34th Sunday Year B Feast of Christ the Universal King

The Feast of Our lord Jesus Christ, Universal King

This weekend we come to the end of the month of November. The end of the month of remembrance for all of our lost family, relations and friends, as well as all of those who have fallen during all the wars and conflicts. And we take their love and their example with us into our own lives and living as we move forward.

But it is also the start of new life, new preparations, new gifts. It is the time when we begin to look toward Christmas and Advent and all of the preparations needed to get us into the right frame of mind and our souls into the right and holy state to receive Jesus into our lives.

But before we do that, we have the Feast of Christ the Universal King! The feast when we can celebrate and rejoice in Christ who was and is, King to all mankind; to all of those who are on the side of truth and who listen to His voice. This is the feast that traditionally closes off one church-year before we move into Advent and one that allows and encourages us to proclaim our happiness; to sing out our joy at what we know to be true: that Jesus was born for me. He lived and he suffered for me. He died on the cross for me so that He could rise again three days later and save me, each one of us here from our sins and allow and enable us to be joined together with our Father in heaven for all eternity. He did all of that for me.

And by doing all of this He showed that He was our Universal King. He was there to save all of mankind from their sins and welcome them into His heavenly home, and just as we would sing out our national anthem with pride and with joyful gusto, so to we should sing out our praise and thanks to Him, “Hail Redeemer, King Divine, Priest and Lamb, the throne is thine.”

Now is the time to sing out our praise and our thanks to our King. Now as we relax the Covid rules, regulations and restrictions, we should take the opportunity as never before to sing out our prayers, to sing out our adulation and to rejoice together as the family and community of Christ in what we know to be true: that Christ is our King and our Saviour and that I, we, are saved because of Him.

This weekend I have had the opportunity to celebrate two items within the beginnings and endings that make up our faith-life. This morning I interred the ashes of Tom Carmichael in the graveyard at Christchurch here in Port Sunlight. I was able to say my goodbyes to a holy man, a saintly man and a happy man. A man who celebrated that Christ was King in every aspect of his life and who made the time available for any and all who wanted to hear him proclaim this message of truth and sustenance. This message of hope, of mercy and of love which he lived throughout his life and throughout his faith. It was a pleasure and privilege to have known him and to call him friend.

And the second item we celebrate here this Sunday when a young boy named Luther will make his First Communion. Luther has spent the last twelve weeks working with me to complete his preparations for this sacrament and that of his First Forgiveness. He has approached these studies with dedication, with discipline, with curiosity, with challenge and with faith. He has checked and challenged me to explain what he didn’t grasp at first and his family have supported him throughout this process. He is starting out on his faith-journey with an innocence and acceptance that are a joy to behold and with his family helping and supporting him along the way. His engagement has been enlightening and encouraging to me and has helped me to relight my own fire and enthusiasm. Please pray for him and his family and encourage him whenever you see him.

Christ is our King, let the whole world rejoice. May all the peoples sing out with one voice. May we sing out with every fibre of our being what we know to be true and what we want to proclaim to the rest of the world, “We are saved. Christ lived and died for us. He is our King in this life and forever in the next.” He said, “Know that I will be with you always. Yes, to the end of time.”