That though the wrong seems oft so strong,

Above:  Icon of Christ Pantocrator

Image in the Public Domain

God is the Ruler Yet

NOVEMBER 24, 2024

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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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2 Samuel 23:1-7

Psalm 100

Revelation 1:4b-8

Mark 15:16-20

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The mockery of Jesus by the soldiers in Mark 15:16-20 is gut-wrenching to read.  It also contrasts with the depiction of Jesus in Revelation 1:4b-8.  Not all the earth hails God and acknowledges the Son of David.  Yet Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega.

The Festival of Christ the King is about a century old.  Originally set by Pope Pius XI on what Lutherans and Presbyterians called Reformation Sunday, Christ the King Sunday occupies the Last Sunday after Pentecost, five Sundays before December 25.  It occupies this place in the Western Christian calendar because of the revision of the Roman Catholic calendar in 1969 and the subsequent revisions of Anglican and Protestant calendars.

The theology of Christ the King Sunday is sound.  As Presbyterian minister Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858-1901) wrote after one of his nature hikes, in a poem published posthumously and transformed into the hymn, “This is My Father’s World,”

God is the ruler yet.

May we never forget this truth.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 27, 2019 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF BROOKE FOSS WESTCOTT, ANGLICAN SCHOLAR, BIBLE TRANSLATOR, AND BISHOP OF DURHAM; AND FENTON JOHN ANTHONY HORT, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND SCHOLAR

THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN HENRY BATEMAN, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF JOHAN NORDAHL BRUN, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN BISHOP, AUTHOR, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM REED HUNTINGTON, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND RENEWER OF THE CHURCH; AND HIS GRANDSON, WILLIAM REED HUNTINGTON, U.S. ARCHITECT AND QUAKER PEACE ACTIVIST

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/07/27/god-is-the-ruler-yet-iii/

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Above:   Christ Pantocrator

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

God is the Ruler Yet

NOVEMBER 26, 2023

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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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Daniel 1:1-17

Psalm 9:1-8

Revelation 1:9-18

Luke 17:20-21

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This is my father’s world!

O let me ne’er forget

that though the wrong

seems oft so strong,

God is the ruler yet.

–Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858-1901)

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In the reading from the Book of Revelation the imagery used to describe Jesus is similar to that usually reserved for the Roman Emperor.  Thus the Apocalypse of John fits the bill of subversive literature from the beginning.  Revelation 1:9-18 is therefore an appropriate lesson to read on Christ the King Sunday.

British Congregationalist minister Charles Harold (C. H.) Dodd proposed Realized Eschatology. The Kingdom of God, he wrote, has always been present.  It has, however, been more evident at some times than on others.  Dodd must have been thinking about the assigned Gospel reading as he formulated that idea.  Psalm 9 might also have been on his mind.

If Dodd was correct, what about exploitative powers, such as the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire (in Daniel) and the Roman Empire (in Revelation), among other oppressive regimes?  The question of, if God exists, why evil does also, has vexed many people over the ages.  But why would the existence of God nullify human free will and prevent abuses of it?

As the Mennonites tell us, we are living in the age of God’s patience.  This indicates a future age of divine impatience, with good news for many and catastrophic news for many others.  Judgment is in the purview of God, not mere mortals.  May we mere mortals understand that reality and embrace it.  May we also trust in God, who, despite appearances, is the ruler yet.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 21, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT ALOYSIUS GONZAGA, JESUIT

THE FEAST OF CARL BERNHARD GARVE, GERMAN MORAVIAN MINISTER, LITURGIST, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN JONES AND JOHN RIGBY, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2017/06/21/god-is-the-ruler-yet-2/

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Above:   Icon of the Apocalypse of John

Image in the Public Domain

God is the Ruler Yet

NOVEMBER 21-23, 2022

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The Collect:

O God, our true life, to serve you is freedom, and to know you is unending joy.

We worship you, we glorify you, we give thanks to you for your great glory.

Abide with us, reign in us, and make this world into a fit habitation for your divine majesty,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who reigns with you

and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 53

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The Assigned Readings:

Jeremiah 46:18-28 (Monday)

Isaiah 33:17-22 (Tuesday)

Isaiah 60:8-16 (Wednesday)

Psalm 24 (All Days)

Revelation 21:5-27 (Monday)

Revelation 22:8-21 (Tuesday)

Luke 1:1-4 (Wednesday)

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Lift up your heads, O gates;

lift them high, O everlasting doors;

and the King of glory shall come in.

“Who is this King of glory?”

“The LORD, strong and mighty,

the LORD, mighty in battle.”

Lift up your heads, O gates;

lift them high, O everlasting doors;

and the King of glory shall come in.

“Who is this King of glory?”

“The Lord of hosts,

he is the King of glory.”

–Psalm 24:7-10, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

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Here are some thoughts for the time between Proper 29 (Christ the King Sunday) and the First Sunday of Advent.

God wins in the end.  Conquerors fall to other conquerors, who fall to other conquerors.  The faithful who persevere will receive their reward.  Some of them will live long enough to witness the triumph of God in the flesh.  The story of Jesus of Nazareth, attested to by eyewitnesses, contains suffering, death, and resurrection.  The victory of God in that case is one of love and power, not the smiting of enemies, for whom Christ interceded (Luke 23:34).

The Book of Revelation tells of divine creative destruction from Chapters 4 to 20.  Then, in Revelation 21 and 22, God inaugurates the new order.  There is smiting of enemies here, for the deliverance of the oppressed is frequently bad news for unrepentant oppressors.  The new, divine world order, however, contains no oppression.

That divine order has not become reality yet, of course.  Nevertheless, as the Reverend Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858-1901) wrote:

This is my Father’s world,

O let my ne’er forget

That though the wrong

Seems oft so strong,

God is the ruler yet.

This is my Father’s world:

The battle is not done;

Jesus who died

Shall be satisfied,

And earth and heaven be one.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 7, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF FREDERICK LUCIAN HOSMER, U.S. UNITARIAN HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY MARY GIANELLI, FOUNDER OF THE MISSIONARIES OF SAINT ALPHONSUS LIGUORI AND THE SISTERS OF MARY DELL’ORTO

THE FEAST OF CHARLES AUGUSTUS BRIGGS, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN PASTOR THEN EPISCOPAL PRIEST

THE FEAST OF SAINT ROBERT OF NEWMINSTER, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND PRIEST

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/06/07/god-is-the-ruler-yet/

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Shame, Transformed Into Victory and Glory

The Sunday Closest to November 23

Last Sunday After Pentecost:  Christ the King Sunday

NOVEMBER 20, 2022

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The Assigned Readings:

Jeremiah 23:1-6 and Canticle 16 (Luke 1:68-79) or Psalm 46

then 

Colossians 1:11-20

Luke 23:33-43

The Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Some Related Posts:

Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/prayer-of-praise-and-adorationfor-the-last-sunday-after-pentecost-christ-the-king/

Prayer of Confession:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/christ-the-king-prayer-of-confession/

Prayer of Dedication:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/prayer-of-dedication-for-the-last-sunday-after-pentecost-christ-the-king/

Hope of the World:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/08/02/hope-of-the-world/

This is My Father’s World:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/this-is-my-fathers-world/

Alleluia! Sing to Jesus:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/alleluia-sing-to-jesus/

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Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,

Source of all that is and that shall be,

Father and Mother of us all,

Loving God, in whom is heaven:

The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!

The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!

Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!

Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.

With the bread we need for today, feed us.

In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.

In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.

From trials too great to endure, spare us.

From the grip of all that is evil free us.

For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and for ever.  Amen.

—A New Zealand Prayer Book (1989), page 181

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Colossians 1:13-20 describes Jesus well–better than I can–so I defer to it as a superior expression of Christology.  Please meditate on it, O reader.

Jesus of Nazareth, to whom Zechariah referred in Luke 1:68-79, died on a cross and under a mocking sign calling him

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Crucifixion was the way the Roman Empire executed those of whom its leaders wanted to make a public and humiliating example.  Usually nobody even buried the corpses, left for nature to consume.  Thus crucifixion, carrying great stigma, extinguished a person in society most of the time.

But it did not extinguish Jesus.  So a symbol of shame became a symbol of triumph.  Symbols mean what people agree they signify; therefore a symbol of state-sponsored terror–judicial murder–has become a symbol of perfect love.

Christ the King Sunday exists to remind people that, as the Reverend Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858-1901) wrote in a hymn which his widow had published:

This is my Father’s world:

O let me ne’er forget

that though the wrong seems oft so strong,

God is the ruler yet.

This is my Father’s world:

the battle is not done;

Jesus, who died, shall be satisfied,

and earth and heaven be one.

That promise is true, although the culmination of it remains in the future tense.  But may we who claim the name “Christian” never abandon hope.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 5, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ROBERT FRANCIS KENNEDY, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL AND SENATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT BONIFACE OF MAINZ, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/shame-transformed-into-victory-and-glory/

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Above:  The Logo of the Moravian Church

Image Source = JJackman

The Worthy Lamb

NOVEMBER 17, 2022

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Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada.  I invite you to follow it with me.

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Revelation 5:1-14 (Revised English Bible):

I saw in the right hand of the One who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides, and sealed with seven seals.  And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice,

Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?

But there was no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth able to open the scroll to look inside it.  And because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and look inside, I wept bitterly.  One of the elders said do me:

Do not weep; the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the shoot growing from David’s stock, has won the right to open the scroll and its seven seals.

Then I saw a Lamb with the marks of sacrifice on him, standing with the four living creatures between the throne and the elders.  He has seven horns and seven eyes, the eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent to every part of the world.  The Lamb came and received the scroll from the right hand of the One who sat on the throne.  As he did so, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves before the Lamb.  Each of the elders had a harp; they held golden bowls full of incense, the prayers of God’s people, and they were singing a new song:

You are worthy to receive the scroll and break its seals, for you were slain and by your blood you bought for God people of every tribe and language, nation and race.  You have made them a royal house of priests for our God, and they shall reign on earth.

As I looked I heard, all round the throne of the living creatures and the elders, the voices of many angels, thousands on thousands, myriads on myriads.  They proclaimed with loud voices:

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth, wisdom and might, honour and glory and praise!

Then I heard all created things, in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and in the sea, crying:

Praise and honour, glory and might, to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb for ever!

The four living creatures said,

Amen,

and the elders prostrated themselves in worship.

Psalm 149:1-5 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Hallelujah!

Sing to the LORD a new song;

sing his praise in the congregation of the faithful.

2 Let Israel rejoice in his Maker;

let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.

3 Let them praise his Name in the dance;

let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.

4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people

and adorns the poor with victory.

5 Let the faithful rejoice in triumph;

let them be joyful on their beds.

Luke 19:41-44 (Revised English Bible):

When Jesus came in sight of Jerusalem, he wept over it ans aid,

If only you had known this day the way that leads to peace!  But no; it is hidden from your sight.  For a time will come upon you, when your enemies will set up siege-works against you; they will encircle you and hem you in at every point; they will bring you to the ground, you and your children within your walls, and not leave you one stone standing on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s visitation.

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The Collect:

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 everlasting 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.

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Some Related Posts:

Week of Proper 28:  Thursday, Year 1:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/week-of-proper-28-thursday-year-1/

This is My Father’s World:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/this-is-my-fathers-world/

At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/at-the-lambs-high-feast-we-sing/

Agnus Dei:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/10/07/agnus-dei/

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Who is worthy to pronounce the destiny of the earth and all who live on it?  John of Patmos tells us that only one is.  That one is Jesus, the incarnate Second Person of the Trinity, the victorious sacrificial lamb with complete power (seven horns) and omniscience (seven eyes).  Agents of the Roman Empire killed Jesus, but he did not remain dead for long.

The reading from Luke comes from that part of Chapter 19 set immediately after the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  I read the text again and wonder to what extent memories of the First Jewish War and the Roman destruction of the city in 70 C.E. influenced the writing of those words in Greek.  The devastation must have seemed as bad as the end of the world to many people.  So, at the end of the First Century C.E., the Romans were firmly in power, in charge of what Tacitus referred to as a “desert called peace.”  Yet, John of Patmos said, God was firmly in control and the slain Jesus was very much alive, victorious, and powerful–and beyond the range of human-inflicted harm.

As the Reverend Maltbie Davenport Babcock wrote,

God is the ruler yet.

And, as the Moravians say,

Our lamb has conquered; let us follow him.

Amen.

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/the-worthy-lamb/

Above:  Herod Archelaus

Image in the Public Domain

A Foretaste of the Feast of Christ the King

NOVEMBER 22, 2023

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Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada.  I invite you to follow it with me.

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2 Maccabees 7:1, 20-31, 39-42 (Revised English Bible):

Another incident concerned the arrest of seven brothers along with their mother.  They were being tortured by the king with whips and thongs to force them to eat pork, contrary to the law.

…

The mother was the most remarkable of all, and she deserves to be remembered with special honour.  She watched her seven sons perish within the space of a single day, yet she bore it bravely, for she trusted in the Lord.  She encouraged each in turn in her native language; filled with noble resolution, her woman’s thoughts fired by a manly spirit, she said to them:

You appeared in my womb, I know not how; it was not I who gave you life and breath, not I who set in order the elements of your being.  The Creator of the universe, who designed the beginning of mankind and devised the origin of all, will in his mercy give you back again breath and life, since now you put his laws above every thought of self.

Antiochus felt that he was being treated with contempt and suspected an insult in her words.  As the youngest brother was still left, the king, not content with appealing to him, even assured him on oath that once he abandoned his ancestral customs he would make him rich and enviable by enrolling him as a king’s Friend and entrusting him with high office.  Since the youth paid no regard whatsoever, the king summoned the mother and urged her to advise her boy to save his life.  After much urging from the king, she agreed to persuade her son.  She leant towards him and, flouting the cruel tyrant, said in her native language:

Son, take pity on me, who carried you nine months in the womb, nursed you for three years, reared you and brought you up to your present age.  I implore you, my child, to look at the heavens and the earth; consider all that is in them, and realize that God did not create them from what already existed and that a human being comes into existence in the same way.  Do not be afraid of this butcher; accept death willingly and prove yourself worthy of your brothers, so that by God’s mercy I may receive back you and them together.

She had barely finished when the young man spoke out:

What are you all waiting for?  I will not submit to the king’s command; I obey the command of the law given through Moses to our forefathers.  And you, King Antiochus, who have devised all manner of atrocities for the Hebrews, you will not escape God’s hand….

Roused by this defiance, the king in his fury used him worse than the others, and the young man, putting his whole trust in the Lord, died without having incurred defilement.

Last of all, after her sons, the mother died.

Then must conclude our account of the eating of entrails and the monstrous tortures.

Psalm 17:1-8 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Hear my plea of innocence, O LORD;

give heed to my cry;

listen to my prayer, which does not come from lying lips.

2 Let my vindication come forth from your presence;

let your eyes be fixed on justice.

3 Weigh my heart, summon me by night,

melt me down; you will find no impurity in me.

4 I give no offence with my mouth as others do;

I have heeded the words of your lips.

5 My footsteps hold fast to the ways of your law;

in your paths my feet shall not stumble.

6 I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me;

incline your ear to me and hear my words.

7 Show me your marvelous loving-kindness,

O Savior of those who take refuge at your right hand

from those who rise up against them.

8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;

hide me under the shadow of your wings.

Luke 19:11-28 (Revised English Bible):

While they were listening to this, Jesus went on to tell them a parable, because he was now close to Jerusalem and they [the crowd who disapproved of him eating with Zacchaeus] thought the kingdom of God might dawn at any moment.  He said,

A man of noble birth went on a long journey abroad, to have himself appointed king and then return.  But first he called then of his servants and gave each a sum of money, saying, “Trade with this while I am away.”  His fellow-citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, “We do not want this man as our king.”  He returned however as king, and sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what profit each had made.  The first came and said, “Your money, sir, has increased tenfold.”  “Well done,” he replied, “you are a good servant, trustworthy in a very small matter, you shall have charge of ten cities.”  The second came and said, “Here is your money, sir; I kept it wrapped up in a handkerchief.  I was afraid of you because you are a hard man:  you draw out what you do not put in and reap what you do not sow.”  “You scoundrel!”  he replied.  “I will condemn you out of your own mouth.  You knew me to be a hard man, did you, drawing out what I never put in, and reaping what I did not sow?  Then why did you not put my money on deposit, and I could have claimed it with interest when I came back?”  Turning to his attendants he said, “Take the money from him and give it to the man with the most.”  “But sir,” they replied, “he has ten times as much already.”  “I tell you,” he said, “everyone one has will be given more; but whoever has nothing will forfeit even what he has.  But as for those enemies of mine who did not want me for their king, bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.”

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The Collect:

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 everlasting 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.

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Some Related Posts:

This is My Father’s World:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/this-is-my-fathers-world/

Torture:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/a-prayer-for-those-who-are-tortured/

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/a-prayer-for-those-who-inflict-torture/

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U.S. Presbyterian minister and humanitarian Maltbie Davenport Babcock adored nature and wrote many poems.  He died in 1901, after which his widow arranged for the publication of many of these works.  Among them was the text of the great hymn, “This is My Father’s World.”  One verse is especially germane to this day’s readings:

This is my Father’s world,

O let me ne’er forget

That though the wrong seems oft so strong

God is the ruler yet.

This is my Father’s world:

The battle is not done;

Jesus who died shall be satisfied,

And earth and heaven be one.

Antiochus Epiphanes was a tyrant, as was Herod the Great, a Roman client king who died in 4 B.C.E.  Three sons took up their father’s role, each in his own district, with Roman approval, of course.  Herod Archelaus governed much of the territory the modern State of Israel covers, with his capital at Jerusalem.  He was the basis of the parable Jesus told, for a delegation of fifty men from the region traveled to Rome to ask they Archelaus not become the client ruler.

The Parable of the Pounds in Luke 19 is similar to the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25.  For more about latter, follow the germane links I have provided.  In Luke 19, however, there is a unique twist; the king is clearly the villain, and one identified with a member of the notorious Herodian Dynasty.  This parable is set as Jesus nears his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, and therefore his crucifixion a few days later.  The tyranny of the Roman Empire and its rule, whether direct or indirect, was on his mind.

The 1920s were difficult.  Democracies were few and far between in Europe, and some of those were weak.  The Weimar Republic teetered in Germany and the Fascists reigned supreme in Italy.  Japan was on the militaristic and imperialistic path in the Pacific Basin, and Stalin was consolidating his power in the Soviet Union.  In this context, in 1925, Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King, meant, among other things, to serve as a reminder that, as Babcock wrote,

God is the ruler yet.

This is a timeless lesson.

There is a wonderful song, which, according to some sources, is an old Quaker hymn:  “How Can I Keep from Singing?”

1.  My life flows on in endless song,

Above earth’s lamentation;

I hear the real though far-off song

That hails a new creation.

Through all the tumult and the strife

I hear that music ringing;

It sounds an echo in my soul,

How can I keep from singing?

2.  What though the tempest loudly roars,

I hear the truth, it liveth;

What though the darkness round me close,

Songs in the night it giveth.

No storm can shake my inmost calm

While to that rock I’m clinging,

Since love is Lord of heaven and earth,

How can I keep from singing?

3.  When tyrants tremble when they hear

The bells of freedom ringing;

When friends rejoice both far and near

How can I keep from singing?

In prison cell and dungeon vile

Our thoughts to them are winging,

When friends by shame are undefiled,

How can I keep from singing?

–From Songs of the Spirit (1978), of the Friends General Conference

Christ the King Sunday is Proper 29, the last Sunday of the Western Christian year.  I am close to writing the devotion for that day, given where I am in the lectionary cycle.  But, despite the heavy tone of the readings for this day, Wednesday in the Week of Proper 28, Year 1, we have a foretaste of the Feast of Christ the King.

Here ends the lesson.

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/a-foretaste-of-the-feast-of-christ-the-king/