11-26-95	Jesus, Remember Me	Jer. 23:1-6

Col. 1:11-20

Luke 23:33-43

Today is the last Sunday in the season of Pentecost, the Sunday known as the Sunday of Christ the King. It is upon this day that we celebrate the kingship of Jesus Christ. But, then for most of us, the whole idea of a "king" may be difficult to grasp. For we live in a democracy. We elect our leaders from amongst our peers. And even once we have elected a president of the United States, for instance, we don't treat him like a king, by bowing before him as we walks by. Rather, we continue to treat him like a peer, perhaps even shaking his hand, if we get close enough.

The fact is that in this country we probably would never even begin to tolerate having a monarchy to rule over us. We're so used to being independent and doing our own thing, of being free to criticize our leaders and even put them out of office if they do something we don't like. If we accepted a king or queen to rule over us, we would have to swear allegiance to him or her, even if we didn't like his or her laws or even if he or she did things we didn't like. And then, when the king or queen died we would have to accept his or her eldest son or daughter to be our next king or queen, whether or not that person was really fit to rule over us. Indeed, if you have been paying any attention at all to the details of Princess Diana's interviews that have been taking place within the past few days, you get an idea of what I'm talking about. And England is a country with a limited monarchy. It would be even harder for us to imagine living in a country with an absolute monarchy. Nevertheless, we who are Christians are told that Jesus Christ is our King. And he is our absolute King, at that.

But, perhaps what we really need to remember is that Jesus Christ is our King because he deserves to be our King. In our lesson from the book of Jeremiah the prophet Jeremiah roundly criticizes the kings of Israel and Judah who have ruled very poorly over the years. Jeremiah says: "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture! Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done."

In other words, Jeremiah was telling the leaders of Judah and Israel that they no longer deserved to lead. And God promised Judah that he would raise up a new king who would deserve their patronage. This new king would deserve to be their king because he would tend his people like a shepherd, and no one would be afraid, and no one would be left out. He would be a king "who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land." Unlike any other king who had come before, this one would deserve to be the leader of God's people.

I dare say that most Americans, Democrats and Republicans, are a bit frustrated with their leaders in Washington as of late. We can't even come up with a plan to come up with a balanced budget without laying off government employees who have families to feed. And there is a real possibility that as we come up with a balanced budget there may be some folks who will feel left out – the poor, the elderly, college students trying to pay for their educations, even those who care about the environment, perhaps. So do we not also, like Jeremiah, long for a day when we will have shepherds who will really care for the flock, without any of the flock being left out?

But that is the kind of King Christ is. He cares for us all. And no one is left out. For he came to save the poor and the rich, the weak and the strong, the young and the old, the foolish as well as the wise.

The apostle Paul, writing our Epistle lesson for today, makes it very clear what kind of King our Lord is. He said, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

Imagine: Christ is the one by whose very existence the universe is held together. If Christ were to go away, then all of this – our world, the stars, the planets, and even the space in between – would fall apart in the blink of an eye. Everything would cease to exist. For Christ is God's very nature to reveal and the universe is the very means by which God reveals.	How important that is for us to remember as we enter the shopping season otherwise known as Advent. I was in Meijers the other day. And there was a line up of kids waiting to see Santa Claus. And I was watching the kids as I walked by. And one of them, a little boy, suddenly got mad at his older brother and started hitting him. And when the boy's mother told him to stop, the little boy started kicking her and screaming as loud as he could. And, mind you, he was only about two kids in line away from Santa Claus. Evidently, no one had ever told that kid, "You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout. I'm telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town. He knows when you are sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good. So be good, for goodness' sake!"

Just as we have taught little kids to be good or they won't get anything for Christmas, we adults need to remember where our blessings come from. If we drive a pretty car with a big engine in it, we should remember that it ultimately comes from Christ. For Christ is the glue that holds the universe together. Or, if we have a Christmas list for Santa that has some pretty significant things on it, we should remember that everything on that list is subservient to Christ, for all things are reconciled to God in Christ. For Christ came to save not only our souls, but Paul says that he came to bring peace to the cosmos, itself.

Think about that for a moment. The apostle Paul says that Christ came to bring peace to all things. So often we human beings get it into our heads that we are the sole focus of God's concern in the world. We are so anthropocentric in our attitudes that it has to make God laugh and/or cry at times. But, if we are to take the apostle Paul seriously about Christ coming to reconcile himself to all things, then we do need to be concerned about spotty owls and snail darters, and not just about ourselves. If Christ came to bring peace to the cosmos and not just to you and me, then we do need to be concerned about our environment and for the earth.

Now, some of us may have been a bit curious why on the last Sunday of Pentecost we would have had a reading from Luke that we usually hear on Good Friday. But, it really makes sense that we read this passage today. For it was in dying for us upon a cross that Jesus proved his worthiness to be our King of kings and Lord of lords. And as he spoke to the criminal dying next to him, he brought home Jeremiah's point that God's King would be concerned and caring for all; that no one would be left out. That is why God sent Christ into the world to forgive. The apostle Paul says that Christ "rescued us from the dominion of darkness to share in a kingdom of light." In Luke Christ tells a low-life that because of faith he will be with Christ in Paradise. For Jeremiah, God's leader will bring home all God's people and they will live in harmony, "no longer afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing."

As the seasons of Advent and Christmas approach we're going to hear a lot of those Christmas songs in the department store and on the radio as we drive down the highway. And one of them will be the song "I'll Be Home for Christmas." Indeed, Christmas is one of those times when people will think about going home. For grandparents that may mean having a house full of kids and grandchildren. It will be a time when people get together again.

One of my wife's favorite movies of the season is Chevy Chase's movie: Christmas Vacation. It is a movie about how a typical American father by the name of Griswold tries his best to give his family a traditional "Griswold Family Christmas." And his parents and his wife's parents show up at the home to stay with them through the holidays. And then his wife's great aunt and uncle show up. And then Griswold's idiot brother-in-law comes with his family. And the movie is really funny, not just because of the gags, but because we can all identify with Griswold – because we've all been there at one time or another. And in the midst of people coming together, we know how important it is to forgive.

Christ, our King, is also the One who forgives. He forgave a criminal on a cross so that the criminal would not miss out on Paradise. And he forgave those standing around the cross so that they would not miss out on God's salvation. And, likewise, one of our goals should be to see to it that no one is left out of God's family; to ask, "Who is God trying to bring to our table so that reconciliation and healing may take place?" God asks us to be reconciled with one another so that no one will be missing.

Let me leave you with some thoughts conveyed in this poem:

My Christmas list is much too long;

So I will make it shorter.

'Tis full of names of no account –

I'll cut it by a quarter!

Take off that needy family!

Why should I help the lazy?

And I'll remove my cousin Ron –

Most people say he's crazy.

And then there's John, the paper boy –

Why should he get a present?

Take off my boss and his wife, too,

For they're not very pleasant.

Remove my next door neighbors. Please!

They know how to annoy.

Delete the folks across the street

For they are not a joy.

Let's share our Christmas with our friends

With lists of those who please us!

But, whoops!, perhaps I'm missing one:

I think I took off "Jesus."

Amen.