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Worship Resources, Prayers and Bible Study

Last Sunday before Advent / Christ the King / Stir up Sunday

Liturgical Colour - Red


Opening Verse

Jesus as Pantocrator - Ruler of All

 
 
 
 

Christ Pantocrator (Ruler of All)

Jesus is typically depicted as teacher and philosopher. Like other teachers, he holds a book. His gaze is intent, inquiring, both open and inward. His heavenly blue outer garment and earthy red inner garment symbolize his dual nature. His unique halo is marked by a cross and lettering, roughly translatable as "I am who I am."

Collect Prayer
First Reading:
Second Reading:
Gospel Reading
Post Communion Sentence
Commentary:
Meditation:
Hymns
Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead:
Intercessions from our Sunday worship

Sermon


Christ the KingIntroduction

This Sunday is a special one, and the last Sunday of the Church year. Next week we begin the church year with the four Sundays of Advent. Our collect today reminds us that it is ‘Stir Up Sunday’ a Sunday synonymous with Christmas puddings. The great cry 'stir up' was a reminder to congregations to get the Christmas pudding made in plenty of time to mature before Christmas. An important addition to the mixture is a coin, whoever gets it on their plate on Christmas Day should get worldly riches heaped upon them.
However, the prayer is actually asking God for something much more important. We are praying that God will stir up our wills, so that we might get on with doing the good works that he has planned for us to do. Then, as a consequence, we pray that we might receive our abundant reward.

In an age when so much is about how we feel, it is interesting to get another perspective. In the end, it is our will, rather than our feelings, that is the most important governor of our actions.
Real love is not about feeling it is about choosing, by our wills, to do good to others even though we may not feel good towards them. Our feelings should not dominate our wills. And so we pray that God will "stir up" our wills, so that they will be in charge of us, doing what we know is right. In this prayer we recognise that we need God’s help in order for our wills to function properly.

 Today we remember that Jesus is King, Lord of all. The reading from Matthew today tells of the end of time when all will be judged by Jesus. Jesus uses the image of a shepherd who sorts out the sheep from the goats, so there will be a separation of people who have done good things and people who have failed to do good.

Jesus is coming to the end of his teaching in this Gospel, before he goes towards Jerusalem and he will be crucified. As he concludes this teaching session it is as though Jesus is shown by Matthew to say 'Look what I have said is serious, this is important, listen to what I say because there are consequences.'

The good news is that the challenge which Jesus gives can be fulfilled by anybody. We do not need lots of money to give away, we do not need to find a cure for Cancer. Jesus simply tells his followers to be kind to one another. Look after the poor, visit the sick give food to the hungry. We can all do this, and so we become a part of God's family.

 

Opening Verses of Scripture 

Proverbs 19:17

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and will be repaid in full


Collect Prayer for the Day — Before we read we pray

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. CW

God the Father, help us to hear the call of Christ the King and to follow in his service, whose kingdom has no end; for he reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, one glory. All Amen. CW

Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people, that they bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by you be richly rewarded: through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen  (Common Worship may be used)


First Bible Reading  Ezekiel 34: 11-16, 20-24

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. NRSV

Second Reading Ephesians 1: 15-23

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. NRSV

Sheep and the goats Gospel Reading  Matthew 25:31-46

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.’ NRSV

Post Communion Sentence

Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people, that they bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by you be richly rewarded: through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen   CW
 

Commentary

 

Every year there is a count across the country of homeless people. This year it is a little bit unusual because the homeless people have all been found homes and the Mercure Hotel in Bedford for example became home to many homeless people throughout the entire Covid pandemic and continues to be so. There are currently no people in Bedford who have not been offered a room. Sadly this is unusual and in normal times there are many homeless people. In 2013 the Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz produced “Homeless Jesus,” a bronze sculpture which shows Jesus as a homeless person, sleeping on a park bench. One of the signs that this is Jesus is revealed in the wounds which are visible on his feet. It has been interesting this week to juxtapose two images one of Jesus with a crown and one with a blanket!
The first Schmalz sculpture appeared in Toronto and more have been produced across the world, the one we have this week is found in Barcelona.  Schmalz, a devout Catholic, describes the sculpture as a “visual translation” of our Gospel reading for this week, in which Jesus identifies himself with the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner, and then tells his followers:
“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.”
I am not quite sure why but some people have found these sculptures offensive. On the other hand Pope Francis has blessed it and others sit and pray beside it. 
Today is the last week of the church year, the week before Advent and it is a celebration of Christ the King. What kind of a king is Jesus and would you expect to find him on the park bench as a homeless person as Schmalz has suggested? Moreover as his followers what kind of reign are we subject to as followers of Christ the King?
When we think of kings we think of the privileged and well to do, we imagine people who are powerful and able to command their wishes. It might be surprising therefore that the passage chosen for this week in the lectionary for the worldwide church is one in which Jesus associates himself with the homeless, the sick, those in prison, the hungry and the naked.
Pope Pius XI instituted this special Sunday in 1925, in the hope that a world ravaged by World War I might find in Jesus’s humble kingship a needed alternative to empire, nationalism, consumerism, and secularism. We need to think now where Jesus would locate himself in a global society. Christians all around the world sing hymns of worship expressing their desire to be close to Jesus, courses and retreats draw people together to seek Jesus through all manner of spiritual practices. Jesus it appears is however much more accessible than people think and can be found on a park bench, or even in a hospital or prison visit. If we want to see or know Jesus better then we need think about where we look for him and that might be somewhere we never thought of previously.
The question might reasonably be asked that if this true, why bother to go to church or sing hymns or any of the usual stuff at all? The answer is of course that church is not an end in itself, what we call worship should more accurately be thought of as empowerment for worship. The Apostle Paul describes spiritual worship as
Presenting your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God’
The words of Jesus are very stark and locate the worship of him taking place on the street
“Whatever you did to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”  

All of this is very challenging for much of the traditional ‘End is Nigh’ sandwich board religion. It might come as a disappointment for some to hear that Jesus will not judge people according to who adopted a set of core common beliefs. To be sure there will come a time of judgement when all nations gather and Christ separates his people as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. However the criteria is not a public confession of faith, rather the criteria of importance will be as to whether or not a person has shown compassion. If you want to see Jesus then you have to pull aside that blanket on the homeless Jesus. If we want to serve Jesus then we have go to ‘the least of these.’   Charles Royden

 

 

Meditation

To Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love
All pray in their distress
And return these virtues of delight
Return their thankfulness.


For Mercy has a human heart,
Pity a human face,
And Love--the human form divine,
And Peace, the human dress.
And all must love the human form,
In Heathen, Turk or Jew;
Where Mercy, Love and Pity dwell
There is God dwelling too.

William Blake

Hymns

  1. Thou didst leave (Tune Margaret)

  2. Majesty

  3. I come with joy to meet my Lord (Kilmarnock)

  4. The church of Christ in very age (Heronsgate)

 

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

Prayer is a plant, the seed of which is sown in the heart of every Christian,
if it is well cultivated and nourished it will produce fruit, but if it is neglected, it will wither and die.

 

Let us with confidence present our prayers and supplications to the throne of grace. We pray for all those in positions of power, that they may govern with wisdom and integrity, serving the needs of their people.
May your reign come; Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for the Church, the sign of your reign, that it may extend your welcome to people of every race and background.
May your kingdom come; Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for Christians of every denomination, that together we may come to understand the royal priesthood you bestowed on us in baptism.
May your dominion come; Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for those whose commitment to truth brings them into conflict with earthly powers, that they may have the courage to endure.
May your rule come; Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for this community of faith, that attentive to your word we may always worship in spirit and in truth.
May your reign come; Lord, hear our prayer.

Here other intercessions may be offered.

Loving God, you have taught us that the power of the heart is greater than the power of wealth and might. Hear us as we pray for the fulfilment of your reign. We ask this through Jesus Christ our King;
to him be glory and power for ever. Amen.

 

We pray for the Church throughout the world, that she may be a voice for those who lack even the basic necessities of life, tirelessly serving them and calling for change. We pray for the world’s leaders, that they may not hide behind their power or abuse it, but work for the good of all humanity, particularly the poor throughout the world. We pray for our local community, that we may show our love through our respect for each other and for our environment, gladly sharing what we have with those in need.

In an act of will, O God, I place myself in your presence. In an act of faith I open myself to your light. In an act of silence, O Lord, I rest in your glory. In an act of love, O Lord, I put myself in your hands. Dorothy Kerin, 1889-1963


Additional Material

Today is the last Sunday of the church year, next week the year begins with the first Sunday in Advent, four Sundays before Christmas. Our collect today reminds us that it is ‘Stir Up Sunday’ a Sunday synonymous with Christmas puddings. The great cry 'stir up' was a reminder to congregations to get the Christmas pudding made in plenty of time to mature before Christmas. An important addition to the mixture is a coin, whoever gets it on their plate on Christmas Day should get worldly riches heaped upon them.

However, the Stir Up prayer is actually asking God for something much more important. We are praying that God will stir up our wills, so that we might get on with doing the good works that he has planned for us to do. Then, as a consequence, we pray that we might receive our abundant reward.
In an age when so much is about how we feel, it is interesting to get another perspective. In the end, it is our will, rather than our feelings, that is the most important governor of our actions. Real love is not about feeling it is about choosing, by our wills, to do good to others even though we may not feel good towards them. Our feelings should not dominate our wills. And so we pray that God will "stir up" our wills, so that they will be in charge of us, doing what we know is right. In this prayer we recognise that we need God’s help in order for our wills to function properly.


"Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people;
that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded."

Commentary

In the passage this morning we hear the last teaching which Matthew records from Jesus, so we should expect it to be important. It is about the judgement of all people. We should perhaps begin by recognising the plight of the poor old goat. The sheep get all the praise and it seems as though Jesus is always getting at goats. Of course, goats are not worse animals than sheep. Shepherds separated sheep from the goats because sheep tolerate cold better than goats, so shepherds put goats in a protected spot while the sheep continued to forage. The readers of the book of Matthew would be familiar with the image, they would have seen Shepherds separate sheep and goats. Using this language was also helpful at the time because the word sheep was often used as a metaphor for the people of God. Likewise the Messiah was often spoken of a shepherd.

This metaphorical and figurative language has throughout Christian history been taken very literally. The image is portrayed of Jesus sitting on a cloud at some point at the end of human history. The whole of humanity is lined up with Jesus sorting out two groups, one side going through the pearly gates to eternal bliss, the other miserable offenders are sent off to eternal damnation, in the same way that Jews were despatched to the torture and human ovens of the concentration camps.

Leaving such nonsense aside, what is the point that Jesus is making? Matthew appears to be concluding the teaching of Jesus in His gospel, by recording these words which show that Jesus was serious about expecting lives to be changed by the teaching. It wasn’t just for fun, God notices what goes on. God thinks that the lives we lead here on earth are of consequence, and so our behaviour has serious consequences. The way in which we treat others has importance to God, he takes note and there is judgement.
 

Jesus is using a picture which was familiar to his hearers to illustrate the fact that good and bad behaviour is different and is judged. Jews grew up familiar with the image of the Messiah as somebody who would come and judge humanity and separate them as a shepherd separated the sheep from the goats. Of course they expected that the sheep would be the Jews of Israel, and the goats would be everybody else. Jesus tells his hearers that they are in for a surprise. There is going to be judgement, but the criteria for good and bad has changed! From now on the basis for being in God’s good books was to be based on the teachings of Jesus and obedience to them. If people wanted to be a part of the Kingdom of God then there was a sure fire way of ensuring success, treat your neighbour they way that you would wish to be treated.
 

Jesus mentions six deeds of mercy. They are not meant to be comprehensive, rather they show that Jesus is concerned by specific material acts of kindness towards the needy. This might sound like the teaching of a British monk, Pelagius, who ended up being branded a heretic. However it is the authentic teaching of Jesus who does not demand supernatural or spiritual exercises, just simple unobtrusive charity. Spiritual talent can easily be counterfeit, charity might appear more mundane, but it is much more easily recognised and accordingly is a better test of faith. We are faced by many opportunities to help the needy. These acts of kindness can be provided by anybody, we need not have wealth to offer ourselves. To visit, to care, such things all are within reach of everybody.
 

In the story Jesus tells that those who are rewarded are surprised, because they had no idea that their acts of kindness were noticed by God. They were motivated only by mercy, not by greed for reward. It has been suggested that Jesus only wanted us to be kind to other Christians, but Jesus was never selective in his care for others and he even encouraged Christians to care for their enemies. Some theologians become quite animated at the thought that people appear to be earning salvation through simple acts of kindness and charity, but to do so is to miss the point of the teaching of Jesus.

 
Jesus is not speaking about a literal point of judgement in the future history of the world. Rather Jesus is stressing the need for us to take seriously his teaching on the importance of right behaviour now. In so much as people show kindness and mercy, they demonstrate the presence of God within them and live by the standards of the kingdom. Through their behaviour they make themselves citizens of that kingdom of Jesus today, they are one of Christ’s sheep.
 

The faithful will see everyone as a brother or sister in Christ and will respond to the need to care for all God's children. By their deeds they will walk in the way of Jesus, will be in relationship with him, a part of his family. The un-faithful will only look after themselves and will find Christ to be far from them. It is self determining. If we embrace the teaching of Jesus as our King then we become part of his kingdom now, not at some judgement at the end of time. So we find the kingdom to give meaning in our lives and we know not only the joy of considering the needs of others, but the delight of serving the King.
 

So for us, we know that we are called to the service of others, we are also called to work to change oppressive systems and human structures that fail to serve the needy and work against relieving troubled lives and broken sprits. God's calls us to take the resources he has given us and use them for the good of all, and to be considerate of the plight of the weak and powerless.
On Christ the King Sunday we must decide to show that Jesus Christ is our King and we must do so by having the courage and commitment to become more and more a part of the reign of God.

‘virtue is not far from us, nor is it without ourselves, but it is within us,
and is easy if only we are willing’ (Anthony the Great).

Charles Royden

 

 

 

Meditation

Today we commemorate the feast of Christ the King. The celebration of the day only entered the church’s calendar in the Twentieth century but it has become a valuable part of our preparations for Advent. On this day we recall Jesus in His eternal aspect, as King and Ruler, rather than as He was in his earthly life. 

The understanding of Jews was that the primary function of kingship was to sit in judgement and to administer justice. 

The image of Christ the King in the Gospel today is awe-inspiring and intimidating. Jesus will be enthroned in majesty and all the peoples of the earth will be required to stand before Him awaiting judgement. The Lord will divide everyone into two camps, those who are saved and those who are not. It is a stark and frightening thought. There will be no time for excuses or explanations. Each person at the end of his or her life will be judged on the deeds they have done. 

We are accustomed to think of Jesus in his earthly life, as a loving, mild and thoughtful person, always tolerant and forgiving. This warning of the final judgement presents an image of Jesus as a stern but fair judge. The reading from Ezekiel sets the Gospel in the context of a beautiful description of God as a good shepherd, loving and vigilant, eternally watching over us, his sheep. The Reverend Dr Joan Crossley

Meditation

We are now reaching the end of the Church’s year. With the beginning of Advent, we begin again the cycle of the birth of Jesus, his ministry, his death, Passion and resurrection. 

The ending of a year is a good time to assess where we have been, what has been achieved, and perhaps most importantly, where we are going with our journey of faith. 

If, when we look at our spiritual lives, we feel that we have made no real progress, perhaps it is time to embark on more regular Bible study. Perhaps joining a house group would give you the support you need for growth? Perhaps you would like to put your faith into some kind of action, helping missionary work or community projects. 

New beginnings are always exciting, offering us the challenge of new spiritual adventures and development.

Prayers

Lord of the past and the future: we thank you for the last Church Year. We thank you for the fellowship and joy of our worship together as a community. We pray for the coming year, that we may benefit from the teaching and wisdom of the church and grow in faith and knowledge of You, Amen.

I am made in the image and likeness of God. I am created and sustained by the breath of God. I am held in the palm of God’s hand. I am loved by God with an everlasting love. I am made by the God of vision—whose plans for me are of fullness not harm, who gives me a future and hope. I am created by God to live a life worthy of my vocation. I am held by God—in whom I live and move and have my being. I am loved by the God who sent his only Son so that I might not die but have eternal life. I am made a new creation in Christ. I am created to be a living sacrifice of praise. I am held together by my brothers and sisters—one Body in Christ. I am made as God’s work of art. Amen

Hymns

  1. Praise to the Lord, the Almighty the King of Creation (lobe den herren)
  2. Give me oil in my lamp (sing hosanna)
  3. All of my hope on God is founded (michael)
  4. Just as I am without plea (saffron walden)
  5. Rejoice the Lord is King! (Gopsal)