Devotion for Christ the King Sunday, Year D (Humes)

Above:  Icon of Christ Pantocrator

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

Faithful Community

NOVEMBER 20, 2022

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ,  who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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Jeremiah 33:14-16

Psalm 100

Hebrews 13:1-16, 20-21

John 17:1-26

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How can people live in faith community?  Certain details vary according to when and where a given faith community lives, as well as who comprises it.  However, Hebrews 13 provides essential guidance for how to live the John 17, 

that they will all be one,

just as Jesus and YHWH are one.  I choose not to copy or paraphrase all of Hebrews 13:1-16, 20-21.  I encourage you, O reader, to study that text instead.

I do have some comments, though.  The instructions are representative, not comprehensive.  They boil down to this summary:  Honor the image of God in one another.  This is the essence of compassion, which begins by getting outside of oneself.

The Church has a bad name in many quarters.  A certain bumper sticker reads,

JESUS, SAVE ME FROM YOUR FOLLOWERS.

Many non-Christians think of Christians as being non-judgmental.  To be honest, many Christians associate Christianity with right-wing politics, Nativism, xenophobia, fascism, nationalism, and discredited conspiracy theories.  To be honest, many self-identifying Christians embrace at least one of the following:  right-wing politics, Nativism, xenophobia, fascism, nationalism, and discredited conspiracy theories.  One may even think of Falangism, which is Christian fascism, as in Francisco Franco’s Spain.  The contemporary fascist movement in the United States of America does come wrapped in the American flag and the Christian cross.  Many of the Church’s wounds are self-inflicted injuries.  The proper Christian response to these criticisms is to avoid defensiveness and to live the faith as Jesus taught it.

We of the Church can learn much from our critics.  Some of them may know the ethics and morals of Jesus better than many of us do.  The Holy Spirit may be speaking to the Church through some of the Church’s critics.

Christ is the King of the Universe.  Many of his subjects on Earth are not in the Church.  Likewise, many of the members of the Church are not Christ’s subjects.  The Gospel of Mark teaches that many who think they are insiders are really outsiders, and vice versa.  That lesson functions simultaneously as warning and comfort.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 3, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANSKAR AND RIMBERT, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOPS OF HAMBURG-BREMEN

THE FEAST OF ADELAIDE ANNE PROCTER, ENGLISH POET AND FEMINIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT ALFRED DELP, GERMAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1945

THE FEAST OF JEMIMA THOMPSON LUKE, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST HYMN WRITER; AND JAMES EDMESTON, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAMUEL DAVIES, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/02/03/faithful-community-part-vii/

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