One of the most important ways we make meaning of our lives is in how we mark time. Mainstream American culture revolves around a Consumer Calendar that centers around sales and shopping. But the Christian Calendar reorients our lives away from the Consumer Calendar and into Sacred Time.
This Sunday is the start of a journey through the life of Jesus and the mission of the church. As we mark time with the story of Jesus, we are being formed more and more into the image of Jesus. Next Sunday begins the season of Advent which we will explore more then. But today is Christ the King Sunday, which frames the entire Christian Calendar. We orient our lives around the Good News of God’s Kingdom because we have given our lives, our allegiance, to Jesus as our true King. This is the very heart of what it means to be a Christian and it’s incredibly timely as the allegiance of Christians in America is being intensely tested today. Today we renew our trust and loyalty to Christ and his Kingdom in the midst of the empires of the world which vie for our allegiance.
Prayer
Lord Jesus of Nazareth, you reign as King; you are robed with majesty and vested with authority; you have established the world and you have established your throne—you are everlasting!
Once we were estranged from you and from one another, hostile toward you and toward one another in our minds. But you, Lamb of God, rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into your Kingdom of light and love. Through you we have redemption and reconciliation.
Help us, Lord Jesus, to continue in loyalty and trust, established and steadfast, without shifting from this hope that is promised in the Gospel and secured by your life, death, and resurrection. Amen