Image: “The Cosmic Christ” by George Atherton
Today, we are celebrating a very special day on the Christian Church Calendar.
The Christian Church Calendar that we follow each and every week was established a really long time ago: at (what was known as) the Council of Nicea, all the way back in the year 325 A.D., so this calendar is exactly 1,700 old today!
And at this Council 1,700 years ago, the early Church fathers established the dates for Advent and Christmas; for when Lent and Easter were going to be; as well as the dates for all the various feast days like Epiphany, Pentecost, and Palm Sunday.
Now, over the centuries, new dates have been added (from time-to-time) for some other special days.
Today, we’re celebrating one of those special days that has been added to the Christian Church calendar: It’s called “Christ the King” or “Reign of Christ” Sunday. You’ll hear it referred to both ways.
This feast day is always celebrated on the Sunday right before Advent begins – but since next Sunday is our Community Thanksgiving service – we’re celebrating “Reign of Christ” Sunday today.
This special day is a relatively new one. It was added the Christian Church Calendar only 100 years ago (back in 1925), and it grew out of a time of immense political turmoil around the world.
If you know your history, you know that this was a time around the world when people like Stalin, Mussolini, and Hitler were coming to power.
It was a time around the world of dictatorships and authoritarianism; a time when we saw the rise of ideologies like nationalism and fascism, communism and Nazism.
So, the Christian Church at the time (100 years ago today) established “Christ the King” Sunday – and put it on the Christian Church calendar – to remind believers around the world that there is only one power: and, that is, the power of the Christ!
But, what exactly is the Power of the Christ?
Well, most of us think that Christ was Jesus’s last name, but Christ existed billions of years before Jesus of Nazareth was even born.
As we heard in our “Words of Integration & Guidance” this morning (which Claudia read for us), the Bible tells us that “Christ was the first-born of all of Creation.”
Which means, when God created everything (billions and billions of years’ ago) and said, “Let there be Light!” there was the Christ – the firstborn of all Creation.
Jesus was a man from the Middle East who lived (not billions of years ago, but) just 2,000 years ago. And, during his lifetime, he became Enlightened…filled with the Christ Light that existed since the beginning of Creation.
Jesus awakened to the understanding that the Light of the Christ was with him and within him. He became one with it!!
And, by becoming one with it, he was able to heal and to work miracles.
And that led many of his followers to want him to become their King.
But Jesus always rejected that title. Throughout the gospels, whenever Jesus is asked, “Are you King?” or “Are you the Messiah?” he always refuses to answer.
In today’s gospel reading, for example, Jesus has just worked another miracle — he multiplied the loaves and the fish — and the crowd of people that have been fed are clamoring for him to become king.
But, what does Jesus do: He runs away from them! He sneaks off in a boat by himself and goes to the other side of the water, where no one can find him.
Jesus didn’t want a coronation!
And that’s why I wonder how he might feel today about us celebrating “Christ the King” Sunday.
Normally, when we think of a king, we think of someone who lives in a gilded palace or a remote castle, surrounded by gates and moats and servants; someone far removed from people’s daily lives and needs.
And, that just wasn’t Jesus. In fact, that was the exact opposite of Jesus.
Jesus wasn’t about wealth and prestige and power. Rather, his mission was to empower others.
After he became one with the Christ Light, Jesus made his mission to teach others how to awaken to the same Christ Light within themselves.
That’s why he said in Luke 17:21: “The Kingdom of God is within you.”
And, it’s why he said in Matthew 5:14: “You are the Light of the World.”
And, it’s why in John 14:12, he says, “All of the things that I have done you can do.” And, then he added: “These things and greater!”
Do you understand? Jesus didn’t want to be worshipped. He wanted us to go and do even greater things than he did.
You know, if you read the Acts of the Apostles in the Bible, you’ll see that the apostles also worked many miracles. It wasn’t just a power given to Jesus.
The Bible tells us that the followers of Jesus also healed many sick people, and they even raised people from the dead!
My friends, the same Christ Light that was in Jesus and the apostles has also been given to us.
That is what the word “Christian” means: Little Christs. We, too, have been given the power to heal lives and to work miracles.
As it says in Philippians 4:13: “We can do ALL THINGS through the Power of the Christ within us, from whence comes our strength.”
That means that we have been giving the power to heal our world and to experience miracles. Miracles (big and small) are happening all around us, all the time.
In fact, I experienced a miracle here just last Sunday.
If you were here last week, you know we had a long Congregational Meeting, and one of the items we debated was including a new line item to our budget of $10,000 for investing in new church programs, like interns or a Mission Trip or a Lecture series.
And (although some were unsure about adding such a cost) we, as a congregation, ultimately voted it through, trusting and affirming in God’s Divine Providence.
Well, right after the meeting, our Office Manager, Kris, was in the church office opening up the mail that had come in on Saturday, and there in the mail was a check from someone in New York City, and it was a name that she wasn’t familiar with.
She asked if I knew who they were, and I didn’t either. And when Kris showed me the check, I stood there in shock, because the check was for exactly $10,000.
Here we were affirming that exact amount at our meeting, and there it was sitting in our mailbox the entire time!
A miracle is defined in the dictionary as “an amazing or wonderful occurrence,” and Albert Einstein said, “There are only two ways you can live you life: one as if nothing is a miracle. And one as if everything is a miracle.’
That’s why Jesus said in Matthew 8:13: “It is done to you as you believe.”
And so, my friends, on this “Reign of Christ” Sunday, may we not only worship Jesus (who is certainly worthy of praise), but also awaken more fully to the Christ Light within ourselves, to the miracle Jesus said that we are.
And may we remind ourselves not to put our faith in worldly powers, but in the One True Power: the Power of Christ, which is always with us and within us.
May that Power of Love and that Light of Christ reign in our hearts, so that – together – we can bring about miracles and heal our world.
Questions for Reflection and Journalling :
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Where have you recently experienced the “Christ Light” within yourself or others—even in small, everyday moments that might be easy to overlook?
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In what ways might you be called to use the power of the Christ within you to heal, empower, or bring hope to someone in your life right now?
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What “worldly powers” (fear, control, anxiety, status, politics, etc.) most often distract you from trusting in the deeper spiritual power of Christ—and how might you begin releasing those influences?