Reuben's Sermon for The Sunday of Christ The King:
Reuben's Theme: "Judgement & Reconciliation"
(Christ The King) - EVENSONG 1830hrs. at Saint George's - Cullercoats.
Sunday, 20th. November 2006 Anno Domini.

Morning Mass: Ezekiel: 34.11-16, 20-24 Ps: 95.1-7a Ephesians: 1.15-23 Matthew: 25.31-46
Evensong: Psalm: 93. 2Samuel: 23.1-7 Matthew: 28.16-20

November 20, 2005 Cycle A Christ The King (Proper 29).

COLLECT OF THE DAY

Eternal Father, whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven that he might rule over all things as Lord and King: keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit and in the bond of peace, and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

TODAY'S READINGS:

Morning Mass:

FIRST READING
Ezekiel 34.11­16, 20­24

A reading from the book of the prophet Ezekiel.
Thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.
As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land.
I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD.
I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.
Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide,
I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.
And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken.

PSALM
Psalm 95.1­7a

R The Lord is a great God, and a great king above all gods.

Come, let us sing to the Lord; let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and raise a loud shout to him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great king above all gods. R
In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the heights of the hills are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands have moulded the dry land. R
Come, let us bow down and bend the knee, and kneel before the Lord our Maker. For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. R

SECOND READING
Ephesians 1.15­23

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians.
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason
I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.
God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above 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.
And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

GOSPEL
Matthew 25.31­46

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
[Jesus said to his disciples:] 'When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
Then the king will say to those at his right hand, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me."
Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?
And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?
And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?"
And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."
Then he will say to those at his left hand, "You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me."
Then they also will answer, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?"
Then he will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me."
And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.'

POST COMMUNION PRAYER

Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by you be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Evensong Readings:

Psalm 93

1 The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength. Yea, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
2 thy throne is established from of old; thou art from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice, the floods lift up their roaring.
4 Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty!
5 Thy decrees are very sure; holiness befits thy house, O LORD, for evermore.

2Samuel. 23:1-7 (RSV)

Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel:
"The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me, his word is upon my tongue.
The God of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth upon a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.
Yea, does not my house stand so with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. For will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire?
But godless men are all like thorns that are thrown away; for they cannot be taken with the hand; but the man who touches them arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they are utterly consumed with fire."

Matthew 28:16-end (RSV)

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
And when they saw him they worshipped him; but some doubted.
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."

REUBEN'S SERMON AT EVENSONG

Reuben's Theme: "Judgement & Reconciliation"

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Our first reading, this morning, was from chapter thirty four of the book of the prophet Ezekiel.
God telling off the people and leaders of Israel "Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide..."
...and the prophecy of the coming of a new David...
...a good shepherd...
...gathering His flock from all the nations - our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
God and God's People.

The second reading, this morning, was a prayer from Paul.
Paul's prayer, for the spiritual development and understanding of the people of Ephesus (and all Christians)...
...learning of the power of God working within us...
"...the fullness of him who fills all in all..."
with Jesus at God's right hand as judge of all...
...our judge - for all time...
"...when he raised Him from the dead and seated Him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above 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."
God and God's people.

In our psalm, this morning, we praised and worshipped God our maker, "...let us sing to the Lord; let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.."
God who reigns over all creation - everything and everybody:
"In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the heights of the hills are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands have moulded the dry land."

God and God's people.

And in this morning's Gospel? The parable of sheep and the goats - we will all be judged on how we have treated others:
"Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."
"Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me."

God and God's people.

Tonight's psalm is a song about God - eternal and almighty.
God's laws (and holiness) are unchanging and everlasting:
"Thy decrees are very sure; holiness befits thy house, O LORD, for evermore."

God and God's people.

Tonight we heard David's last recorded words - reflecting over his rule as King of Israel:
"When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth upon a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth."
And reflecting on Kingly justice, "...godless men are all like thorns that are thrown away; for they cannot be taken with the hand; but the man who touches them arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they are utterly consumed with fire."

God and God's people.

And in our second reading tonight, are the final words of the Gospel according to Matthew.
Jesus' last command.
This most Jewish of all the Gospels closes with a word from the Lord that throws the kingdom open to people of every nation:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."

It's all about God and God's people
It's all about God and us, isn't it!
Jesus Christ - King of all creation... ...and us.
God's judgement... ...and us.
Not just Israel...
Not just Christians...
Judge of ALL nations!
Judging EVERYONE.
The bad... ...and the good.
The wicked... ...and the righteous
Sinners... ...and Saints.

We now know how we must live our lives.
We now know what we must to.

But it's so hard... ...and we all fall short of our goal - to follow the example Jesus set for us.

But now, is the perfect time to start afresh.
Preparation for the coming of our Lord and Saviour.
Getting ourselves, our souls, in readiness for Christmas.

As we learnt in the Gospel reading this morning...
...we must see the face of Jesus in the face of everyone.
"Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."
"Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me."

We must never judge anyone - only God can judge.

Advent approaches - Starting next Sunday!

A time of amendment and reconciliation.
A time of renewal and forgiveness.
A time to mend our ways, build a new life.
A time to repent of all our sins and forgive everyone else theirs.

That's the most important thing...
When we truly repent of all our sins, God will forgive us.

Now this is where it becomes hard to be a true Christian...
We must not judge anyone - only God can judge.
We must forgive everyone their sins and treat them as we would treat Jesus.

Remember, there is only one person that Jesus met, that we know for certain, went to heaven.
We can make educated guesses about many people Jesus met, but there is one that we know for certain went to heaven.
We know for certain... ...because Jesus said so.

A criminal and murderer, facing his fate - death by crucifixion - asked Jesus to forgive him...
...and was told by the Son of God Himself
"truly, this day, you will be with me in Paradise"

Wow! What beautiful words to hear from the lips of Jesus Himself.
To hear Jesus Christ - God incarnate - say to you, "truly, this day, you will be with me in Paradise"
Imagine how you would feel as you heard the words, directly from His lips - to you... "truly, this day, you will be with me in Paradise"

Well, the offer is there.
The promise of eternal salvation.
The promise that we will, one day, be with Him in paradise.

If... ...we confess our sins to God...
If... ...we ask forgiveness for all our sins...

But... ...we must also forgive everyone their sins...
...and treat every human being as if they were Jesus Christ Himself.

Let me leave you with a true story... ...all about forgiveness...
Over thirty five years ago a priest was leading the assembly at a local primary school just before Holy Week.
He asked the children what happened on Maundy Thursday.
Many hands went up...
"Please sir, Jesus had supper for the last time with his friends."
"Please sir, Jesus prayed to His Father in the garden of Gethsemanie."
"Please sir, Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested by the Romans."
Then the priest asked the children what happened on Good Friday.
Even more hands went up...
"Please sir, Jesus was crucified."
"Please sir, Jesus died."
"Please sir, the disciples were very sad."
"Then, what happened on Easter Day?" asked the priest.
Loads of hands went up...
"Please sir, Jesus rose from the dead."
"Please sir, Jesus appeared to Mary."
The priest was delighted by the wonderful answers he was getting.
"I wonder what happened on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Day" he said, not really expecting any answer.
But as he prepared to explain about Saturday being the Sabbath...
...and that Sunday was in fact the first day of the week...
...out of the corner of his eye...
...he noticed one small boy, waving his hand, frantically, in the air.
"Yes," he asked the boy, "what is it lad?"
"Please sir, I know what happened on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Day!"
"Tell me," asked the priest, "I'd like to know."
"Please sir, Jesus went to hell... ...to look for his friend... ...Judas."

Let us pray:

Intercessor, friend of sinners, earth's redeemer... ...plead for us!

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.