Come, You Blessed

Planning Worship

Focus text: Matthew 25:31-46 

Last week, we read the parable of the talents and wondered if perhaps Jesus was telling a story not about the kingdom of heaven, but about the kingdom of this world and its penchant for privileging wealth and productivity. This week, Jesus looks into the future, when the judgment of all nations will take place, and talks about…rewarding people for their good works. Really Jesus? You sure this is the direction you want to go? At least, that’s how some Christians have read this passage for centuries, including today. But that’s not the only interpretation of this teaching! In his Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, John Wesley says of Matthew 25:35, “All these works of outward mercy suppose faith and love, and must needs be accompanied with works of spiritual mercy.” In other words, these works are not the admission price to God’s kingdom; they are the fruit of our salvation, the result of the work of God’s grace and love upon our hearts.

This Sunday is also when we observe Reign of Christ Sunday, the end of the liturgical year, and the celebration of the kingdom Christ establishes that is simultaneously here and not yet. Next week, we begin Advent, a season of living into the “not yet,” the waiting for the fulfillment of God’s dream for all creation. So, I wonder if today is a moment to celebrate how God’s kingdom or kin-dom (a neologism emphasizing Christ’s reign as bringing us into family relationship with God, neighbor, and all creation) is already here among us. How do we experience the fruit of Christ’s reign right now? How are we experiencing the transforming power of God’s love among us? How do we look to Christ to guide us through the good and the bad of the whims, wiles, and woes of our earthly leaders?

Perhaps we find the answers to these questions and more in Matthew 25. And perhaps we find more questions! This is a day that includes praise and celebration, yes, but also opportunities to wrestle with our calls to be disciples who feed the poor, tend the sick, and visit the prisoner in a world intent on pushing aside, hiding, and neglecting human suffering and the structures that cause it. So, sing the hymns in praise of God’s reign among us. Let your hearts soar with the choir as they sing “My Eternal King” (Marshall) or one of the many glorious arrangements of “Crown Him with Many Crowns.” And pray for wisdom and courage to recognize and follow the way of Christ when living as a disciple means living in conflict with the kingdom of this world. Name the griefs and challenges of living in a world where Christian nationalism falsely teaches people that particular political affiliations and God’s kingdom are the same thing. Encourage one another to persevere in following Christ when other leaders seek to lead us astray or pretend to represent Christ on earth. More than anything, embrace the complexity of this day, because, by grace, we have been blessed to choose to live under Christ’s reign, to wrestle with the difficult questions, and to persist in loving our neighbors as the fruit of our salvation in Christ.