Sue Lepp | The Irreverent Reverend

Christmas Day: All Around Us

Christmas Day
25/12/25

Isaiah 62:6-end
Titus 3:4-7
Luke 2:1-20

God our Father,
whose Word has come among us
in the Holy Child of Bethlehem:
may the light of faith illumine our hearts
and shine in our words and deeds;
through him who is Christ the Lord.

One of the many things that I love about this season is how the story of the first Christmas comes alive. We see it in the pictures on Christmas cards; we hear it in the words of Christmas carols; we see the drama played out in Christingle and Crib services. Even in the commercialisation and secularisation of our society, the story of that first Christmas does get told. Not always in words but in the symbols and pictures; seen if we pay attention to the world around us.

This morning we come together to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The baby laid in a manger. We need to not only look at the manger but in the manger. In the simple manger, in the smallness of a baby, we get a glimpse of the greatness of God.

Luke very deliberately mentions the manger and the child lying in it in three separate verses. Yes of course he was lying in the manger; no crib for his bed and all that.

Mary laid her firstborn son in a manger.

The angels tell the shepherds about the child lying in a manger.

The shepherds went with haste and found the child lying in the manger.

The manger was the sign to the shepherds. It told them which baby they were looking for. It showed them that the angel knew what they were talking about. It was important to give the shepherds their news and their instructions.

Why does this matter? It was the shepherds who were told who this child is. This child – the Saviour, the Messiah, the Lord.

Yet the manger isn’t important in and of itself. The manger is a signpost, a pointing finger to the identity of the baby boy who’s lying in it.

The shepherds’ arrival may have helped Mary and Joseph to confirm what had been their own secret up to now. What would it have been like for Mary and Joseph as the shepherds arrived? The secret is now out! I am not sure if you have had the experience of a secret being let out!

It can be quite shocking and uncertain. What happens next?! Who knows!? Maybe it was a relief after all that they had been through that God was faithful to his word. God is faithful to his word. Always. What a relief that is. In this uncertain world and in uncertain times we can look to the manger and know that God is faithful.

We also need to look in the manger, not just at it. Many people, Christians too, come to see the manger but they never look in it. For some Jesus remains the baby forever. A baby that is easily contained in the manger that gets brought out once a year, looked at, and then put away again.

When my nephew Riley was 5 years old, he and my sister had a bedtime conversation that went like this:

Riley: ‘Mom, how old are Great Grandma and Great Grandpa?’

Sister: ‘they are both 90’

Riley: ‘Mom, when will they go to heaven?’

Sister: ‘I am not sure but Jesus will be waiting to greet them when they go.’
Riley: ‘Mom – how old is Jesus?’

Sister: ‘Well he was born 2000 years ago but Jesus doesn’t age and has always been around.’

Riley: (with all the exasperation of a 5 year old) ‘Mom – Jesus is a baby!’

It is quite easy to take this view whether we are 5 years old or not. Jesus was never meant to be contained to the manger. Nor did Jesus just appear one night in Bethlehem as if out of nowhere. Jesus has always been around; part of God and the Trinity. He is more than a Baby!

The name of Jesus will go on forever.

Jesus. The very name at which one day every knee will bow.

Jesus. The very name at which every tongue will confess.

Jesus. A name with no parallel in any vocabulary.

Jesus. A name with power like no other name?

The angel Gabriel tells Mary, ‘he will be great’. Oh yes he is.

As we celebrate today, let’s spend a little more time at the manger worshipping the baby born to us. The baby who becomes the Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

I love these names. I can identify with each of them as titles for the Child that has been born to us. He is my Counsellor when I struggle; Mighty when I am weak; Everlasting when unwanted changes come my way; the bringer of Peace when I am distressed.

I hope that you will know and experience the great love God has for you this Christmas. Not just at Christmas but at every moment of every day of your life; when things are calm and happy but more so when you are stirred up throughout.

I hope that you will know the Lord’s favour upon you.

I hope the name of Jesus falls sweetly on your ears and off your tongue.

The Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace lead you and guide you always.

St Nicholas Carol Service: Is It True?

Benefice Carols – Sunday December 21st

Christmas
John Betjeman (1906–1984)

The bells of waiting Advent ring,
The Tortoise stove is lit again
And lamp-oil light across the night
Has caught the streaks of winter rain
In many a stained-glass window sheen
From Crimson Lake to Hookers Green.

The holly in the windy hedge
And round the Manor House the yew
Will soon be stripped to deck the ledge,
The altar, font and arch and pew,
So that the villagers can say
‘The church looks nice’ on Christmas Day.

Provincial Public Houses blaze,
Corporation tramcars clang,
On lighted tenements I gaze,
Where paper decorations hang,
And bunting in the red Town Hall
Says ‘Merry Christmas to you all’.

And London shops on Christmas Eve
Are strung with silver bells and flowers
As hurrying clerks the City leave
To pigeon-haunted classic towers,
And marbled clouds go scudding by
The many-steepled London sky.

And girls in slacks remember Dad,
And oafish louts remember Mum,
And sleepless children’s hearts are glad.
And Christmas-morning bells say ‘Come!’
Even to shining ones who dwell
Safe in the Dorchester Hotel.

And is it true,
This most tremendous tale of all,
Seen in a stained-glass window’s hue,
A Baby in an ox’s stall ?
The Maker of the stars and sea
Become a Child on earth for me ?

And is it true ? For if it is,
No loving fingers tying strings
Around those tissued fripperies,
The sweet and silly Christmas things,
Bath salts and inexpensive scent
And hideous tie so kindly meant,

No love that in a family dwells,
No carolling in frosty air,
Nor all the steeple-shaking bells
Can with this single Truth compare —
That God was man in Palestine
And lives today in Bread and Wine.

I hope that you have been satisfied with the selection of carols today. It is a fairly easy process to choose them: what has been done in the past, what is in the carol sheet, what Niky can play and the ones I like best.

Of course, the greatest Christmas album ever made was in 1979. A Christmas Together by John Denver & the Muppets. Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and Kermit – not to be missed. They sing some silly stuff along with more serious carols.

Many carols hold special meaning for people – tradition, memories of school nativities or church carols or cribs and just good old sentiment. All comforting and add to the magic and mystery of the Advent and Christmas season.

We sing these carols and many people love them. I wonder, though, do we really read the words? Along with the familiar pictures of Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus in the manger, the shepherds, angels and Wise Men – there are some deep theological truths in these precious verses.

Is it true?

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him,
Nor Earth sustain.
In the bleak mid-winter
a stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty Jesus Christ.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light ;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight

Is it true? Will your hopes and fears of all the years be met in the stable-place? We all have them.

Beneath the angels’ strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring:
Oh, hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing.

Looking at the state of the world today – it is hard to be joyful or see signs of peace. Are we capable of listening (which means hushing up) – not just to each other but for God? Even the angels at Christmas?

I love the characters of the Christmas story – the shepherds and the Kings from the East. We learn from them too.

While shepherds watched
Their flocks by night,
All seated on the ground,

They were just doing their job in the middle of the night. Nothing special – another night shift in the wilderness about Bethlehem.

‘Fear not,’ he said for mighty dread
Had seized their troubled mind)

Sure did! God called them to witness the most amazing thing ever to have happened.

O star of wonder, star of night,
Star of royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.

The Kings, foreign strangers, not the same culture or religion, following a star. I marvel at the curiosity they must have possessed. Faith came later – once they arrived (probably a year or 2 later) to where Jesus was, carrying gifts to be delivered and seen with their own eyes. Curiosity turned to faith.

People are still curious about God.

Is it true?

Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord,
Who hath made Heaven
and Earth of naught,
And with His blood
mankind hath bought.
Nowell, Nowell

The holly bears a berry,
As red as any blood,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To do poor sinners good (that’s you and me)
Oh, the rising of the sun and the running of the deer.

Myrrh is mine: its bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom;
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding and dying,
Sealed in a stone-cold tomb.
O star of wonder.

John Betjemen’s poem Christmas was first published in 1947. The second World War was only recently over, this country was in the early days of recovery. The poem captures the mix of commercialism and the true religious meaning of Advent and Christmas.

The true meaning seems to be subsumed in the fripperies, however well intentioned they might be; bath salts and tacky ties. Mounting debts, family fights and fallings out – for what? There has to be something more, something greater.

We fall into tradition as being the reason for doing what we do. Tradition is good but it is not permanent; it changes as people come and go. We may long for how Christmas used to be and we may get glimpses in photo albums and church services singing the old songs.

Maybe we are occasionally left wondering, hoping that this tale of the baby, shepherds and kings might just be true. It could be a moment’s reflection brought about by the striking words of a familiar carol, or perhaps it’s a sense of wonder as we hear the nativity story told again.

So is it true?

As we come to the end of the service we will sing:

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love.

There is no greater wonder than the love of God. It is not arbitrary or conditional, it matters not on the past or the present. It is love that will carry us into a glorious future.

Hail, the Heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail, the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings.
Mild, He lays His glory by,
Born that we no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of Earth,
Born to give them second birth.

Is it true?
Absolutely.

Advent 4: Mary & Joseph

Advent 4 – Year A
Isaiah 7:10-16
Psalm 80
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-25

I am struggling to believe that it is the Fourth Sunday of Advent. It has gone by way too quickly. My well-intentioned plans for a reflective and attentive Advent have largely fallen by the wayside. Roll on Christmas.

The Gospel readings for Fourth Sunday always revolve around Mary as she completes the picture of our Advent journey. I looked back over the lectionary (as I did for John the Baptist) to see which stories of Mary are used on this particular Sunday. Year B has set Luke 1 which is the Annunciation; when Mary was visited by Gabriel who brings her the good news that she will bear a son. Year C has also set Luke 1; the Magnificat in which Mary proclaims the greatness of the Lord who has looked with favour on her lowly self.

But every third year in Year A, the Gospel reading switches primary focus to Joseph with Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus. Matthew seems to focus his attention on Joseph much more than on Mary. You might not have noticed this but Joseph never speaks.

We never hear his voice in any of the accounts. Mary speaks and there is great focus and attention on her. In comparison, we know very little about Joseph and there can be a temptation to push him to the side-lines. I want to take the opportunity to look a little closer at Joseph. Without him the whole Christmas story would have faltered.

In many dramatisations of the nativity, Joseph is portrayed as a responsible but passionate younger man who was deeply in love with Mary. When Mary returns from visiting her cousin Elizabeth with a very obvious baby bump, Joseph is devastated, angry, grief-stricken, embarrassed. As viewers, we were confronted with a range of emotions and conversations between Mary and Joseph that were likely experienced but are not mentioned in the biblical story.

In Matthew’s account, Joseph is told about Mary’s baby and in a breath decides to quietly divorce her and save her from public disgrace. Here we see the loyalty and dignity, the faithfulness of Joseph.

It is not until the angel appears to Joseph in a dream to explain the whole situation that he believes Mary’s story when he wakes up.

We would make a mistake to sanitise Joseph’s consent as being an easy decision to come to. We diminish his humanity by overlooking his humiliation and doubt. In a culture and religion that was bound by rules, Joseph would have been in a lot of pain.

We so often want to separate ourselves from the pain of other people, we can feel so helpless in the face of it. In Joseph, we see that God’s favour is not always a shiny, happy thing. Whatever thoughts Joseph had about his family’s future were upended. His ideas of fairness, justice, goodness and purity are shattered. Being chosen by God is not always so attractive.

Joseph’s story is one that can give us hope. Many of us will know what it is to struggle to do what has been asked of us. Sometimes the decisions are difficult and the choices are limited. Joseph struggled. He was prepared to do the honourable, arguably easier thing but that was not what was asked.

So he struggled more and came to the decision that was far harder but the right one. He woke up and did what the angel commanded him. Little wonder that the angel’s opening line was do not be afraid. Joseph was needed as it is through him that Jesus’ connection to the House of David is made. If you read through the opening verses of Matthew chapter one, it is a cabaret of characters who did some interesting things.

Debie Thomas wrote, ‘Interestingly, in the verses that immediately precede our Gospel reading, Matthew gives us a genealogy of Jesus’s ancestors. He mentions Abraham — the patriarch who abandoned his son, Ishmael, and twice endangered his wife’s safety in order to save his own skin. He mentions Jacob, the trickster usurper who humiliated his older brother. He mentions David, who slept with another man’s wife and then ordered that man’s murder to protect his own reputation. He mentions Tamar, who pretended to be a sex worker, and Rahab, who was one. These are just a few representative samples.

Notice anything? Anything like messiness? Complication? Scandal? Sin? How interesting that God, who could have chosen any genealogy for his Son, chose a long line of brokenness, imperfection, dishonour, and scandal. The perfect backdrop, I suppose, for his beautiful works of restoration, healing, hope, and second chances.’

Not only was Jesus born into a messy world, but a messy family. Joseph helps to remind us that what God asks of us is often messy and unexpected. We should however expect to have our own ideas upended and challenged. Yet do not be afraid. I hope as we come fully into this Christmas season and new year that we are not afraid to love more deeply, pay more attention to what God is doing or asking of us. It might be messy.

Do not be afraid of the mess. It is in the mess that Jesus our Saviour was born.

Gaudete!

14/12/25

Isaiah 35:1-10
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11

It is my favourite Sunday! Rose day! Gaudete! Gaudete in Latin means ‘rejoice’. The name comes from the opening of the Mass for that day: Gaudete in Domine Semper, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’.

Gaudete Sunday is also a reminder that Advent is quickly passing; the Lord’s coming is near. The focus is turning more to the second coming than the first and there is a heightened sense of intense joy, gladness and expectation in our readings. The Gospel reading set for Gaudete Sunday always features John the Baptist. John’s ministry is centred on the announcement that the Lord’s coming is near and is much nearer than you think.

I looked back over the lectionary to see which stories of John the Baptist are used on this particular Sunday. Year B is John giving his testimony to the priests and Levites sent by the Jews to check him out. Year C is Luke chapter three where John chastises the Pharisees and Sadducees, brands them a ‘brood of vipers’ and calls for them to repent. Year A, is Matthew’s account of John in prison awaiting his fate.

None of these events provide obvious reasons to rejoice!

As a refresher, John was sent to jail by King Herod. John had been attacking Herod over marrying his brother’s ex-wife which was less than appropriate. John had also been announcing that the Kingdom of God, the true kingdom was coming. Herod was not the real king and God would replace him. John was likely not experiencing intense joy or gladness as his expectations of getting out alive may have been low.

The four prison walls closing in must surely have limited his vision. So much so that John sent his disciples to Jesus with the question ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’

Some thoughts about why John asked that question…

One suggestion is that John was disappointed. Maybe he was expecting Jesus to be a man of fire who would sweep through Israel as Elijah did and right all the wrongs. Maybe Jesus was supposed to confront Herod, topple him from his throne, become king in his palace, get John out of prison and give him a place of honour. Or at least let him live.

Jesus is not doing this. He is healing the blind and deaf, cleansing the lepers, befriending the sinners, the tax collectors, ordinary men and women and teaching them about the things of God. Maybe not doing what John wanted him to do. So maybe John is thinking ‘was I wrong?!’

The other suggestion for John’s question is that he wants to know if it is safe for him to give up, to hand the mission on. John was the one to herald the coming of God’s Messiah. How could he do that from a prison cell? Maybe he couldn’t relax until he knew whether or not he had done his job.

John’s ministry only lasted about a year. Maybe John thought he would have more time, that his purpose would take longer to be fulfilled. John is waiting to see if what he has done in the past was right. Now he is waiting in the present to see if Jesus is the one or if there is another yet to come.

In his waiting and hoping John gets an answer back; and it probably was not what he was expecting! What Jesus sent back could not be more different from the message that John preached.

John shouted for repentance in the face of the wrath of God: he spoke of axes cutting down dead trees and unquenchable fires. Jesus speaks of mercy, healing and rejoicing. Jesus lists the great signs of the coming of the Messiah which had all been prophesied in the past.

Jesus answers John by quoting Isaiah 35 which John would have known. It is a message all about John. The wilderness, which was John’s home, will rejoice and bloom, the fearful of heart are to be comforted. John is in prison, awaiting certain death with a fearful heart.

I think that John knew that Jesus was the Messiah. John was the baby that leapt in his mother Elizabeth’s womb when her cousin Mary and her baby (Jesus) came to visit. John the Baptizer knew Jesus the Messiah the moment he saw him at the Jordan River. John knew in his head who Jesus really was.

But time and circumstance can dull the image of our faith perception and leave us feeling not sure what we believe.

John’s question had more to do with his heart than his head. John had heard about the miracles and healings Jesus was doing for others and perhaps his faith was shaken.

He certainly could have used a miracle for himself as he did not appear to be getting one. And sitting in that prison cell John might have been having a little trouble knowing it with his heart. Sometimes our faith gets shaken by what we do not get or what God has not done for us personally.

I spoke to an older lady a while ago. She was very honest about where she was at with faith. She told me that after her husband had died after a long period of illness; she came to the conclusion that ‘if there was a God – why did her husband suffer the way he did?’ She couldn’t believe in a God like that. Neither can I.

There is not an easy answer for that question. There are theological or doctrinal answers that are pastorally unhelpful in these situations. Equally there are pastoral answers that deny the theological problems these situations raise.

Ann Garrido – ‘Today the Church is garbed in pink – that colour of hope in the midst of darkness. We are reminded that even though daylight is difficult to come by and waiting is hard, we are not to cave in to despair but to be open to and sustained by those signs already present in the world around us that let us know that God is at work. While we have not seen the kingdom of God yet in its fullness, there are ways in which that future is breaking into our own time even now – bursts of illumination and freedom, connection and healing. Our faith does not hinge on promises still unfulfilled but on promises in the process of being fulfilled this very day.’

Either way, many of us have endured long stretches of suffering, waiting, longing and hoping for God to come through for us. Maybe in those times we have seen or heard of wondrous works He was doing elsewhere. And it hurts! It is painful! The doubts that these types of situations create are probably not coming from our heads but our hearts, our feelings, our hurts.

John was not like ‘a reed swayed by the wind’ – he was a man of conviction. He was a man of little personal vanity and a huge commitment to God’s kingdom. If he can have a doubt or two then it is safe to have some of our own doubts.

Gaudete in the face of suffering and uncertainty. It won’t last forever. The Lord is near. I will end this sermon with a poem.

Gaudete by Brad Reynolds

Because Christmas is almost here
Because dancing fits so well with music
Because inside baby clothes are miracles.
Gaudete
Because some people love you
Because of chocolate
Because pain does not last forever
Because Santa Claus is coming.
Gaudete
Because of laughter
Because there really are angels
Because your fingers fit your hands
Because forgiveness is yours for the asking
Because of children
Because of parents.
Gaudete
Because the blind see.
And the lame walk.
Gaudete
Because lepers are clean
And the deaf hear.
Gaudete
Because the dead will live again
And there is good news for the poor.
Gaudete
Because of Christmas
Because of Jesus
You rejoice.

Christ the King: 3 L’s

Jeremiah 23:1-6 Colossians 1:11-20 Luke 23:33-43

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.
Amen.

Today is the final Sunday of the church year; this is New Year’s Eve! Happy New Year! As most people do on New Year’s Eve, we can look back on the last year and look forward to the new one. I suspect that many people may prefer to keep their eyes closed in this season; given the uncertainty and challenging times facing the world, the country, in our families and individually.

This Sunday is a hinge that helps us to look in both directions: firstly pointing to the end of time when the kingdom of Jesus will be established in all its fullness to the ends of the earth. Secondly, it points us to the immediate season of Advent, the beautiful time of expectation and preparation as we look ahead to celebrating the birth of Jesus. In both directions we are reminded that Jesus is King.

Christ the King is a recent addition (1925 so very new) to the church calendar and a Roman Catholic one at that. Pope Pius XI instituted this Sunday in response to issues he was facing in the Catholic church and in the civic life of Rome as secularism was growing in wider society after World War 1. There was an enormous crisis of faith and many people left the Church (both Catholic & Protestant) in Europe. The men had left for war and they did not come back; and the women left the church and God. This context led the Pope to establish Christ the King Sunday as a reminder of Jesus’ power and authority above all else. Pope Pius wrote:

‘If to Christ Jesus our Lord is given all power in heaven and on earth; if all men, purchased by his precious blood, are by a new right subjected to His dominion; if this power embraces all men, [paraphrasing now] He must reign in our minds, He must reign in our wills, He must reign in our hearts, He must reign in our bodies and in our members as instruments of justice unto God.’

It can be challenging to view God as a King. The language of kingship can be offensive and outdated especially to the vast majority of people who do not live under a monarchy. The reign of many kings has meant terror and death with the accumulation of wealth and power through exploitation, greed and cruelty. Kingship is then passed on by birthright to the next person who did nothing to deserve it.

Yet the Bible is full of reference to kingship. In the Old Testament, God warned the Israelites about the dangers of a human king but they insisted. God yielded and Saul was anointed as the first king of Israel. The subsequent kings generally started off okay, then made a mess when they ignored God’s instruction, suffered for it and then died. The reign was passed on to the next in line and the pattern was repeated for centuries.

In the New Testament, the earliest followers of Jesus used the language of kingship to describe who he was, what he said, and what he did. They were looking for Jesus to be a king who would smite their enemies and bring Israel back to prosperity. This is not the model of a king that Jesus followed.

The question then becomes what does kingship mean and what does God’s kingdom look like?

Longevity

It was a very interesting time to minister following the death of Queen Elizabeth. The protocol that followed the announcement of her death had been planned for many decades with the execution in a very short amount of time, hours and days. You may remember all the instructions and emails that were flying around.

Priests were emailed the final official instructions about what to do when her death was announced a few hours before she died. I was then sent daily instructions for each of the following 10 days and through the funeral. It covered flags, bell ringing, colours for the altar, prayers, service liturgy so that all bases were covered. People turned to the church where we offered books of condolence to be signed, candles to light, a place to think, reflect and pray.

One of the events that people found particularly jarring was the quick accession of King Charles III to the throne. Many were caught in a place of profound grief and celebration. You could see it on the faces as we sang God Save The King for the first time. Our much loved monarch is gone but the monarchy carries on.

Here is the first issue with human kingdoms: they are only ever temporary. The Queen was only ever temporary. From dust she came and to dust she has returned. All earthly kingdoms come to dust.

God’s Kingdom will be permanent. It will be a place that we will never want to leave. We can have hope that there is a future with no more pain, suffering or death. The Queen believed this; she was a woman of great faith. My favourite televangelist. She spoke humbly and honestly about her faith in Jesus; the older she got, the more she spoke out.

The thief on the cross, in only a very short yet torturous time next to Jesus experienced something of eternity. His desperate yet profound request to be in paradise with Jesus was granted. Once in paradise, likely did not want to leave there ever again.

Light & Darkness

Many of you know that I was a volunteer police chaplain with Thames Valley before I came here. It wasn’t a great surprise to learn that most really violent crime happens at night. What did surprise me was that Monday and Tuesday nights can be some of the busiest of the week. Why?

People do the really bad stuff under the cover of darkness when they are less likely to be seen. No one wants to get caught. What happens on a Monday night anyway?!

The Advent season falls at the darkest time of the year, and the natural symbols of darkness and light are powerfully at work throughout Advent and Christmas. We may live in dark times, but the light of Christ will show us the way. Not everyone wants to live in the light though. If we stay in darkness long enough,our eyes will adjust and we may think we can get along just fine without
getting caught. Thank you very much. Living in the darkness can make us forget
what living in love and light is like.

The church in Colossae was having difficulty; this community was struggling with wrong teaching, empty ritual and false mysticism. Paul is encouraging them to hold on to the truth and pursue a lifestyle that honours God and puts him first. Paul reminds the church that they have been rescued, by God through Jesus, from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of light. They are part of a bigger story, not just the petty politics of the day. A high price has been paid for this kingdom and for our redemption and forgiveness.

The King of God’s Kingdom is fair and just, all things (all things) hold together in him. Stay in the light!

Long Game

One might expect the readings on Christ the King Sunday to be a bit more royal or regal. Maybe something about the throne room in Revelation or one of Jesus’ more shiny moments in the Gospels, the Transfiguration or a healing. Oh no, we have the crucifixion in all its horror getting close to the end. The King of the Jews is hanging, beaten, exhausted, mocked and stripped between two others.

As we look ahead to the more immediate future of the Advent season, we celebrate the first coming of Jesus. We tell the familiar stories, we get the nativity scenes out again. We also have to remember that this baby, the Son of God, who was born into the world as both God and man, died so that our sins may be forgiven and rose again so that we may live with him forever.

We also look forward to his glorious return at the end of time. Advent helps us to remember that God is present in the world today. We have a King who will reign with longevity. Forever but not yet! We need to remain in the kingdom of light, we have already been rescued from the kingdom of darkness. We need to look again at Christ the King, remember we are part of a bigger story.

I will end with a few lines from Psalm 46:

1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most
High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.