Sunday 23 November 2008 Christ the King Matthew 25:31-46, Ephesians 1:15-23 Melanie

I wonder if you have heard the childrens story about the blindmen and the elephant. It is about 6 blindmen, and their attempts to make sense of the elephant in front of them. The first blind man put out his hand and touched the side of the elephant. "How smooth! An elephant is like a wall." The second blind man put out his hand and touched the trunk of the elephant. "How round! An elephant is like a snake." The third blind man put out his hand and touched the tusk of the elephant. "How sharp! An elephant is like a spear." The fourth blind man put out his hand and touched the leg of the elephant. "How tall! An elephant is like a tree." The fifth blind man reached out his hand and touched the ear of the elephant. "How wide! An elephant is like a fan." The sixth blind man put out his hand and touched the tail of the elephant. "How thin! An elephant is like a rope." It’s a simple story, but profound. Each man tried to make sense of the shape, but could only feel one aspect of the animal. We have a similar situation here this morning with two very different pictures of Christ.

In our New Testament reading we had the wonderful message in Ephesians where Jesus is described as the head of all things, and above every name that is named. All the fullness of God dwelt in him, and he reconciled all things to himself. This is an image of a divine king, with all the authority and power over creation.

The second picture from Matthew is quite different. Matthew shows us how Jesus sees his earthly journey as one of vulnerability, suffering and brokenness. Here is a suffering king who lives alongside us in our vulnerability and brokenness. He comes to us not in power, but in humility. This is the king who washed feet and touched lepers.

In your own journey of faith, I wonder which image of Christ you engage with, or perhaps it is a mixture of both images. Of the two pictures I would like to reflect a little on Matthew’s portrayal of Christ as the suffering king. It is an incredibly human picture, and it is worth spending some time on this human aspect of Christ at this time of year when we approach Christ coming to us in the form of a baby. Christ is portrayed as hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, in prison. Yet the righteous who ministered didn’t recognise the face of Christ in those they met. Did they expect Christ to be all powerful? All consuming?

A bit like our picture in Ephesians
Rather than the broken, humble man that they helped each day.

Faith is not easy for many people. For myself faith is a precious gift that is both fragile and elusive. One moment it is clear and strong, the next it seems to have crumbled and vanished. The same might be said about our experience of the presence of God. One moment God can feel almost tangibly present, the next as if he’s disappeared, gone far away leaving us alone, empty, and frighteningly vulnerable.

Throughout tough times I have clung on to the picture we heard today of Christ as a suffering servant. Because it is in the vulnerability of Christ that we immediately get a sense of Christ’s compassion and strength. As we allow ourselves to be drawn into the familiar words we know that we are in the presence of a man of sorrows. Even in the light of his resurrection these images of sorrow cannot be taken away. This is a king who comes to us in the vulnerability and brokenness of the cross.

However we see Christ, one of the most uncomfortable things about having faith in God is the fact that we are called to live out God’s Kingdom in our own lives. The message for us is to share our journey with all around us - even those we would rather avoid. If we are witnesses to Christ in this world, then we have no choice but to come alongside the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the sick, the prisoner. We are called to see God in difficult places, not just when we get there, but there already, in the people living and dying there. This journey that we are following with God is one that we share with others.

Sharing the journey means opening ourselves to others as we come into relationship with them. Exposing our own feelings and vulnerability is not easy. There will be times when walking with others on their journey will mean sharing their pain and struggles. It will mean not being able to offer solutions, or ways out, from a position of power, but simply coming alongside in our own weakness - just as Christ did.

As we celebrate the festival of Christ the King today, we are on the brink of advent. We are waiting for a birth that has not yet happened. We wait and watch. We know that we wait with a king who has risen, one who draws us out of ourselves and calls us to live in relationship with him and with those around us. It is not an easy calling, but it is a road that brings great riches in this life and the next.
Amen