King - a sacrificial leader or one who serves justice

 Christ as King. Perhaps an archaic form of celebration that brings forth all sorts of images that reveal our obsession in our own worth. If we look back through time we have images of a person who is willing and not so willing to die for "his" people. Prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice, even to death and no I am not speaking about the Christ bit of the statement. Or at least that is what we would hope to see in a "King". Yet, the very term "King" is in itself archaic, as a ruler, being that we really have gone beyond kingship as a quality in this sense to aspire to. What other images could we go with in terms of a "King"? Perhaps, as Ezekiel (34.11-16, 20-24) thinks in terms of a shepherd who secures those that are in need with specific reference to David as king. In thinking about kingship and imagery it should lead us towards paths of formal authority perhaps a figure of justice to be the centre piece of what we are actually attempting to celebrate. Thus, our celebration should be around the call of God to undertake righteous judgement for justice and not the sacrifice that is made to achieve these. In Matthew's gospel we find the reading about the judgement of the sheep and the goats (Mtt. 25.31-46). A separation and judgement of each person's attitude rather than each person's actions.

This story is displayed in the Kellock window at All Saints, Kempsey. This triptych displays a central Christ on a throne with two sets of people on either side. It is the attitudes of the people in the two side windows that we need to focus on when we hear this story from the Gospel. From the description in the Guidebook:

Do we belong on the right or the left?

the southern panel represents the sheep, those on the Son of Man’s right. The figures robes and colouring are suggestive of a more humble approach to the truth of the judgement and an ability to point to the truth of Christ’s presence in their lives. As pointed out in the descriptions above the figures in the northern panel appear to have an attitude of “Who me!” and disbelieve. The colours are also mirrored but are subtly darker in hue suggestive that these figures are ones that perhaps paid lip service to God’s word but did not live their lives in light of Christ.

When we think about attitudes in our lives we are often unable to accurately assess our own. It requires an independent judge to see into our own hearts and minds. In assessing our corporate attitudes it becomes increasingly difficult as we are attempting to judge not only ourselves but those around us. We would all like to assess our attitudes as being on Christ's right. A humble  ability not to point to ourselves but to point to Christ. However, the moment we start making such a call we place ourselves on the left. The corporate body of Christ's church have pointed to themselves as the path to righteousness. At the end of our liturgical year it is perhaps a reasonable time to reflect on ourselves not as individuals but as the body of Christ, not only in our places of worship but also in our Dioceses and denominations as a whole. Are we getting it wrong by expecting people to follow us when we are not demonstrating that ability to point to Christ in our midst and say "Who me?".

In our own conceit we think others should follow but we ourselves are in need of salvation and instead of saying how good we are, we should be acknowledging our corporate faults and striving to do better in the coming year. Advent, which begins next week, reminds us that we need to prepare, not only for Christ's coming but for our judgement by Christ the King. A King not of power and sacrifice but a King of justice and judgement. If we think that we are on the right hand we are probably wrong and need to place ourselves on the left not knowing and not anticipating what God has in store for us.  Only when we begin to humble ourselves as the body of Christ both institutionally and corporately will we begin the transformation Christ requires of us. Only when we acknowledge that we do not know God's will and refuse to bow to our own wills do we begin to undertake the required penance.

Connecting organically to grow

In the space that is today, in the time that is now, it is true to say that the universe will end not in a blaze of glory but more likely in a wimp of darkness but it will end. The world will likely end in a blaze of glory as we are eaten by the sun. The heaven of the past is no longer up there as the astronauts can probably attest but our super dooper telescopes do so much better. If this is the case then what does this mean for readings that we have today speaking of a day of the Lord and preparedness for the coming of God (Zeph. 1:12-18; 1 Thess. 5:1-11; Matt. 25:14-30)? Perhaps we need to turn our thoughts to the very prosaic inhabitant of Judaea who in his insights proclaimed that the Reign (Basilea) of God was present to us in the here and now. Using this insight we may be able to disentangle the entanglement in our theology of Neoplatonism and a foreign world view. We need to understand that just as islands are not independent of the bedrock upon which they sit but in reality are connected to other landmasses around them, we too are not independent but are immutably connected to each other in community.

All good plans take time to mature and plenty of planning. Changing the world does take a bit of doing but as Christians that is our purpose to re-make the world to conform with God and live in love and peace and yes at the end of the day, when this eventually comes into being, there will be a lot of gnashing of teeth. The Gospel story has severe political overtones for the society in which the parable was told. It is all about political manoeuvring on a grand scale in Roman times but has much to say that is beyond the overt political message for us today. Quite honestly we are probably, 90% at least, in the category of the failed servant. Shock, horror and claims of "No we are not". Well I suppose that has to be an expected response to such an announcement and of course we would all put ourselves within the 10% that are not. Of course of those 10%  only 9% fall into category 2 and in reality only 1% are anywhere near category 1. All those statistics what does it mean in real life. 

We invest in relationships of love, organic connections that continue to grow

The reality of the current day is that most of us are lazy when it comes to our spiritual and faith responsibilities. We would much rather put things to the side and go on about our business and not about God's business or the business of faith. Don't get me wrong, those in religious institutions fall just as equally within the percentages as anyone else. It takes effort to do the work of God and prepare for the coming Kingdom but it is in the work that we see the beginnings of that kingdom here on Earth in the present. Our wandering Aramean was not putting philosophical spin into his words nor was he tangled up in the question of who is God / What is God / Why is God? and so forth. His stories and preaching were about the present, the end was now as we moved into a new understanding of how to relate to each other as we moved into the reign of God's presence reflected in our own interactions in the present. For Christ the time was now to move into the reign of God, which meant that the time was now to change how we relate to each other. In other words the time was now for the present day understandings of how we live to end. It is our investment in our community that God is looking for. For us to realise the coming of God's reign we must invest ourselves in our relationships to show the love which God represents to us.

It is our lives that are at stake. It is our communities lives that are at stake. It is our planet that is at stake. We cannot afford to park the investment of our lives and not do anything. If we do that we are literally banking on others whose interest may not be ours and quite honestly is usually for their own benefit rather than looking towards their neighbours. The stakes are high but we can visibly see the returns on our investments in love within the community. Unlike burying ourselves behind closed doors or watching the stock market investment fall when we invest in love it is always on the way up. The reign of God is just around the corner and it comes when we begin to invest in our communities with the love that God has given us. The longer we leave that love buried in our hearts while we wait for better times and God appearing at the end of creation the longer it will be before the reign of God comes. Christ said that the reign of God was here, now. It was at the end of this present age and until we understand that we are harbingers of the end of the present day when we allow God's love to enter into our communities we will not see God's reign. We will continue to be caught up in metaphysics and Greek philosophical views compounded by an out moded world view.

A commitment to our own promises

 We know that the essential part of living as a community of God is to live in love. Fundamentally, we are called to show love to those who are around us as friends and neighbours whilst at the same time glorifying and loving the Lord our God. In the final chapter of the book of Joshua the Israelites make a promise about their dedication to God (Josh. 24:19-24). This promise is made with them as witnesses against themselves. The prophet Amos in a round about manner reminds them of this promise by stating that God wants above all else justice, not worship services, not being in a temple or church but being in the community ensuring that justice flows (Amos 5:24). In these readings there is a message to us, not necessarily as a parish or a diocese but to us as the body of Christ joined across the world. A call to us and a reminder of the promises made before God just as the Israelites did at the end of Joshua.

Many may take this to mean that they do not have to come to church but can participate in the world showing the Christian attributes. Yes, but.. The significance here is not about God not wanting worship service the significance here is in showing the works of love. This is hard to undertake when you are on your own and participation in worship at a communal level allows us to become part of a significant whole rather than an insignificant cog doing nothing but turning in circles. God may not require incessant and unproductive worship but we do require it so that we can form around God's presence as a community that is engaged in love of God and love of neighbour. The Thessalonians are praised for their practice of love (1 Thess. 4:9-10) towards their fellow Christians and others throughout the province. In this respect the parable that Jesus tells in Matthew (Matt. 25:1-13) is an extremely good example of this community aspect of our lives centred as it is on God.

Let's not squander the lives that we have but show love to our neighbours

The group of young girls is perhaps typical of such a group in such a setting. Five are drawn out into a party frame of mind, it is after all a celebration of marriage and all the good things in life to come for them. The other five are more circumspect and have perhaps been drilled into sensibility by their parents. They acknowledge the festive occasion but are ever mindful of their responsibilities and the covenant that they have entered into with the community to fulfil the role of the welcomers at the bridegroom's house. In going of and doing things on our own we waste our energy, even if we are caught up in the fun and frivolity of society. In this we are like the foolish girls, we are wasting our time and when we are summoned to fulfil the requirements for what we are engaged in by God we find ourselves standing on the outside looking in. We have lost touch with God's presence because we have been caught up doing things our way. Due to the unexpected/expected delay in undertaking our responsibilities we have to go and seek a means to undertake that which we said we would do. We have lost our contact with the community and with God and so can no longer express that love which God has asked us to give to those around us. We spent that all on our own self indulgences.

Our covenant from baptism is to live as Christ and ensure that we are proponents of that love in the world. We have a limited life span and during that time we are asked to ensure that we live as Christ and live in the love of God. If we spend our lives away from God it is no wonder that we have issues in our lives at a later stage, when in our twilight years we complain about all the things that are missing. The grumpiness that we often see is a disruption of our living well in Christ. Only when we spend our lives in the presence of God will we know the presence of God throughout our lives. In age it is often when we find that we are missing something not only because our children have allowed others to take the burden of care but also because we have neglected our spiritual and faith lives during our life. We need to be constantly reminded that it is the presence of God in our lives that allows for our sustainable comfort into the future.

Outward persona as opposed to inward grace

In today's world we rely overly much on the perceptions of others to ensure that our status in life is good. We rely on our own perceptions of who people are and react accordingly. If they have a good rap on social media or in the popularity stakes then we acknowledge them as being models for our culture to emulate. Our public facing persona is often how we present to the world and as such is manipulated to demonstrate our best features as it were whilst secretly being somebody else internally. A Jekyll and Hyde situation in the reality of our own lives. We very rarely stop to consider a persons outward persona and compare it with their, to us, hidden persona so that when at some future time point a scandal arises we are shocked and horrified. I do not think that we have to delve far into the archives of any newspaper to find the truth in that. For us as Christians on our journey this is most appropriate for us to consider as we form ourselves into the image of Christ. Our outward persona should of course conform to that of Christ. However, the reality is that hypocrisy is not the purview of the outward facing persona but is in reality the inward persona of our hearts, which as Christians MUST, not should or any other modal verb or adverb display Christ to the world. If our inner persona does not conform to Christ we can easily manipulate the outer in a manner that it appears as if we are displaying Christ to the world. Once our inner persona is correct it is unlikely, though not impossible, for us to display Christ in our outward facing persona.

Our issue is clearly outlined in the gospel passage, (Matt 23.1-12), where the crowds are told to obey the scribes and Pharisees but do not do what they do. There is a clear referencing to the fact that whilst the scribes and the Pharisees are telling the people the correct behaviours it is their inward behaviours that are suspect as they apply those laws to the detriment of the public and to the benefit of themselves. They are seen and lauded for their own piousness but in reality act inappropriately. There are many stories of such hypocrisy from simple callousness to an integrated attitude where the person cannot see that their behaviour is innately wrong. In the modern context it is perhaps obvious, if we actually think about it, that the situation in the Middle East is a portrayal of hypocrisy on a grand scale as much to a certain extent was the recent results of the referendum. If we look at the prophet Micah this becomes abundantly clear that the behaviours being exhibited in the ME is precise to this passage. As Christians our understanding as Christ is to be peacemakers not warmongers. Irrespective of where we stand on a purely political basis our goal is to seek justice and demand peace rather than encourage this side or that.

Is your inner face that of Christ or only your outer persona?

We do not have to dig deep into the scriptures to understand that it is a humbleness of heart that is required as we seek justice and peace in our lives (Matt. 23.11-12). Our common societal outlook today is in line with those that surround the scribes and the Pharisees, we make big of those whose outward face is turned towards the apparent following of Christ but who ignore the greater understanding within their own lives. Our society is all about the outward persona the hype around personality and popularity abounds. For us as Christians we need to ensure that we can see their motivations and not what they portray. Is it to divide or to bring peace? Is it to demand righteousness or sit back and allow injustice? In answering these questions we answer where we stand in terms of Christ's presence in our hearts for if we only display outward presence we do not move towards Christ's heart or God's presence.

Taxes and tithes

 We all complain about the taxes that we are required to pay. We all complain about the amount of money that the local council demands from us in rates. After all even Christ suggests that we should give to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar (Mtt. 22.17-22). We all give generously to the needs of our clubs and societies to which we belong whether it be the Embroider's Guild, the Art Appreciation Society, Rotary or some other group such as the Golf Club, etc. The difference being the fact that we want to do those things that we belong to and we moan about anything imposed on us by "authority". Let us just think about this in a different manner. What would happen if we did not pay our taxes as a collective, our rates and our club dues? What difference would it make to anything if we did not give?

In looking at the situation from this viewpoint we automatically see that things would start to become significantly problematical for us. Let's use the council rates as an example. If I was the Council and did not receive what was asked what would happen. Well perhaps, one could start by withdrawing services, no rubbish collection for that household. Any repairs to roadways outside the house be put off. Perhaps spend a little less on the upkeep of the local park, the local services (library, sport venue, etc). We soon see that there is an inconvenience placed on the householder that begins to affect the neighbour and then ultimately the community as resources keep on being diverted away from the area in which the house is situated. We can obviously take the implications of this on to the larger problematic of taxes to the Federal government with the resultant consequences. I am sure that Christ was equally aware of these same consequences in his era and the time. Our society and our community does not depend purely and simply on goodwill. At some point in the complexity of society there has to be a means of ensuring that essential works are undertaken. By choice we make this an issue of financial return.

Are we paying tax or tithing or both?

It can be seen that we would also be breaking the commandment of love of neighbour should we be so neglectful in our duties. The same applies at the lower level of clubs and social societies as these would inevitably fold should there be a lack of income to pay for their modest upkeep and continuance. This situation equally applies to the Church as without income there is a challenge in terms of material continuance in a specific place. In the absence of such income there would necessarily be a downgrading of services and structure in any locality. However, for the Christian church there is a further obligation (Mtt. 22.21b). Here, Christ is referencing the tithe that goes back to Abram's interaction with Melchizedek (Gen. 14.20) that amounts to 10 percent. A tithe that was to be made for the making of wholeness (Holy) in ones life (Deut. 12.5-6). This tithe was used for doing God's will making justice, righteousness and peace something that in times past was undertaken by the Church not the government. So what is our response. Usually towards those structures that move towards justice and relief of poverty which is not always the Church. It is towards making life holy and in conformance with God's love.

So we have two obligations as members of the faith community to which we belong the tithe that must go towards making our lives and the lives of our community. Restoring justice, alleviating poverty, care for the aged and the vulnerable and creating communities of peace. This can be through our faith community or through our actions. This is our obligation to God. Our second responsibility is towards our structures, our services and our faith home; this is the obligation to Caesar. We forget either and we forget that we are a community. We either forget our holiness or we forget our need to build community.

Accepting the invitation

 I remember when my daughter was younger, she had an invitation to go to a get together with "mates".  She was not sure whether they were going or had pulled out, did not want to bother her Dad if it was going to be a non-event, had no way of contacting the others (surprising in this day and age of instant comms) and all the other incipient anxieties that many of us have experienced one way or the other. Who hasn't? The invitation says 6.00 for 6.30 and no one is outside at 6.05. Do we dress or do we go casual? Anxieties that are so common place for some that they are really only irritants. We boldly go with what we think is the correct response. So what if we are early. Perhaps we can ask to look inside if our friends cannot be seen outside. These are easy response to soothe the troubled mind. What if the questions are of a bigger or rather greater nature? The Israelites were waiting for Moses and were filled with the same fears (Ex. 32.1-14) and in Isaiah there is a sense of this waiting and expectancy (Is. 25.6-9). The Israelites had an invitation from God but were waiting for him. Their fears were expressed in the form of an alternative to God, the golden calf, as God did not appear to be with them at the time.

Those that were invited in Christ's parable (Matt. 22.1-14) find themselves trying desperately to get out of going. If we worry about the minor details we are also prone to saying yes as a matter of politeness knowing that we will not turn up for the event in any case. We have no qualms about this. We want the person to know that we are friends but are really not wishing to be put out. It is we that matter not anything else. We are invited by Christ to form a relationship with Christ and with God and just like those other invitations we accept out of politeness. To be honest means that we have to change our lives and centre God above everything else. It is like changing our clothes to go out to that gathering to which we have been invited. Indeed, changing our clothes is perhaps easier than changing our lives for Christ.  Often we pretend, as its easier to wear an appearance than it is to make an inward change.

Is it an invitation you can refuse?

The invitation we accept but have no intention of going to. The social grace of the appearance of intentionality in attending rather than the actuality of attending. If we were to truly accept then our lives may actually be changed. The invitation that we actually accept and participate in is the one that changes our lives totally. Even when we have our last minute doubts outside the venue or whether our friends are actually going to be there. In loosing heart at the last minute we condemn ourselves just as much as when we chicken out with a polite acceptance that means nothing. We find other things to attract our attention and divert them away from God / Christ, just like the golden calf. If we are to be honest with ourselves our whole life should be different to the one we have accepted as we pretend to live as Christ has invited us to do. The abundant life that is Christ has been subverted by structure that is in place for our convenience. We have had innumerable opportunities through out the ages to make changes in how we live our lives in Christ. Each time we have been invited out of our own lives and out of the lives we have made for ourselves we become frightened. We are like those that sit outside the venue debating as to whether anyone else is going to turn up. If we do not see our friends we turn away.  We use any excuse to drive away and do it ourselves. We find any excuse, rules, regulations, societal pressures to not attend or accept the invitation honestly. Australia has refused the invitation to change itself and has allowed the fear to come in so that it can build its own golden calf of shame to worship.

We are invited into abundant life in Christ. We are invited to love God and our neighbours (the other whom we often fear) as our selves. At what point are we going to see that acceptance means change. It means a move away from our own self indulgences into a more permanent life that is filled with the abundance that comes with the grace of God. It means a move away from petty cruelty of lost invitations and moments to a life filled with God's presence and opportunities. It means a fulfilment of our desires without the worry and struggle that comes with the task of doing it ourselves. So when will you truly accept Christ's invitation?

Obedience to authority

 Promise keeping in today's world does not rate that highly. The old adage that you are as good as your word does not resonate well in business circles with its unending demand for contracts and legally binding clauses to keep everyone doing the things that they promise to do. Looking at Christ's parable of the two sons (Matt. 21.28-32) seems to indicate that this was the case even way back then. The Prophet Ezekiel brings this out when God promises a change in the way sin works (Ez. 18.1-4). What promises do we find hard to complete and what promises do we find easy? It really depends on our attitude as does everything we do in terms of our Christian walk. The attitude is brought out in Christ's parable supremely well. It is not just about doing but also about doing for the right reasons and in obeyance of God.

Our promise keeping is desultory at best non existent at worst. We require of ourselves written contracts to maintain the promises we keep. Even when we are considering our bond to a person for life we hesitate and hesitate until we become content in a less formal relationship. We are unable to make the commitment of a promise to a person we wish to live our lives with. Either because of legality or because we are too scared to make that commitment. We promise our children the earth but force them to undertake a style of education that is better suited to 100 years ago than to a world that has changed.  We make a commitment to our faith at baptism and again at confirmation only to find ourselves breaking those very promises each time we turn around. We are happy to make voluntary commitments if it does not inconvenience our life style or what we believe should be the manner in which we live.  The leaders of the temple were the same they had a viewpoint that was from a theological perspective, which was in keeping with how things were buried in the past and not a view of God's promise and future. Christ challenges them to have an alternative view of God and not being able to in their pride and ambition they condemn and judge. This seems to be a perennial problem for us as we pride ourselves on our own knowledge and have ambitions about surpassing others that means we look for opportunities to further ourselves. Our own self esteem is more important to us then any other thing. Education is about ensuring that others achieve knowledge so that they can assist and help others not to empower themselves. We enable others in their faith journey by opening their eyes not to our understanding but to the presence of God in their midst. It is not sufficient for us as Christians to be ambitious for ourselves but rather we need to be ambitious for our neighbours so that we can enable them in the path towards God.

Are we obedient and good at promise keeping?  Which dog are we?

We break our promise to God each and every time we fail to stand up for someone who is less fortunate then ourselves. Like the first son who promises to work the fields and then goes to his pleasures we often neglect that which God demands of us.  We place our own selfish desires before the obedience to a promise we have made in our baptism and confirmation. We often do this in small things, neglect of our community, for our own pride and vanity. Unlike more indigenous cultures who are brought up to place community first we who pride ourselves in following Christ place ourselves first.  It is the humbleness of heart that allows us to give to the other that which we want that sets us apart from everyone else.  Christ shows us the way by stating the position of the second son.  We can renege, if we are honest, but that very honesty allows us to turn around to find the grace and assist. In acknowledging Christ in our hearts we mirror his giving in our lives.

Part of our promise keeping and obedience to God is to be honest in all our undertakings in God's name.  Christ critiqued the institutional church much to their chagrin in many ways.  In doing so Christ enabled others to see the true face of a compassionate God in their lives.  Whilst we strive to do God's will within our structures it is often more important to be honest with our own obedience.  This means that we may be at odds with what is perceived to be unwarranted promise breaking within our own structures.  Yet, in order to fulfil God's commands we need to ensure that our own promises and our own commitments are true.  We need to be involved with and committed in our time, our giving and our obedience to God's will.