SERMON – NOVEMBER 26, 2006 - REV. JAY VETTER

A KINGDOM OF TRUTH

The New Testament lesson that we have today is from the first chapter of Revelations.I’m going to read the first part of it as our benediction today, but I wanted to just read with you the 7^th and 8^th verses.This is John writing while he’s in exile.John of Patmos to the churches in Asia Minor to encourage them in their faith.

He begins by talking about Jesus as the bearer of God’s truth, then he talks about Jesus coming back.Now the reason this was important to these people because they were a persecuted Church.John was sent away to this island because he wouldn’t renounce his faith.And John’s encouraging Christians to hang on even though it seems like it’s dangerous to be a Christian and the whole world’s against them and as part of that he paints a picture of God’s sort of triumph in the history of the world and in that Jesus comes, and here’s what he writes partly.He said, 

LOOK, HE.S COMING WITH THE CLOUDS.Every eye will see Him,

even those who pierced Him;

On Christ the King Sunday we acknowledge that all of humanity is connected at a deep level.That every eye in this hoped for kingdom that we celebrate, every eye will see, even those who crucified him.Even those who pierced him.Even our worst enemies.

Then in this last part of it says, 

and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.So it will be.Amen.

I’ve been thinking about that last part.All of the tribes on earth will wail. Why would it be that when Jesus comes in his glory the response that we all make will be a crying, a wailing. 

Tuesday morning in the Bible Study when we were sharing about this, I had a memory come back to me that I’d forgotten about.Or, hadn’t thought about for a long, long time.

20 years ago I went down to the State Track Meet in Omaha to watch my niece run.She was a sophomore.She qualified for State.We were all proud of her.She ran in the Class B 800 meters.And, so we went down.It was a beautiful day, Maureen and I and the kids and we were sitting there and we were cheering and when she was running the race and coming around to the finish, I was trying to stand up and yell for her to exhort her along like I learned to do when I ran track.You know, you need all the encouragement you can, especially when your lungs are burning and legs are tired and all that sort of thing.I stood up to yell and I choked up.I found myself crying instead of yelling.I couldn’t get the words out.Tears came to my eyes.Then I was sort of embarrassed about that and ashamed of myself.Why was I getting allteared up?

Well I shared the story Tuesday morning and one of the women said, well did she win the race?Maybe you were tearing up because you were so proud of her.And, I said “no”, she didn’t win the race.

I’ve been thinking a lot about that.That was one of those moments in my life where several things seemed to come together where I felt in the presence of something greater than myself and the only response I could make was to tear up, to cry.To wail.

Is that what John was talking about.That when we all see Jesus, when we all kind of have this kingdom breaking in on us, this kingdom of truth that in the presence of that kingdom mourning and crying and wailing will be the only response.

I can think of a few other times when I’ve lost myself.When my children were born.Other times when things happened.I was thinking about that, why did I tear up like that when I watchedand I thought you know it could be because I was dealing with some unresolved guilt.You see, I dropped my niece on her head when she was 2 years old.1 or 2, I don’t know.It broke her collarbone.Her mother wasn’t very happy with me.I was sort of rough housing.She never did get very tall and I always wondered if that was my fault.

Maybe there was some sort of a connection that, you know if she can run the 800 meters she might be okay after all, you know, you didn’t ruin her life.Maybe it was relief.And I thought, well I don’t know about that?Then I thought, when I was younger I used to participate in track and I use to run and I always felt a kind of a connection to my niece.I think one of the reason she ran the 800 meters is because it was a longer race and I use to be a distance runner.Actually my niece was a sprinter.By the time she went to college she was running at the 100 meters and lower.She figured out she wasn’t an 800 meter runner.And, maybe she was doing that to identify with me and I felt a connection or something.

Or maybe it’s because she’s the oldest grandchild.She was named after my Mom.My Mom was killed in an automobile accident just a few months before Allison was born.And, so maybe I was expressing a kind of grief.Maybe I was in awe of the connection to the past and to family and to the future that was represented in that kind of moment where I was awed to the point of tears by being in the presence of some truth that was beyond me.

I think that was what Jesus was trying to get Pilate to see.That Jesus came into the world to connect us to a reality that’s universal and eternal.And to connect us to a kingdom to which we can belong.A kingdom that is healing.A kingdom that is life giving.A kingdom that is life affirming. 

And there was Pilate standing next to Jesus, that close to that kingdom and he did what a lot of church people do.He decided that he’d talk about it instead of living it.

You know, later on Luke tells us in that same story when Jesus was crucified.There were two people crucified with him.One of them mocked him and the other one must have had one of those moments where he recognized the kingdom and he said to Jesus, 

“remember me when you come into your kingdom.

and Jesus said,

“you’re there”.

That’s our invitation by Christ the King Sunday.Not to figure out and announce all truth and nothing but the truth to everyone, but to find a sense of connectedness.A sense of forgiveness.a sense of renewal. a sense of belonging. a sense of eternity. and to be there and to live it.

Let us pray:Thank you gracious and loving God for calling us into your 

Kingdom.For extending your kingdom to us and breaking into our lives 

that we might truly belong to you.Amen.

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