We Gather Together

Charlotte Collins Reed

Christ Church Episcopal

November 20, 2016

Christ the King

          One of the first things that impressed me when I arrived at Christ Church back in May was the extent to which our building is used by both our own ministries and community groups.  Take this past week, for example.  On Monday, our parish nurse, Mary Pat, had her yoga class in the Parish Hall in the morning.  Later that day, the Youth Chorus rehearsed in the church, Education for Ministry met upstairs, and the Quilters met in the Parish Hall.  On Tuesday, the morning started with Bible and Biscuits at 7am, followed by SAGE and about 150 adult learners at 8:30 for the whole day.  The scouts met in the Parish Hall at 7pm; the vestry met in the library at 7:15, and AA was in the Upper Room at 8pm.  On Wednesday, a quilting group used the Parish Hall all afternoon, and the Weeblos were here in the evening.  Thursday, Centering Prayer was in the chapel at 10. Lunch and Learn was at noon in the Parish Hall, and the choir rehearsed that night.  On Friday, Al Anon met in the Upper Room at noon, and AA was here in the evening.  On Saturday, yesterday, Job Search met here at 8:30, we did yard work from 9am to noon with the boy scouts, and Newborns in Need worked here all day.  And that is just one random week at Christ Church!

Today is Christ the King Sunday.  Next Sunday will be the first Sunday of Advent, and we turn our attention to the coming of the Messiah.  Christ the King Sunday is our patronal feast day at Christ Church, in the way that the Feast of St. Francis is the patronal feast day for a church of that name.  And so, on the cusp of Advent, we pause for a moment to think about the significance of carrying the name Christ Church.

          Our readings on this Christ the King Sunday carry a common theme.  In the reading from Jeremiah, we hear God’s condemnation of shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of God’s pasture.  The passage continues “Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply.  I will raise up shepherd over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.”  God has little patience with those who will scatter God’s flock, and God will gather the remnant and give them new life.  How will God do that?  God will “raise up for David a righteous branch, and he shall reign as King and deal wisely, and shall execute righteousness in the land.” 

          As Christians, we believe that the righteous branch is Jesus.  Yet today, on Christ the King Sunday, we find Jesus hanging on the cross.  We are told that there is an inscription over him that read “This is the King of the Jews.”  Is this what God had in mind?  And yet, the work of the King described in Jeremiah was to gather the scattered flock.  And on the cross, what does Jesus do?  Jesus forgives those who crucified him.  Forgiveness is the ultimate act of gathering as forgiveness brings back together those who have been separated by sin.  And when one of the criminals crucified with Jesus derides Jesus saying “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us,” the other criminal rebukes him, then says “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  To which Jesus replied “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  Even on the cross, Jesus is about the work of gathering scattered people, doing the work of bringing God’s flock together.

          The reading from Colossians reflects on the kingship of Christ many decades after the crucifixion.  The writer reminds us that Jesus is the first born of all creation, and in Jesus all things in heaven and earth were created.  Then the writer says “He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”  And then, just in case we did not get the point, we hear “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of the cross.”  In Jesus, God has done the work of gathering all people together, and in Jesus, all things are held together.

          The work of Christ the King is to gather. The work of a church called by the name Christ Church is also to gather.  People gather in this place day after day, week after week, for all kinds of reasons.  We gather to be nourished by God’s work and sacrament, and by the fellowship we experience together.  People gather here to do work that helps other people.  People gather here to learn, to improve their own lives, and to learn new skills.  But the question is less who gathers here than who is scattered and needs to know there is a place that will welcome them.  Who is feeling cut off, left out, marginalized, and needs to not only hear the words “God loves you. No exceptions.” but also experience those words?

          Christ the King Sunday challenges us to live as a church that not only says the words, but carries on the gospel work of gathering. Christ the King Sunday challenges us to be not only a welcoming and inclusive place for people when they gather, but to actually do the work of gathering, bringing together all sorts and conditions of people to make a gospel difference in the world. Jesus challenges us to gather those who have been scattered, whether those who have given up on faith because they have experienced church as judgmental or exclusive, or those who have been scattered because the world has given up on them. When we are shepherds who work to gather scattered people together, the Paradise Jesus promised the thief who was gathered with him on the cross comes just a little bit closer.  

                                                                           Amen.