Wingham United Church

November 23, 2025

Reign of Christ

Are We Ready?

Jeremiah 23:1-6

Luke 1:68-79

Luke 23:33-43

For the last two weeks, our scriptures have talked about Christ’s return, the Second Coming, and how things will change. Everything will change, heaven and earth, to become the perfect Creation God envisioned at its beginning. It’s referred to as apocalyptic scripture. Today, we envision the other side of that apocalypse, with Christ as King of both Heaven and earth.

          Modern literature would characterize this apocalypse as something to be feared, the destruction of all we know and value. That is because what we value is that which is destroying us. The real change comes when we stop placing our faith and trust in worldly things and accept Christ as our King, or Shepherd, if you prefer. Heavenly treasure will be valued over worldly wealth, peace and contentment over acquisition and competition.

          I don’t believe this needs to be the apocalyptic destruction of everything we know. It has the potential to be a peaceful acceptance of the gifts God gives us, a gathering back to relationship with God, as Jeremiah foretold. In his prophecy, God warns the leaders of His people, the shepherds of his sheep, that they will someday regret their failure to live up to the Lord’s expectations. These leaders are both political and religious. In the early days of Israel, there was no real separation between the two. As these leaders failed in their responsibility to lead the people into right relationship with God, disasters struck. Enemies invaded and many people were taken into exile to a foreign land. Even when exiles ended, many of God’s people chose to stay in these places they had come to call home. Many others fled to other nations during these occupations to escape the oppression and enslavement of foreign powers. Now, God’s people are scattered all over the world, but God declares that since his human appointees cannot be entrusted with such responsibility, God will personally bring the people back home.

          The separation and dispersion aren’t simply geographical. The people are also scattered spiritually, which is far worse. As they have left their homes, they have drifted away from God and become lost, and only God can bring them back and save them. Interestingly, although priests are among those who have disappointed God, it is through one of them that a new age begins.

          Zechariah is working in the temple in Jerusalem one day when an angel of the Lord comes to him, promising to give him and his elderly wife, Elizabeth, a son who will be the first prophet Israel has received in many hundreds of years. The time has come. Zechariah, however, finds this proclamation difficult to accept, even though it comes from an angel in the presence of God, and as a result, he is struck mute until the day of his son’s birth. Months later, when he is presented with his newly born son, his voice returns and he proclaims a prophecy of his own, known as the Song of Zechariah, which we read together just a few moments ago. The God of Israel has finally come to set the people free, and has given them a mighty saviour, a descendant of King David, just as the old prophecies declared. Israel’s salvation is at hand.

          This little boy in his arms, though, is not he, although many people will come to wonder if he is. No, this little baby, called John, will be the one who prepares the way, who prepares God’s people to receive the one God sends. Light has finally dawned on those who sit in darkness, and the one God sends will guide them into the way of peace.

          Yet, in spite of all of this, in spite of all the warning signs, prophecies both given and fulfilled, it seems the people were not yet ready. For countless generations, they have called out to God for a saviour but when God finally answers their prayers, they reject the One that is sent. “No, no!” they cry, “That’s not what we want. We want a warrior, a source of power and might that will fix all that is wrong with the world.” Jesus wasn’t what they were looking for.

Jesus didn’t come to overthrow governments and defeat invading armies. Jesus told them that it was they who must change, not the rest of the world. Instead of answering their prayers, Jesus told them they should change what they prayed for. Instead of providing for the poor, Jesus told them that they should share what they had. God had already provided all they needed. God’s people needed to fairly distribute those gifts.

          Some people accepted these new ideas and began to live the way Jesus taught them. Many others refused. It seems too few people were willing to accept the Saviour God had sent. In fact, they became angry that He was suggesting that they were part of the problem.

          So, Jesus is put to death as a criminal, a troublemaker. His followers are heartbroken. How could the One they thought was sent to save them be killed in such a manner and taken from them?

          So, although it might seem odd to have the crucifixion story just five weeks before Christmas, it shows us what happens when God tries to save us, but we are unwilling to change. The One we would declare our Heavenly King is crucified, humiliated, sent back where He came from. And the cycle starts all over again.

          Next Sunday begins the season of Advent, our annual re-creation of that time when Israel cried out for a Saviour, then waited for a Messiah to arrive. Each year, we re-enact the history of our faith, from the anticipation of Advent, to the birth at Christmas, through Jesus’ life and teachings, until, on this Reign of Christ Sunday, it ends in death once again. We go through the motions. We say the right words. We ask God, again, to fix the world we live in, but we refuse to allow Jesus to change us. And Christ is crucified over and over again.

          It isn’t the world that must be destroyed. It’s our mindset, our dependence on the material. We must commit to making Christ our King and become citizens of His Kingdom, allowing Him to rule in our hearts and direct our lives. Otherwise, we continue the same old cycle, spiraling ever closer to the abyss.

          Next week, we will gather once again to start another loop around the circle. We will light a candle of hope, and pray that this time, our prayers will be answered. The question will be, are we willing to have our prayers answered in us?

          Are we willing, really committed, to allowing Jesus to rule in our hearts and direct our lives?

Are we ready to accept Christ as our Heavenly King?     

Rev. Colin Snyder, MDiv