Christ the King

Readings

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. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, ³³ and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. ³⁴ Then 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; ³⁵ for 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, ³⁶ I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” ³⁷ Then 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? ³⁸ And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? ³⁹ And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” ⁴⁰ And 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,^[g] you did it to me.” ⁴¹ Then 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; ⁴² for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I 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.” ⁴⁴ Then 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?” ⁴⁵ Then 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.” ⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’

Sermon

I get places that dust can’t.

This is a phrase that I picked up from Kate Bottley, a priest whose ministry to the world of media means she is frequently asked to do some quite remarkable things. And I was thinking about it this week, because it was quite literally true in my case! The previous Bishop of Coventry, with whom I had worked quite closely over the past 7 years, invited me and others from the diocese to go to his installation as Dean of St George’s Chapel in Windsor. So on Thursday, a bunch of us headed off in a minibus, which my husband insisted on calling the Venga Bus, to attend the service and share refreshments afterwards.

The Dean of St George’s is appointed by the monarch, and so the King, Queen and other royals were present at the service. And what a service – the setting, the music, the coordination. It was just perfect. And then afterwards, we were taken for refreshments in the Windsor State Apartments, where we mingled with the King and John Major and other grandees, while being plied with champagne and the most exquisite canapes. It was perfect. And, there wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere – I truly had got where dust couldn’t!

It felt quite significant to have my first real brush with royalty in the week we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. I love this festival – it is the last Sunday and highpoint of the church year. We began anticipating Christ’s coming in Advent, we celebrated his incarnation at Christmas, we recognised who he was with the Kings and others at Epiphany, we joined him on the journey to the cross in Lent and Holy Week, rejoiced in his resurrection and ascension in Eastertide, and the awaited his Spirit at Pentecost. Since then we have thought about how we follow Jesus in the needs and joys of our world, before in these final weeks of Kingdom season turning our thoughts towards the future – a future where we long to join all God’s saints, a future where wars will cease and peace will reign, a future where Christ’s Kingdom will come in all its fullness. And all will be perfect!

It would have been very easy to draw a false binary distinction between our earthly king and our heavenly one. King Charles is not immune to the struggles and imperfections that afflict all humanity – his privileged position will protect him from the worst of many challenges, but might well amplify others. In his work for charities, most notably his work in setting up the Princes Trust which has transformed thousands of young lives, giving opportunities and hope, he has been aware of the needs of those less fortunate than himself. But the reality is that he does spend a lot of time in places where there isn’t much dust and there are plenty of staff to ensure things go smoothly.

In contrast, our heavenly King didn’t just learn about the challenges the poor and vulnerable experience, he became one of them. And he is still to be found there. When we care for those who are hungry or thirsty or lonely or sick or imprisoned – we will find Jesus in that place. If we find ourselves hungry or thirsty or lonely or sick or imprisoned, Jesus is with us.

Pope Francis once, when teaching priests about their ministry, said “the shepherds must smell of the sheep”. He meant that if they were to care for the flock God had entrusted to them, they would be with them, sharing their joys and sorrows, a closeness that meant they even took on the aroma of their charges! And Jesus didn’t just smell like the sheep he had come to save, he became one of them, sharing every struggle and joy humanity can experience.

However, one day his Kingdom will come in all its fullness. There will be justice, there will be mercy, there will be peace, there will be abundance – it will be truly perfect. The question Jesus asks us is whether we are willing to work for that Kingdom. These are the last teachings Jesus gives his followers before he goes to the cross, and they are urgent and get to the point. Will we follow our King, even into the world’s unwanted and untended places? Will we serve our King in our love for one another, for the lost and the least?

It is lovely to be invited to places like Windsor Castle, where all is clean and sparkling and the canapes and champagne are abundant. But it is a greater privilege to be invited into the vulnerable, hurting places of people’s lives, to be with them and make sure they know that God is with them too. And sometimes we are the ones who need to invite the other in, to share our struggles and allow them be Jesus’ hand and feet with us. Don’t be scared to invite others – the place you meet in Christ’s name is holy ground.

And in the inviting and being invited into those places of struggle we both work for and prepare ourselves for Christ’s eventual kingdom, where all shall be truly and endlessly and wonderfully perfect. Amen