November 23, 2014 Exekiel 34:11 - 16, 20 - 24

For 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.

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SERMON

This is Reign of Christ Sunday, and it is the New Year’s Eve of the Christian Calendar. In Advent we will start a new liturgical calendar, but this day Christ the King is the last, the pinnacle. At the conclusion of the Christian year, the church gives thanks and praise for sovereignty of Christ, who is Lord of all creation and is coming again in glory to reign. As sovereign ruler, Christ calls us to a loyalty that transcends every earthly claim on the human heart. From the beginning of time to its ending, Christ rules above all earthly powers! And as you do at the end of the year, you look back, and you imagine forward, and I want us to do that together, to go through the seasons as one body looking on the reign of Christ in the life of this church.

Change to purple stole.
We began last year in Advent, with the color purple, and much celebratory anticipation of Christ to come. There was the Presbyterian Youth Group PYGS Dinner at the Smith house and we dressed up in ugly Christmas sweaters and played White Elephant, a week or so later the Women’s Support Group did the same in the Rembold’s House exchanging beautiful ornaments, all impressed with Amber winning the quiz, guessing which nativities were from which countries and matching the baby Jesus’ with their nativity. There was the excitement of the Young Families Birthday Party for Jesus contrasted by the quiet of the Longest Night Service where we came in from the cold and sang O Come, O Come Emmanuel, and prayed, lighting candles and wandering into the fellowship hall like Mary Mary Joseph looking for room at the Inn and being greeted with warm tea. There was sledding, and caroling, and everyone pack in at the manse, and then came the tone chimes welcoming us in on Christmas Eve. Alex made the perfect Children’s Sermon that night which lead through the homily and created the wonder as we joined in Silent Night, and all was there, in the silliness, in the mystery, in the celebration, of Christ incarnate. Change to white.

What is “Christmas”? It is three words: God in flesh; or four syllables: in-car-na-tion. The Gospel according to John (1:14) tells us, “The Word became flesh and lived among us, … full of grace and truth.” God’s only Son is born among us in order to save the world. This is the message of Christmas, and the Christ candle at the center of our advent wreath was lit and from it a sanctuary full of carolers sining silent night with flames ablaze. Then we continued singing, the next Sunday at our Hymn Sing we shouted out one hymn after another and rejoiced with our favorite Christmas songs. As a congregation we told it on the mountain of Anthony Lakes, joining to ski and snowboard and snowshoe, and have fun, and no one was hurt, and there as much as anything else, was Jesus at Christmas time.

Then came Epiphany, a day for commemorating God’s self-manifestation to all people. The word “epiphany” means “appearance” or “manifestation” of God, and has roots in the word for sunrise or dawn. Epiphany celebrates the appearance of the Lord in the midst of humanity. The Christmas stories of the birth of Immanuel declare the divine entry; Epiphany extols the revelation of God to the world in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. On this day all of Ginger’s knit nativity were finally together for Childern’s time. The PARTY Group met, the Deacons gathered, we had committee meeting night, and session set its budget without fuss, I hosted a thank you party for Staff, and as Christ was among us as we degraded the church and our lives started getting back to normal, while slightly normal Louise celebrated her 90th birthday, joining Mardelle Ebell, and soon would come Betty Kuhl, and Anne Kirkpatrick. Molly led us in a church wide discussion of same sex marriage and I saw Christ in the conversation and as usual the way you deal with tough issues by sticking together despite your differences.

Then Sunday immediately prior to Ash Wednesday celebrated the Transfiguration of the Lord, because this event marked a transition in Jesus’ ministry in which he “set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51), where he would die. In Jesus’ transfiguration, we are assured that Jesus is the hope of the ages. We are transformed into the new being in Christ as we join Christ in his death and resurrection in Lent and Easter. The Safety Policy Committee met and fluidly handled issues and protocol and we began to really see the efforts of our work take hold. Change to purple stole. We saw that in the midst of the waiting of Lent there would be an Easter. We began with Ash Wednesday celebrated by inviting Methodist Church.

We remembered that from dust we came, and to dust we shall return as Lent is a season of spiritual discipline and preparation, anticipating the celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ. The Inquirer’s class met and reflected on their faith along with their sponsors. We ate together, learned together, and shared together, which moved us toward the Last Summer where we silently took communion and went from the church out into the world with ashes on our forehead, hoping that new life that is beyond the power of death, knowing we must die with Christ who was raised for us. That new life requires a daily surrendering of the old life, letting go of the present order, so that we may embrace the new humanity.

Change to white stole:

Then early in the morning, too early perhaps, many of us from various churches and no particular church gathered shivering at the interpretive center for the ministerial association’s Easter Sunrise Service. We came back to our own, celebrating Easter the day of the Lord’s resurrection and the season of rejoicing which commemorates his ministry until his Ascension, and continues through Season of Easter. Easter is a new way of life — in which we are "dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 6:11), called to "walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:4). Every year, for fifty days, the church celebrates and rehearses this new way of life in the Season of Easter — as we await its completion in the fullness of Christ's reign (what we celebrate today). We watched the children hunt eggs in the playground and smash cascarones in the front of the church confetti flying with the joy of a tomb broken open. We ate, the Miles family amazing spread and I got three deviled eggs! A few Sundays later Ginger Preached Earth Day and Jim led us in communion followed by Youth Sunday and an unbelievable Youth auction where all youth were supported and you the congregation thought about how to include each one and Christ was there in you. We celebrated our teachers and graduates and Luke taught us about Israel and Palestine and preached for us a witness of peace and understanding. The Nominating Committee met and prayed and sought the gifts of the congregation to fulfill its needs, and the response was beautiful and profound with new leaders emerging and responding to the call. Our Easter truly led to Pentecost

Change to Red Stole

where we threw balls of yarn and told one another how we saw one another being Christ in the church, the community, and the world, and instead of multiple balls of yarn all going at once, you wanted to pause to hear the witness of one congregant giving thanksgiving to the next, for the ways you serve in open door or backpack, or on orchestras or choirs, or other boards, or teaching, or being friendly and welcoming it went on and on and was beautiful. It was truly the Day of Pentecost, the celebration of the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church. On the Day of Pentecost we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit descending in a mighty rush of wind and flame to inspire the church’s proclamation of Christ’s rising and to empower its mission and ministry to the world.

With that fire of Pentecost we moved into Ordinary Time, with serving, life giving, acts of a cacaughany of kids and youth filling the sanctuary for Vacation Bible School and 15 participants on the Youth Mission Trip to LA whose work and witness are still flowing through the PYGS, the wonder of which they shared with us in a creative and inspiring Sunday Worship on Trinity Sunday. It celebrates the unfathomable mystery of God’s being as Holy Trinity. It is a day of adoration and praise of the one, eternal, incomprehensible God, and through rituals of stone and speaking the youth left us in wonder. We worshiped outside and served simultaneous for Miners Jubilee and Worshiped in the Park half wishing we could do every Sunday just being out in the community in the beauty of the environment, which was followed up by the youth and families hiking to heaven and coming back to down for the start of confirmation class. Session Retreated and set goals, and the swing of the calendar year set us back in motion with a full class for Lectionary Bible Study, Sunday School, and Youth Group Wednesday Dinners. We celebrated Arlita’s generous ministry and have watched her continue to serve and we have welcome Susan in the office and watched her learn the confusion that is the Presbyterian form of government. We carved pumpkins and celebrated O’Hana Fellowship Events which have brought us eve closer as a community if Christ.

Then came a time of grieving as we moved toward Alls Saint’s day and after reading the old Testament since Easter Moses passed away, followed quickly by All Saints,

Change into White Stole

All Saints’ Day was established as an opportunity to honor all the saints, known and unknown, giving glory to God for the ordinary, holy lives of the believers in this and every age.
Christ the King / Reign of Christ. I watched you serve one another by baking and making food, by attending funerals, by remembering one another’s grieves in prayers of the people, and by caring for one another throughout the weeks. Though there was the sadness of death, I saw Christ so alive in you.

Then we moved back toward ordinary time

Green Stole

for a brief moment and Mark began to meet with each staff member as we set our six month goals, and shared where we saw Christ in our work. Places like Larry has already thought of what he wants to play for Easter, and Luke after witnessing the true community that the youth have created hopes to move them into serving more, Amber’s job description was better defined and the church smelled like cleaner last Wednesday and Susan last week began to really use the blog and Facebook to reach about 70 people with each post. There was inspiration and excitement in the work of the staff and their goals, likewise, there was inspiration and excitement as the church raised its stewardship funds and dreamed of who they wanted to be, and people offered ideas of their gifts and how they might serve, and an incredible list of was made and offered to session giving hope to their leaders that there are those willing to serve with the gifts to do so.

White Stole

These are but a handful of ways I have seen the risen Christ in you and I remember them on Christ the King Sunday and I wonder on the News Years Eve of our church year where you have seen Christ in our midst, where have you seen us serve one another, be a family, serve the community, serve the world and creation, feed the hungry, comfort those in darkness, and celebrate Christ’s power, Where did you see God this year? And as Advent comes, where you will look for God in our coming year? What do you believe has yet to be fulfilled? Because Christ has come, Christ reigns supreme,