Reign of Christ/Christ the King Sunday

 

November 26th 2023 | CALUMC | 10:00am | Christ the King Sunday - YouTube

 

 

… just as you did it to one of the least of these who are 

members of my family, you did it to me.’ 

 

 

31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ 41Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matthew 25:31-46

 

Picture

The Last Judgment

MICHELANGELO di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

1537-41

Fresco

Cappella Sistina

Vatican

https://www.gantshillurc.co.uk/ministers-blog/michelangelos-sistine-chapel-the-last-judgement

 

This fresco was commissioned by Pope Clement VII (1523-1534) shortly before his death. His successor, Paul III Farnese (1534-1549), forced Michelangelo to a rapid execution of this work, the largest single fresco of the century.

https://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/m/michelan/3sistina/lastjudg/index.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We must not, in trying to think about

how we can make a big difference,

ignore the small daily differences we can make which,

over time, add up to big differences 

that we often cannot foresee.

~ Marian Wright Edelman

 

 

 

 

The simplest acts of kindness

are by far more powerful 

than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.

~ Mahatma Gandhi

 

 

 

 

 

Harley Goes to Training Camp

Jerry and Harley

 

Natalie and Harley

 

Dinner with the Nings

Connie Ning, Ann Moore, Bill Manning, Ted Ning, Marsha Manning, 

Carolyn Alexander, Mike Moore

 

Ann Moore, Connie Ning, Mande Mischler, Ted Ning, Mike Moore,

Marsha and Bill Manning

 

Thanksgiving

My Thanksgiving cactus

 

Thanksgiving at Keys on the Green

Annette Bradley, Marsha Manning, Gail Sharp, Bill Manning

 

Bill Manning, Kimra Perkins, Randy Sackerson, Carolyn Alexander,

Bob Bradley, Annette Bradley, Marsha Manning, Gail Sharp

 

From Tokyo with Love

By Robin Sakamoto

 

 

 

 

 

I would rather have a mind opened by wonder

than one closed by belief.

~ Gerry Spence

 

 

 

 

 

 

November 26, 2023  Reign of Christ/Christ the King - Year A

 

Previous OPQs may be found at:

 

 

11For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12As 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. 13I 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. 14I 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. 15I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD.16I 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. 

20Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, 22I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.

23I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken.

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

 

 

 

15I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Ephesians 1:15-23

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org

 

 

20111119-111210.jpg

 

 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pantokrator_13cent.jpg

 

color_white_1.jpg

LECTIONARY

Ezekiel 34:11–16, 20–24 

Psalm 100 or Psalm 95:1–7a 

Ephesians 1:15–23 

Matthew 25:31–46

 

 

Summary

The Last Judgment gives the principle of the preceding two parables: That the work done on earth is not rendered to men but, mysteriously, to Christ himself. Christ does not relieve the believer of the obligation to works of mercy, rather he gives them a new orientation. Christ himself is the object of those works.

https://www.preachingtoday.com/lectionary/

 

THE WORD:

Matthew’s is the only description of the Last Judgment in any of the Gospels.  It is Jesus’ last discourse recorded by Matthew before the events of the Passion unfold.  In the vision he presents in today’s Gospel, Christ is the king who sits in judgment “as a shepherd separates sheep from goats.”   Mercy and charity will be the standards for determining one’s entry into the future kingdom of God.

https://connectionsmediaworks.com/sundaygospel.html#nov26

 

First Reading Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

11For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12As 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. 13I 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. 14I 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. 15I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD.16I 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. 

20Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, 22I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.

23I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken.

Psalm 100:1-5

1   Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. 
2        Worship the LORD with gladness; 
          come into his presence with singing.

3   Know that the LORD is God. 
          It is he that made us, and we are his; 
          we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4   Enter his gates with thanksgiving, 
          and his courts with praise. 
          Give thanks to him, bless his name.

5   For the LORD is good; 
          his steadfast love endures for ever, 
          and his faithfulness to all generations.

Second Reading Ephesians 1:15-23

15I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Gospel Matthew 25:31-46

31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ 41Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”