a pure change happens. On this tree, loss becomes gain, death opens into birth. Here wounding heals and fastening makes free,
Earth breathes in heaven, heaven roots in earth. And here we see the length, the breadth, the height, Where love and hatred meet and love stays true, Where sin meets grace and darkness turns to light, We see what love can bear and be and do. And here our Saviour calls us to his side, His love is free, his arms are open wide.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways! For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be, and favored. Psalm 128:1-2
In today’s Gospel, Jesus really slams the Pharisees! They had to walk away from his condemnation thinking twice about the pretense of their lives!
Paul advises his followers not to “walk in disorderly way” – a little bit gentler admonition, but still a call to get one’s act together.
Our instructive psalm tells us why we should pay attention to the reproofs of Jesus and Paul. It reminds us that to walk in the way of the Lord brings us eternal blessing and favor.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We ask to continually learn how to walk in God’s grace for there is always a new challenge on Life’s pathway.
Thought:
As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.
Rumi
Music: Walk in the Light – Aretha Franklin
Jesus is the light of the world Come on choir
Walk in the light (walk in the light) Beautiful light (well it’s a beautiful light) Come where the dewdrops of mercy shine bright (Oh Lord) Shine all around us by day and by night Oh oh oh oh, Jesus is the light of the world
I wonder, do you know that this evening Yeah yeah yeah
Walk in the light (we’re walk in the light) Beautiful light (well it’s a beautiful light) Come where the dewdrops of mercy shine bright Oh Lord, shine all around us by day and by night Oh Lord, Jesus is the light of the world
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh, yeah
Walk in the light (we’re going the distance, yeah) Beautiful light (we’re going the distance where the light) Come where the dewdrops of mercy shine bright (of mercy shine bright) Shine all around us by day and by night (Oh Lord) Jesus is the light of the world (the Lord is the light of the world)
He’s shining (Yes, he’s shining) He’s shining (oh yes he is, he’s shining) He’s shining in my soul (oh yes he is, oh yeah)
Lavish Mercy 