Christ the King (Luke 23:33-43) 11/24/2013

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I was away from the office this past week for a few days as I participated in a clergy retreat, and I am very thankful for the gift of this time to listen, learn and reflect with my clergy colleagues. The retreat was a time to learn about healthy practices of body, mind and spirit, and personal finance, leadership and ministry; how to create a proper balance in your life. Although all of these components of the retreat were insightful, the most nourishing and nurturing was the time spent in community with others; moments of simple social gathering and moments spent in worship. We gathered together each day in worship and one of my most memorable moments was during Morning Prayer of the third day. After hearing the Scripture readings appointed for the day, the preacher stood in front of the group and explained that there were some rather obvious topics for reflection, but instead she wanted to share some thoughts with us about “vestibulo-ocular reflex.” The unexpected topic created a bit of laughter among the surprised group, but the preacher, a priest and medical doctor, pressed ahead with her story. Without the benefit of medical training, I must admit that simply remembering the name “vestibulo-ocular reflex” was about all that I might manage…but fortunately we have the internet to refresh my memory! Vestibulo-ocular reflex is the human body’s amazing ability to provide clear and stable vision, even as our heads are in constant motion. As the head moves in one direction, the eyes respond by moving in a direction of equal and opposite motion to compensate and ensure accurate and clear vision through perfect balance. This reflex action may appear simple at first, but as you imagine the near constant motion of your body and the complexity of the movement, the reflex action of the eyes is nearly miraculous in practice. Vestibulo-ocular reflex is the body’s gift of stability of sight and clear vision, but this gift is only effective if two completely opposite actions are in perfect balance and experienced as one. As I sat with my friends in worship that morning, we encountered an unexpected story, but a story that was filled with the miraculous blessing of balance and clear vision.

This morning we hear an unexpected story as well, a Gospel lesson that may surprise us as we approach the festive holiday season just days away. Luke presents us with his account of the last moments of Christ’s ministry among us; we experience Jesus as he suffered high on the cross, mocked and taunted by nearly everyone who surrounded him. The lesson from our Gospel this morning seems to lack any balance or blessing, a moment filled with only challenge and sorrow. Today we celebrate the Last Sunday after Pentecost, a day we proclaim as the Sunday of “Christ the King.” However, we discover Jesus mocked and scorned and waiting to die, a moment difficult to interpret as a moment for the King of Kings. Surrounded by suffering and great difficulties, we can easily understand why his closest friends ran from this scene in a state of fear and great confusion. We too can experience our moments of challenge and great difficulty, both in our personal lives and in our lives as a community. We too can be surrounded by the uncertainties of life and become filled with concern and weighed down with an unbalanced feeling of dread. Even our life together as a community of Christians is not exempt from this temptation of worry. Our concerns are real, the concerns of the disciples were real as they ran from the foot of the cross, but worry and dread can only prosper in an unbalanced understanding of God’s presence among us. These worries can take hold of our lives only if we see the world from its scarcity alone rather than seeing the world through the broad and balanced vision of God’s abundant love.

Walter Brueggemann, a well known theologian and former professor of Old Testament studies, speaks to the tension between the overwhelming blessings of God’s abundance and the all too common human approach of seeing the world from an understanding of scarcity alone. Brueggemann notes how the Bible states from the very beginning that God creates out of love and abundance, the world and all that is in it is created in a week and everything was good, it was very good. Brueggemann continues, “Later in Genesis God blesses Abraham, Sarah and their family. God tells them to be a blessing, to bless the people of all nations. Blessing is the force of well-being active in the world, and faith is the awareness that creation is the gift that keeps on giving…The conflict between the narratives of abundance and of scarcity is the defining problem confronting us today…the Gospel story of abundance asserts that we originated in the magnificent, inexplicable love of a God who loved the world into generous being.”^[i]  Brueggemann’s insight of the abundant love of God’s blessings to us underscores the hope and promise that is inherent in the Gospel message of faith, hope and love; a promise that is given to us as children of God.

Sorrow and joy, challenge and achievement, transition and stability; and, of course, vestibulo-ocular reflex…the miraculous gift of balance and clear vision through opposite actions. If we only can see the suffering Christ high on the cross, we will be tempted to run and hide, filled with fear. But if we allow ourselves to be filled with God’s abundant grace, we will hear Christ’s promise, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Christ’s loving promise of generosity in the midst of suffering. As we stand on the threshold of the season of Advent, I ask you to remember the blessings of God’s abundance in our lives, the sacred balance of our life together. As you visit family and friends this season, remember that our missioners visited those in need in Cuba. As you shop for the perfect present for those close to you, say a prayer and join us as we give to those in need through our VNA Christmas sharing program. As you gather with your family during this coming season of Advent, give thanks in love and support of the many ministries of this community and the life giving nature of our work together. Christ’s promise of generosity in the midst of challenge allows us to move beyond scarcity and embrace God’s loving abundance in our lives. May God’s abundant love bless you with balance and clear vision and may that love send you forth filled with the spirit of generosity and joy. AMEN.