Time for Christ the King: Jeremiah 23:1-6 - Reign of Christ Sunday
1Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. 2Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. 3Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.
5The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.” (NRSV)
Since
Election Day, there has been an explosion in the number of hate crimes that
have been committed against immigrants, persons of color, Muslims, women, Jews,
members of the LGBTQ community, and supporters of President-Elect Donald Trump. These crimes include threatening speech,
violent assaults, vandalism of property, and all kinds of criminal
mischief.
After this excruciating election, it’s tragic sad to know
that the division of our country extends to the point of raw hatred.
Our president-elect has repeatedly promised to bring this
country together, and I pray he is successful.
But what will it take?
Words are not enough
to heal. At the end of the day, we’re
all in this together. What happens to one happens to us all. The only way to end divisions is to cross
over them in peace to the other side.
But in our world, what happens
to someone else is not my problem…and this may be, for our country, the
biggest problem of all…
This was the mindset of the kings God speaks against in the
words of the prophet Jeremiah. Through
most of Israel’s history, kings used their power only to advance themselves and
a fortunate few. They weren’t just
corrupt. Many of them terrorized God’s people. Jeremiah himself was thrown into a cistern by
his king.[1] His crime was speaking God’s truth to power.
The king was supposed to have been a shepherd to his
people—to make sure they were fed, to make sure they’re safe, to execute
justice and righteousness in the land.
But because they have failed—God is going to get personally
involved. God is raising up new
shepherds. No longer will God’s people to
live in fear. God will raise up for
David a righteous branch who will rule wisely and govern justly. None will be lost or forgotten anymore.
We see in Jesus Christ a fulfillment of this promise, though
not in the way any of us would expect… Jesus, himself, ends up a victim of
unjust rulers. He’s mocked, beaten, and
crucified. But he doesn’t curse anyone. He doesn’t call down fire on them. Instead, he cries, “Father, forgive
them…” And then, he turns to the
criminal crucified next to him and promises, “Today, you will be with me in
Paradise.”
This is what a good shepherd does—seeing to it that not even
a condemned criminal slips away from God’s fold…
A good shepherd gets into the mess the sheep are in—regardless
of whether it’s the sheep’s fault or if they’re victims of hatred and
greed.
Hear again those words “Father, forgive them.” There’s mercy and grace amazing even for the most miserable sinner. Jesus is personally involved in reconciling
you to God and setting you on the way to new life in him.
Hear again those words “you will be
with me,” because Jesus teaches you, from the cross, that your pain is his
pain—and his resurrection will be your resurrection.
God’s Righteous Branch is in the world, righting the wrongs
and establishing peace. We’re not there
yet. But nonetheless, Jesus is in the
world, where his sheep are scattered and scared, bringing these promises to
life in real time.
This is where the rubber meets the road for you and me.
If you want to see peace, justice, and righteousness in the
world, it must begin with you. It must
begin by taking personal ownership of your neighbor’s poverty and pain. As a member of the Body of Christ, you are
sent to be the presence of Jesus with those
neighbors. God’s salvation begins when someone like you
is simply present, not trying to fix, but merely doing what is in you to
do. You’re bearing the cross together
into the sure promise of resurrection.
It’s so easy to hold back and mind your own business, because
you probably have more than enough troubles of your own to deal with. But the way to your truest self is in seeing
yourself as a member of Christ’s flock—and as having a direct role in the
coming Kingdom. Jesus is with you and me
in all the pains and injustices of this world, naming the wrongs and pulling us
together by the power of his Spirit to heal and transform. Jesus is with you and me to lead us into a
new creation that will ultimately overturn the powers of greed and hate, that
we can finally worship God freely and without fear. The time has now come for Jesus to
reign. Today is the day for Christ the King.
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