This won’t have anything at all to do with Dvorak’s Symphony #9. It may have a LOT to do with a song recorded about 50 years ago by The Mamas & The Papas, “There’s a New World Coming (and it’s just around the bend).” Yep, we of the Age of Aquarius figured that love/peace/joy and other grace-filled wonders of Holy Life were already in place, that it was just a matter of time… Readings for the upcoming weekend are reinforcement for those of us who still gain a flash of optimism about a loving and generous God.
Ezekiel’s oracle of 34:11-16, 20-24 announces that God is going to show the inept shepherds of Israel how it’s done. V.23 tells us/them “I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David [the messiah] and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.” The Son of David is to be prince over the People and shall reign as Lord, being both immeasurably generous and calling the People to accountability–there will always be those who will consume more than they need.
The Epistle continues to speak of the exaltation of Christ: “God put this power to work in Christ when he raised (Jesus) from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,…above every name that is named, not only in this age but in the age to come.” (Ephesians 1:21) The writer believed that this has already happened, as do I and the Mamas & the Papas. Believers thus can endure the confusions of daily living and the surrounding unfairness; no longer do we cringe in the shadows, wondering what a hostile authority is gonna do today…
Matthew looks forward to End Times when Jesus will come again to sift out the “sheep & goats” (25:31-46). Many will be surprised: they had no idea that they were honoring Christ when they helped the least and neediest. Conversely, many who thought they were adhering to the Law of Being Good were shocked to know that they had ignored Jesus in these same poor. Here are terms of a renewed Eden as serious disciples attempt to affirm the worth of those created in the Image of God. It’s a matter of recognition, isn’t it? “When did we see you, Lord?” sounds shallow when we realize that the Lord is to be seen in the vulnerable and the weary. How much of ourselves can we give away? Jesus gave all he had; God has plenty to renew what we spend.
This last Sunday of the Christian Year is known as Reign of Christ, a moment when the Church can confront the powers of the world with a message that God has everything in place. It’s comfort for the Church; yet it’s also a challenge to be accountable to the King which we duly proclaim through our inclusion of those unlike us into an eternal community. We wait. We worry. But our eyes twinkle with a happy affirmation–“God reigns, let the earth be glad”.
In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King
My engagement with lessons assigned to the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com
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