Christ the King Sunday
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series IX, Cycle A
Theme of the Day
The good news of the reign of Christ.
Collect of the Day
Petitions are offered that having inherited the riches of Christ's grace we might have the wisdom to know what is right and the strength to serve the world. The prayer is about Sanctification and Justification.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 100
• A Psalm of Thanksgiving, probably a doxology for a collection.
• We are exhorted to make a joyful noise to the Lord and to worship with gladness and sighing (vv. 1-2).
• Reminders are given that Yahweh is God, who made us and that we are His people (v. 3). Exhortations are then given to enter His presence with thanksgiving and praise (v. 4).
• We confess that Yahweh is good and His steadfast love and faithfulness endure forever (v. 5).
or Psalm 95:1-7a
• Part of a liturgy of God's kingship. This is a brief outline of a worship service, opening with a hymn.
• The congregation is exhorted to come to Yahweh, singing with a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation (v. 1). They are urged to come into His presence with thanksgiving and with a joyful noise of hymns of praise (v. 2).
• Yahweh is said to be a great God, a great king above all gods. The depths of the earth, the mountain's heights, the sea and dry land are His for He made them (vv. 3-5).
• More exhortation to worship and kneel before Yahweh the Creator. For He is our God, and we are His sheep (vv. 6-7).
Sermon Text and Title
"Christ's Thankful Subjects Don't Bash the Poor"
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim God's care for the poor (Social Ethics) despite our sinful resistance and the forgiving, empowering grace we need to do it (Justification by Grace and Sanctification).
2. Exegesis (see First Lesson, Lent 5)
• A prophecy on the shepherds of Israel.
• Yahweh Elohim declares He will Himself search for His scattered sheep (vv. 11-12). He promises to bring them back to their own land where they will be fed (vv. 13-14).
• The Lord promises to be their shepherd. He will seek the lost, bring back the stray, and strengthen the weak (vv. 15-16).
• Yahweh Elohim says that He will judge between fat sheep and lean sheep, saving those who will no longer be ravaged (vv. 20-22). He will set over them one shepherd, His servant David, who will feed them and be their shepherd (v. 23).
• The Lord will be their God and David their Prince (v. 24).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
• The text addresses how God is Lord of all, even those who are strayed and weak, and He will give them food, care, and spiritual leadership.
• Martin Luther nicely explains how God's kingdom comes. It comes "whenever our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that through His grace we believe His Holy word and live godly lives here in time and hereafter in eternity" (Book of Concord [2000 ed.], pp. 356-357).
• Luther and John Wesley both advocated governmental-sponsored welfare programs for the poor (Luther's Works, Vol. 45, p. 172; Works of John Wesley, Vol. 4, p. 374; Ibid.. Vol. 11, pp. 57-59).
• Eminent American social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr made several comments that hammer home the relevance of Social Ethics for Christianity:
Much of Christian teaching down the ages has been in terms of serving or saving the soul, but not the body. What we do in the body affects the attitudes of the soul.
(Justice & Mercy, p. 68)
The ultimate principles of the kingdom of God are never irrelevant to any problem of justice, and they hover over every social situation as an ideal possibility.
(Reinhold Niebuhr: Theologian of Public Life, p. 249)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
• About this text Martin Luther writes:
The pasture with which Christ feeds His sheep is also the dear gospel, by which our souls are fed and strengthened, preserved from error, comforted in all temptations and sorrows, protected against the devil's will and power, and finally saved from all need. But His sheep are not all equally strong; in part they are still lost, scattered hither and yon, wounded and weak. He does not reject them for that reason but actually gives more attention to them and also cares for them more diligently than He does for the others who have no faults.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 12, p. 155)
• For Reinhold Niebuhr, like James Madison and other American founders, justice is the "balance of power" (Reinhold Niebuhr: Theologian of Public Life, p. 250; James Madison, Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787).
• The founders (esp. Jefferson and Madison) supported safety nets for redistributing excess wealth to the poor; see the next-to-last bullet point of this section for the First Lesson, Epiphany 7.
• All Christian denominations would do well to affirm with the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2444) that "the church's love for the poor... is a part of her constant tradition."
• Google the latest statistics on poverty in America. Also see the first bullet point of this section for the First Lesson, Advent 2. As recently as 2011 it became evident that the poor had a diminished voice in our political processes. According to the Center for Responsible Politics lobbyists of Congress spent almost $2.5 billion, most of the money spent by business lobbyists (esp. those for the Health, Energy, Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate sectors).
• Social commentator Ellen Willis contends that the real aim of pro-business welfare reformers has been to mount an assault on welfare mothers, to demonize them in hopes that with enough pressure the underclass will stop breeding. Or if they do breed, it better happen in traditional families where a working father, not government, gets them out of poverty (Don't Think, Smile, p. 37).
• Two comments by Martin Luther King Jr. are still relevant today in our dealing with poverty:
And the tragedy is so often -- these forty million [poor] people are invisible because America is so affluent, so rich; because our expressways carry us away from the ghetto; we don't see the poor.
(A Testament of Hope, p. 273)
There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we now have the resources to get rid of it... Today, therefore, the question on the agenda must read: Why should there be hunger and privation in any land, in any city, at any table, when man had the resources and the scientific know-how to provide all humankind with the basic necessities of life?
(Where Do We Go From Here?)
At the end of his life King was dreaming of ending poverty for all Americans, hoping to pressure America to establish a guaranteed annual income, a living wage, and jobs for all (A Testament of Hope, p. 247).
5. Gimmick
Note the aim of the Last Sunday of the church year -- to proclaim the reign of Christ and its good news. Insofar as this is also the Sunday before Thanksgiving this is also a time for giving thanks. The First Lesson points to the future, to what God will do and is doing for those with less reason to be thankful -- for the poor and oppressed.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
• Start with the First Lesson and its historical context. (See Exegesis for First Lesson, Lent 5, for this historical background.) Stress the decades of exile in Babylon that the people of Israel endured. They were a people without a home, but God does not give up on them. In the lesson today, He gave them (and us) hope.
• Ezekiel's next words are more striking. He rejects that there might be a distinction among the scattered sheep in the eyes of God -- the good shepherd. He does make a distinction between lean and fat sheep. The fat sheep had apparently pushed and butted the weaker animals and scattered them. Apparently the economically prosperous among the exiles had not been aiding the poorer Hebrews, but actually exploited them (vv. 17-21). (Historians are not certain, but it is possible that the evil sheep were those Babylonians who had exploited their allies.) Ezekiel makes it clear that this is not God's way, and He will strengthen the weak and save those who have been ravaged (vv. 16, 22)!
• We have a similar word of God in the Gospel Lesson, as at the final judgment it is reported that God will approve those who fed the hungry and clothed the naked (Matthew 25:44-45). Our God is a God concerned about the poor.
• The Great Recession has had devastating consequences for the poor in America. It has enlarged the number of poor and effectively silenced their voices. Use the data and leads in the next-to-last bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights. In the richest country in the work, 1 in 2 Americans have low-income status (for details, see sixth bullet point of this section for the First Lesson, Pentecost 11)!
• Ask if it is the fault of the poor, as some contend. Ezekiel and Jesus do not agree that poverty is the fault of the poor. Those they condemn will be guilty for rejecting the hungry and the poor. God is on the side of the poor!
• Cite the fifth bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights. Demonizing the poor is in the interests of the business establishment. It placates the middle class in the sense of making them think that as bad as things are, at least they are better off than the poor. But this is not the Lord's way: He cares for the poor.
• In commemorating as we do this Last Sunday of the church year, all our assigned Bible lessons are future-oriented. They testify that in heaven there will be no poverty. This did not entail that overcoming poverty is merely in the future. Jesus Himself proclaimed that we are already in the end times (Mark 1:15). Use Martin Luther's comments in the second bullet point of Theological Insights.
• See the comments by Martin Luther King Jr. in the last bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights.
• Invite the congregation to consider what it would mean if they, the whole denomination, or all American Christians came to support this King (biblical) Dream of ending poverty, establishing a guaranteed annual income, and a living wage for all. Also see the third bullet point of Theological Insights. Raise the issue of whether this might be in line with the constitutional thinking of America's founders; see the third bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights.
• In working for the poor, we do not do it alone. Ezekiel's call for justice is a demand. Everyone, Christian and non-Christian, is expected to undertake this task. In order to care for the poor Jesus' way, like any good work, it happens only because God does it for us. As Martin Luther once put it:
... he who does not have faith will not do works of mercy... but he who does them will do them because he believes he has a faithful Savior and redeemer in Christ.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/1, p. 390)
Also consider the quotation by John Calvin in the last bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights for the Gospel.
• Accepting God, relying on the lordship of Christ whose reign we celebrate on this last Sunday of the church year, gives us His grace, which provides the course to care for the poor.
7. Wrap-Up
Invite the congregation to keep these matters in mind when they sit down to eat the Thanksgiving meal this week. Ask them to remember those scrambling for the next meal, to keep in mind the street people in town. The next time the media or our politicians bash the poor, in the next election cycle, urge the flock to remember that our loving God is on the side of the poor (see fourth bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights). With the courage this insight affords, maybe this church, this town, this nation can begin to realize Dr. King's (previously cited) Dream and the vision of our First Lesson. The lordship of Christ gives us he confidence and energy we need to get on the side of the poor -- because God is already on their side and on ours!
Sermon Text and Title
"Jesus Keeps Us Company"
Ephesians 1:15-23
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim the cosmic Christ, with attention to how that insight of being saturated by Christ leads to joy, energy, and health. Christology and Justification by Grace are emphasized.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
• Thanksgiving reflections and prayer.
• Paul claims to have heard of the Ephesians' faith and love toward all the saints. Thus he gives thanks for them, remembering them in his prayers (vv. 15-16).
• He prays that the God of Jesus Christ may give the Ephesians a spirit of wisdom and revelation enlightening their hearts, so that they may know the hope to which He has called them and the riches of this inheritance among the saints (vv. 17-18).
• Paul also speaks of the immeasurable greatness of God's power for all who believe (v. 19). God put this power to work in Christ when He raised Him and seated Him at His right hand, far above all earthly powers (vv. 20-21).
• God has put all things under Christ's feet, making Him the head over all things, for the church. It is His body and the fullness of Him who fills all in all (vv. 22-23).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
• The text offers a reflection on the cosmic dimensions of Christ and the church, how He and it saturate all dimensions of the cosmic order (creation) and also a testimony to Justification by Grace.
• Preaching on the cosmic Christ (His presence in all dimensions of the created order), Martin Luther comments:
Depressed or exalted, circumscribed in whatever way, dragged hither or thither, I still find Christ. For He holds in His hands everything in heaven or on earth, and all are subject to Him -- angels, the devil, the world, sin, death, and hell. Therefore, so long as He dwells in my heart, I have courage, wherever I go, I cannot be lost. I dwell where Christ my Lord dwells.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 4/2, p. 279)
• Commenting on the text John Calvin notes:
"The condition of all godly persons is the same with yours; for we who were first called by God owe our acceptance to His eternal election." Thus, he shews, that from first to last all have obtained salvation by free grace.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XXI/1, p. 206)
• Calvin proceeds to praise the confidence this brings:
Thus, when we have received the Spirit of God, His promises are confirmed to us, and no dread is felt that they will be revoked. In themselves, indeed, the promises of God are not weak; but, until we are supported by the testimony of the Spirit we never rest upon them with unshaken confidence.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XXI/1, p. 209)
Until the Spirit has become our instructor, all that we know is folly and ignorance.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XXI/1, p. 212)
• Famed modern Reformed theologian Karl Barth well captures Paul's reference to Christ filling all in all:
When the New Testament speaks of Jesus Christ and His community it really speaks of the goal (and therefore of the origin and beginning) of all earthly things. Jesus Christ and His community is not an additional promise given to men... It is not a further stage in actualization of the divine will and plan and election which are the purpose of creation. It concludes this process... It is the goal and end of all the ways of God.
(Church Dogmatics, Vol. III/2, p. 301)
• Commenting on Colossians 1:17 that Christ holds all things together, John Wesley writes:
The original expression [that in Christ all things hold together] not only implies that He sustains all things in being, but more directly all things were and are compacted in Him into one system. He is the cement as well as support of the universe.
(Commentary on the Bible, p. 546)
• Famed Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards provides interesting insight regarding God's (and so Christ's) kingly rule:
He [God] is every where present with His all-seeing eye. He is in heaven and hell, and in and through every part of the creation. He is where every devil is; and where every damned soul is, He is present by His knowledge and His essence. He not only knows as well as those in heaven who see at a distance; but He knows as perfectly as those who feel the misery. He seeth into the innermost recesses of the hearts of those miserable spirits. He seeth all the sorrow and anguish that are there; for He upholds them in being.
(Works, Vol. 2, p. 69)
• Modern French Catholic theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin describes eloquently describes Christ's permeation of the cosmos:
In the beginning was the Word, supremely capable of mastering and moulding whatever might come into being in the work of matter. In the beginning there were not coldness and darkness: there was Fire... once again the Fire has penetrated the earth... the flame has lit up the whole world from within. All things individually and collectively are penetrated and flooded by it, from the inmost core of the tiniest atom to the mighty sweep of the most universal laws of being: so naturally as it flooded every element, every energy, every connecting-link in the unity of our cosmos; that one might suppose the cosmos to have burst spontaneously into flame.
(Hymn of the Universe, pp. 21, 23-24)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
• Brain researchers have found that the spirituality experience that results in pleasure, contentment, and health (see last two bullet points of this section for the Second Lesson, Advent 1) occurs in a blissful state of complete union with an absolute unitary being, which is perceived as the all-encompassing (Dean Hamer, The God Gene, pp. 128-129).
• Picking up on the theme of Christ being all in all, Martin Luther King Jr. well expresses the social ethical significance of this insight:
Those of us who call the name of Jesus Christ find something at the center of our faith which forever reminds us that God is on the side of truth and justice. Good Friday may occupy the throne for a day, but ultimately it must give way to the triumph of Easter... Yes, "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
(A Testament of Hope, p. 88)
• For data concerning the isolation and loneliness that characterizes contemporary American society, see this section for the Second Lesson, Christmas 2, and the last bullet point of this section for the Second Lesson, Epiphany.
• Awake magazine reports that 5-12% of American men will become clinically depressed in their lifetimes and the numbers double among women.
5. Gimmick
Read verses 19-23. All things are under Christ. He fills all in all!
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
• If Christ fills all in all, He must be everywhere, must keep us company in all we do and everywhere we go. Use the quotation by Martin Luther in the second bullet point of Theological Insights.
• Everywhere we turn, Christ is there. Everything, good and bad, important and unimportant, beautiful and ugly, is in His hands. Theologians call this the "cosmic Christ," the idea that as the word of God, the Son created the universe (John 1) so that the structures of the universe reflect Christ's way of being. As a result, we meet Him there, in the events and circumstances of life.
• Jesus saturates all parts of our lives. He keeps us company everywhere we go, in everything we do. Martin Luther says that realizing how Jesus is everywhere in our lives giving courage. We can't get lost with Him hanging around us everywhere we go.
• Luther is right! Thinking of the cosmic reality of Christ (we might also think of the Holy Spirit this way, see John Calvin's comments in fourth bullet point of Theological Insights) feels good. It gives courage and peace. It gives life meaning.
• Consider the quotations by Jonathan Edwards and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in the last two bullet points of Theological Insights. Christ knows us in the depth of our personalities, in the feelings we ourselves don't understand. He preserves us and keeps us being who we are. He penetrates and floods our very being. Also see the last three bullet points of this section for the Second Lesson, Ascension.
• What solace to know that there is not even a tiny speck of our lives not claimed by Him, not saturated by Jesus. There is even biological evidence about the peace, joy, and health this insight brings. Use the first bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights.
• These insights have implications not just for pleasure and reassurance in the present. To know that Christ reigns and always keeps us company has wonderful implications for how we live in the future and for guiding how we live. Use the quotation by famed modern theologian Karl Barth in the fifth bullet point of Theological Insights. Jesus is the goal and end of all God's ways and of how the created order is moving. Act like things are going Jesus' way (and they will turn out that way). Christ reigns!
• Use the quote by Martin Luther King in the second bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights. The universe bends toward justice. Live that way; work that way; Christ is going to see that justice gets done.
7. Wrap-Up
Assure the congregation that life will not stay the same, because Christ reigns. No matter the hard times, the uncertainty, the despair, we Christians know that Christ goes with us, keeps us company, and that justice and His unconditional love cannot fail!
Sermon Text and Title
"The Last Judgment: Why It's Good News!"
Matthew 25:31-46
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim how and why the last judgment is good news. Justification by Grace and Eschatology are emphasized, with some attention to Social Ethics and Sanctification.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
• Jesus proclaims the great judgment.
• When the Son of Man comes with all the angels, Jesus says, He will sit on the throne of glory (v. 31).
• All the nations will be gathered before the Son, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates sheep from goats (v. 32).
• Then the king will tell those He puts on His right that they are blessed and may inherit the kingdom prepared for them before the foundation of the world (v. 34). This idea underlines the certainty of promise, endorsing the Hebrew idea that something we expect in the future is already present in God.
• Jesus proceeds to comment that the reason for this separation was because those placed on His right fed Him when He was hungry, welcomed Him as a stranger, clothed and cared for Him when He was naked and sick (vv. 35-36).
• The righteous will answer with surprise that they had served Him (vv. 37-39). The king will answer that they have served Him when they served the least of those who are members of His family, for then these deeds were done to Him (v. 40).
• Then those placed by Jesus on His left hand are told by Him that they are cursed and must go to the eternal fire prepared for the devil (v. 41). They have not served Him when He came in the form of a stranger, or as one who is naked, sick, and in prison (vv. 42-43).
• The cursed will answer that they did not see Jesus come to them as hungry, thirsty, as a stranger, as naked, and the like (v. 44). Then Jesus will answer that as they did not do it to the least of these they have not done it to Him (v. 45). And then they will go away to eternal punishment, while the righteous go to eternal life (v. 46).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
• A text pertaining to Eschatology with implications for Sanctification and Justification.
• New Testament scholar Eduard Schweizer contends that this parable's emphasis on works must be held in tension with 20:1-6 and its stress on salvation by grace (The Good News According to Matthew, p. 480).
• Martin Luther seeks to explain this tension:
The second reason why Christ especially mentions these works of mercy and their omission... is, that He wishes to remind us, who have been called to be Christians, have received mercy through our Lord, have been redeemed from the wrath of God and the guilt of the fifth commandment and from eternal death, and on the contrary have a gracious God.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/1, p. 389)
• Jonathan Edwards offers a similar point:
Hereby the saints will be made the more sensible how great their salvation is. When they shall see how great the misery is from which God hath saved them, and how great a difference He hath made between their state, and the state of others, who were by nature, and perhaps for a time by practice, no more sinful and ill-deserving than any, it will give them a greater sense of the wonderfulness of God's grace to them.
(Works, Vol. 2, p. 87)
• Also while preaching on the text the Reformer notes:
For, as I have said, he who does not have faith will not do works of mercy to Christians, but he who does them will do them, because he believes that he has a faithful Savior and redeemer in Christ.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/1, p. 390)
This ought surely to be a strong, powerful admonition for us to live as Christians, so that we may stand in honor and without fear at the right hand of this majestic Lord, where there will be no fear nor terror, but pure comfort and love.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/1, p. 382)
• John Calvin offers a different but related perspective on the text:
The sum of what is said is, that believers, in order to encourage themselves to a holy and upright conduct, ought to contemplate with the eyes of faith the heavenly life, which, though it is now concealed, will at length be manifested at the last coming of Christ.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/1, p. 174)
• The Reformer too construes the text to be about grace:
But before speaking of the reward of good works, He points out, in passing, that the commencement of salvation flows from a higher source; for by calling them blessed of the Father, He reminds them, that their salvation proceeded from the undeserved favour of God.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/1, pp. 176-177)
Secondly, although by the guidance of the Spirit they aim at the practice of righteousness, yet as they never fulfill the law of God, no reward is due to them, but the term reward is applied to that which is bestowed by grace.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/1, p. 179)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
• On poverty, follow the leads in the next-to-last bullet point of this section for the First Lesson. More than two million Americans were incarcerated in mid-2012. This statistic may be updated by googling.
• Social commentator Ellen Willis contends that the real aim of pro-business welfare reformers has been to mount an attack on welfare mothers, to demonize them in hopes that with enough pressure the underclass will stop breeding (Don't Think, Smile: Notes on a Decade of Denial, p. 37).
• John Calvin offers sound insights about the text's reference to the poor (vv. 35-36):
So then, whenever we are reluctant to assist the poor, let us place before our eyes the Son of God, to whom it would be base sacrilege to refuse any thing.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/1, p. 181)
5. Gimmick
Read dramatically verses 31-32. After a pause, state the words "the last judgment."
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
• Ask the congregation what they think of the last judgment, whether it is not a fearsome reality.
• Note the appropriateness of dealing with this on the last Sunday of the church year, when we consider Christ's kingship. How appropriate as we begin next week to prepare for Christ's coming in the child Jesus. But that does not seem to make the last judgment any less fearful.
• Even more problematic seems to be Jesus' words in our lesson implying that the judgment is based on our works and whether we have cared for the poor. If so, we are in big trouble!
• Use the insights of New Testament scholar Eduard Schweizer in the second bullet point of Theological Insights. Reference to the works done by those saved needs to be held in tension with Jesus' references to grace. Review Matthew 20:1-6, the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, where the lord gives the same reward to all the laborers, no matter how long they had worked.
• Use the quotation by Martin Luther in the third bullet point of Theological Insights. Follow with the quote by the famed American Puritan Jonathan Edwards in the next bullet point in the section. Nobody who is saved is less sinful than those who aren't. The works are not the basis for God's wonderful graciousness to us.
• There are other reasons why Jesus talked about the works done by those who are saved and the failure of the damned to do such works. Cite the first quotation by Martin Luther in the fifth bullet point of Theological Insights. Good works are only possible because of faith, because of what God does to us.
• Use the second quotation by John Calvin in the last bullet point of Theological Insights to make clear that those saved are not saved as a reward for their coming for the poor, naked, sick, and imprisoned. It is the grace that made the blessed do these things that deserves reward. Ultimately the last judgment is about God's goodness to us and a love for the poor that prompts those saved to keep the poor, the hungry, and those in jail on their radar screens.
7. Wrap-Up
In the big picture our stereotypes of the last judgment are off base. Because the last judgment, when Christ reigns, is good news. Use the second quotation by Martin Luther in the fifth bullet point of Theological Insights. The last judgment is not about fear or terror. For us who by God's grace have faith, the second coming is all about comfort and love, a love that comforts the poor and comforts us who are privileged too.
The good news of the reign of Christ.
Collect of the Day
Petitions are offered that having inherited the riches of Christ's grace we might have the wisdom to know what is right and the strength to serve the world. The prayer is about Sanctification and Justification.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 100
• A Psalm of Thanksgiving, probably a doxology for a collection.
• We are exhorted to make a joyful noise to the Lord and to worship with gladness and sighing (vv. 1-2).
• Reminders are given that Yahweh is God, who made us and that we are His people (v. 3). Exhortations are then given to enter His presence with thanksgiving and praise (v. 4).
• We confess that Yahweh is good and His steadfast love and faithfulness endure forever (v. 5).
or Psalm 95:1-7a
• Part of a liturgy of God's kingship. This is a brief outline of a worship service, opening with a hymn.
• The congregation is exhorted to come to Yahweh, singing with a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation (v. 1). They are urged to come into His presence with thanksgiving and with a joyful noise of hymns of praise (v. 2).
• Yahweh is said to be a great God, a great king above all gods. The depths of the earth, the mountain's heights, the sea and dry land are His for He made them (vv. 3-5).
• More exhortation to worship and kneel before Yahweh the Creator. For He is our God, and we are His sheep (vv. 6-7).
Sermon Text and Title
"Christ's Thankful Subjects Don't Bash the Poor"
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim God's care for the poor (Social Ethics) despite our sinful resistance and the forgiving, empowering grace we need to do it (Justification by Grace and Sanctification).
2. Exegesis (see First Lesson, Lent 5)
• A prophecy on the shepherds of Israel.
• Yahweh Elohim declares He will Himself search for His scattered sheep (vv. 11-12). He promises to bring them back to their own land where they will be fed (vv. 13-14).
• The Lord promises to be their shepherd. He will seek the lost, bring back the stray, and strengthen the weak (vv. 15-16).
• Yahweh Elohim says that He will judge between fat sheep and lean sheep, saving those who will no longer be ravaged (vv. 20-22). He will set over them one shepherd, His servant David, who will feed them and be their shepherd (v. 23).
• The Lord will be their God and David their Prince (v. 24).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
• The text addresses how God is Lord of all, even those who are strayed and weak, and He will give them food, care, and spiritual leadership.
• Martin Luther nicely explains how God's kingdom comes. It comes "whenever our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that through His grace we believe His Holy word and live godly lives here in time and hereafter in eternity" (Book of Concord [2000 ed.], pp. 356-357).
• Luther and John Wesley both advocated governmental-sponsored welfare programs for the poor (Luther's Works, Vol. 45, p. 172; Works of John Wesley, Vol. 4, p. 374; Ibid.. Vol. 11, pp. 57-59).
• Eminent American social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr made several comments that hammer home the relevance of Social Ethics for Christianity:
Much of Christian teaching down the ages has been in terms of serving or saving the soul, but not the body. What we do in the body affects the attitudes of the soul.
(Justice & Mercy, p. 68)
The ultimate principles of the kingdom of God are never irrelevant to any problem of justice, and they hover over every social situation as an ideal possibility.
(Reinhold Niebuhr: Theologian of Public Life, p. 249)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
• About this text Martin Luther writes:
The pasture with which Christ feeds His sheep is also the dear gospel, by which our souls are fed and strengthened, preserved from error, comforted in all temptations and sorrows, protected against the devil's will and power, and finally saved from all need. But His sheep are not all equally strong; in part they are still lost, scattered hither and yon, wounded and weak. He does not reject them for that reason but actually gives more attention to them and also cares for them more diligently than He does for the others who have no faults.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 12, p. 155)
• For Reinhold Niebuhr, like James Madison and other American founders, justice is the "balance of power" (Reinhold Niebuhr: Theologian of Public Life, p. 250; James Madison, Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787).
• The founders (esp. Jefferson and Madison) supported safety nets for redistributing excess wealth to the poor; see the next-to-last bullet point of this section for the First Lesson, Epiphany 7.
• All Christian denominations would do well to affirm with the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2444) that "the church's love for the poor... is a part of her constant tradition."
• Google the latest statistics on poverty in America. Also see the first bullet point of this section for the First Lesson, Advent 2. As recently as 2011 it became evident that the poor had a diminished voice in our political processes. According to the Center for Responsible Politics lobbyists of Congress spent almost $2.5 billion, most of the money spent by business lobbyists (esp. those for the Health, Energy, Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate sectors).
• Social commentator Ellen Willis contends that the real aim of pro-business welfare reformers has been to mount an assault on welfare mothers, to demonize them in hopes that with enough pressure the underclass will stop breeding. Or if they do breed, it better happen in traditional families where a working father, not government, gets them out of poverty (Don't Think, Smile, p. 37).
• Two comments by Martin Luther King Jr. are still relevant today in our dealing with poverty:
And the tragedy is so often -- these forty million [poor] people are invisible because America is so affluent, so rich; because our expressways carry us away from the ghetto; we don't see the poor.
(A Testament of Hope, p. 273)
There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we now have the resources to get rid of it... Today, therefore, the question on the agenda must read: Why should there be hunger and privation in any land, in any city, at any table, when man had the resources and the scientific know-how to provide all humankind with the basic necessities of life?
(Where Do We Go From Here?)
At the end of his life King was dreaming of ending poverty for all Americans, hoping to pressure America to establish a guaranteed annual income, a living wage, and jobs for all (A Testament of Hope, p. 247).
5. Gimmick
Note the aim of the Last Sunday of the church year -- to proclaim the reign of Christ and its good news. Insofar as this is also the Sunday before Thanksgiving this is also a time for giving thanks. The First Lesson points to the future, to what God will do and is doing for those with less reason to be thankful -- for the poor and oppressed.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
• Start with the First Lesson and its historical context. (See Exegesis for First Lesson, Lent 5, for this historical background.) Stress the decades of exile in Babylon that the people of Israel endured. They were a people without a home, but God does not give up on them. In the lesson today, He gave them (and us) hope.
• Ezekiel's next words are more striking. He rejects that there might be a distinction among the scattered sheep in the eyes of God -- the good shepherd. He does make a distinction between lean and fat sheep. The fat sheep had apparently pushed and butted the weaker animals and scattered them. Apparently the economically prosperous among the exiles had not been aiding the poorer Hebrews, but actually exploited them (vv. 17-21). (Historians are not certain, but it is possible that the evil sheep were those Babylonians who had exploited their allies.) Ezekiel makes it clear that this is not God's way, and He will strengthen the weak and save those who have been ravaged (vv. 16, 22)!
• We have a similar word of God in the Gospel Lesson, as at the final judgment it is reported that God will approve those who fed the hungry and clothed the naked (Matthew 25:44-45). Our God is a God concerned about the poor.
• The Great Recession has had devastating consequences for the poor in America. It has enlarged the number of poor and effectively silenced their voices. Use the data and leads in the next-to-last bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights. In the richest country in the work, 1 in 2 Americans have low-income status (for details, see sixth bullet point of this section for the First Lesson, Pentecost 11)!
• Ask if it is the fault of the poor, as some contend. Ezekiel and Jesus do not agree that poverty is the fault of the poor. Those they condemn will be guilty for rejecting the hungry and the poor. God is on the side of the poor!
• Cite the fifth bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights. Demonizing the poor is in the interests of the business establishment. It placates the middle class in the sense of making them think that as bad as things are, at least they are better off than the poor. But this is not the Lord's way: He cares for the poor.
• In commemorating as we do this Last Sunday of the church year, all our assigned Bible lessons are future-oriented. They testify that in heaven there will be no poverty. This did not entail that overcoming poverty is merely in the future. Jesus Himself proclaimed that we are already in the end times (Mark 1:15). Use Martin Luther's comments in the second bullet point of Theological Insights.
• See the comments by Martin Luther King Jr. in the last bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights.
• Invite the congregation to consider what it would mean if they, the whole denomination, or all American Christians came to support this King (biblical) Dream of ending poverty, establishing a guaranteed annual income, and a living wage for all. Also see the third bullet point of Theological Insights. Raise the issue of whether this might be in line with the constitutional thinking of America's founders; see the third bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights.
• In working for the poor, we do not do it alone. Ezekiel's call for justice is a demand. Everyone, Christian and non-Christian, is expected to undertake this task. In order to care for the poor Jesus' way, like any good work, it happens only because God does it for us. As Martin Luther once put it:
... he who does not have faith will not do works of mercy... but he who does them will do them because he believes he has a faithful Savior and redeemer in Christ.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/1, p. 390)
Also consider the quotation by John Calvin in the last bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights for the Gospel.
• Accepting God, relying on the lordship of Christ whose reign we celebrate on this last Sunday of the church year, gives us His grace, which provides the course to care for the poor.
7. Wrap-Up
Invite the congregation to keep these matters in mind when they sit down to eat the Thanksgiving meal this week. Ask them to remember those scrambling for the next meal, to keep in mind the street people in town. The next time the media or our politicians bash the poor, in the next election cycle, urge the flock to remember that our loving God is on the side of the poor (see fourth bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights). With the courage this insight affords, maybe this church, this town, this nation can begin to realize Dr. King's (previously cited) Dream and the vision of our First Lesson. The lordship of Christ gives us he confidence and energy we need to get on the side of the poor -- because God is already on their side and on ours!
Sermon Text and Title
"Jesus Keeps Us Company"
Ephesians 1:15-23
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim the cosmic Christ, with attention to how that insight of being saturated by Christ leads to joy, energy, and health. Christology and Justification by Grace are emphasized.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
• Thanksgiving reflections and prayer.
• Paul claims to have heard of the Ephesians' faith and love toward all the saints. Thus he gives thanks for them, remembering them in his prayers (vv. 15-16).
• He prays that the God of Jesus Christ may give the Ephesians a spirit of wisdom and revelation enlightening their hearts, so that they may know the hope to which He has called them and the riches of this inheritance among the saints (vv. 17-18).
• Paul also speaks of the immeasurable greatness of God's power for all who believe (v. 19). God put this power to work in Christ when He raised Him and seated Him at His right hand, far above all earthly powers (vv. 20-21).
• God has put all things under Christ's feet, making Him the head over all things, for the church. It is His body and the fullness of Him who fills all in all (vv. 22-23).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
• The text offers a reflection on the cosmic dimensions of Christ and the church, how He and it saturate all dimensions of the cosmic order (creation) and also a testimony to Justification by Grace.
• Preaching on the cosmic Christ (His presence in all dimensions of the created order), Martin Luther comments:
Depressed or exalted, circumscribed in whatever way, dragged hither or thither, I still find Christ. For He holds in His hands everything in heaven or on earth, and all are subject to Him -- angels, the devil, the world, sin, death, and hell. Therefore, so long as He dwells in my heart, I have courage, wherever I go, I cannot be lost. I dwell where Christ my Lord dwells.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 4/2, p. 279)
• Commenting on the text John Calvin notes:
"The condition of all godly persons is the same with yours; for we who were first called by God owe our acceptance to His eternal election." Thus, he shews, that from first to last all have obtained salvation by free grace.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XXI/1, p. 206)
• Calvin proceeds to praise the confidence this brings:
Thus, when we have received the Spirit of God, His promises are confirmed to us, and no dread is felt that they will be revoked. In themselves, indeed, the promises of God are not weak; but, until we are supported by the testimony of the Spirit we never rest upon them with unshaken confidence.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XXI/1, p. 209)
Until the Spirit has become our instructor, all that we know is folly and ignorance.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XXI/1, p. 212)
• Famed modern Reformed theologian Karl Barth well captures Paul's reference to Christ filling all in all:
When the New Testament speaks of Jesus Christ and His community it really speaks of the goal (and therefore of the origin and beginning) of all earthly things. Jesus Christ and His community is not an additional promise given to men... It is not a further stage in actualization of the divine will and plan and election which are the purpose of creation. It concludes this process... It is the goal and end of all the ways of God.
(Church Dogmatics, Vol. III/2, p. 301)
• Commenting on Colossians 1:17 that Christ holds all things together, John Wesley writes:
The original expression [that in Christ all things hold together] not only implies that He sustains all things in being, but more directly all things were and are compacted in Him into one system. He is the cement as well as support of the universe.
(Commentary on the Bible, p. 546)
• Famed Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards provides interesting insight regarding God's (and so Christ's) kingly rule:
He [God] is every where present with His all-seeing eye. He is in heaven and hell, and in and through every part of the creation. He is where every devil is; and where every damned soul is, He is present by His knowledge and His essence. He not only knows as well as those in heaven who see at a distance; but He knows as perfectly as those who feel the misery. He seeth into the innermost recesses of the hearts of those miserable spirits. He seeth all the sorrow and anguish that are there; for He upholds them in being.
(Works, Vol. 2, p. 69)
• Modern French Catholic theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin describes eloquently describes Christ's permeation of the cosmos:
In the beginning was the Word, supremely capable of mastering and moulding whatever might come into being in the work of matter. In the beginning there were not coldness and darkness: there was Fire... once again the Fire has penetrated the earth... the flame has lit up the whole world from within. All things individually and collectively are penetrated and flooded by it, from the inmost core of the tiniest atom to the mighty sweep of the most universal laws of being: so naturally as it flooded every element, every energy, every connecting-link in the unity of our cosmos; that one might suppose the cosmos to have burst spontaneously into flame.
(Hymn of the Universe, pp. 21, 23-24)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
• Brain researchers have found that the spirituality experience that results in pleasure, contentment, and health (see last two bullet points of this section for the Second Lesson, Advent 1) occurs in a blissful state of complete union with an absolute unitary being, which is perceived as the all-encompassing (Dean Hamer, The God Gene, pp. 128-129).
• Picking up on the theme of Christ being all in all, Martin Luther King Jr. well expresses the social ethical significance of this insight:
Those of us who call the name of Jesus Christ find something at the center of our faith which forever reminds us that God is on the side of truth and justice. Good Friday may occupy the throne for a day, but ultimately it must give way to the triumph of Easter... Yes, "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
(A Testament of Hope, p. 88)
• For data concerning the isolation and loneliness that characterizes contemporary American society, see this section for the Second Lesson, Christmas 2, and the last bullet point of this section for the Second Lesson, Epiphany.
• Awake magazine reports that 5-12% of American men will become clinically depressed in their lifetimes and the numbers double among women.
5. Gimmick
Read verses 19-23. All things are under Christ. He fills all in all!
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
• If Christ fills all in all, He must be everywhere, must keep us company in all we do and everywhere we go. Use the quotation by Martin Luther in the second bullet point of Theological Insights.
• Everywhere we turn, Christ is there. Everything, good and bad, important and unimportant, beautiful and ugly, is in His hands. Theologians call this the "cosmic Christ," the idea that as the word of God, the Son created the universe (John 1) so that the structures of the universe reflect Christ's way of being. As a result, we meet Him there, in the events and circumstances of life.
• Jesus saturates all parts of our lives. He keeps us company everywhere we go, in everything we do. Martin Luther says that realizing how Jesus is everywhere in our lives giving courage. We can't get lost with Him hanging around us everywhere we go.
• Luther is right! Thinking of the cosmic reality of Christ (we might also think of the Holy Spirit this way, see John Calvin's comments in fourth bullet point of Theological Insights) feels good. It gives courage and peace. It gives life meaning.
• Consider the quotations by Jonathan Edwards and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in the last two bullet points of Theological Insights. Christ knows us in the depth of our personalities, in the feelings we ourselves don't understand. He preserves us and keeps us being who we are. He penetrates and floods our very being. Also see the last three bullet points of this section for the Second Lesson, Ascension.
• What solace to know that there is not even a tiny speck of our lives not claimed by Him, not saturated by Jesus. There is even biological evidence about the peace, joy, and health this insight brings. Use the first bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights.
• These insights have implications not just for pleasure and reassurance in the present. To know that Christ reigns and always keeps us company has wonderful implications for how we live in the future and for guiding how we live. Use the quotation by famed modern theologian Karl Barth in the fifth bullet point of Theological Insights. Jesus is the goal and end of all God's ways and of how the created order is moving. Act like things are going Jesus' way (and they will turn out that way). Christ reigns!
• Use the quote by Martin Luther King in the second bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights. The universe bends toward justice. Live that way; work that way; Christ is going to see that justice gets done.
7. Wrap-Up
Assure the congregation that life will not stay the same, because Christ reigns. No matter the hard times, the uncertainty, the despair, we Christians know that Christ goes with us, keeps us company, and that justice and His unconditional love cannot fail!
Sermon Text and Title
"The Last Judgment: Why It's Good News!"
Matthew 25:31-46
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim how and why the last judgment is good news. Justification by Grace and Eschatology are emphasized, with some attention to Social Ethics and Sanctification.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
• Jesus proclaims the great judgment.
• When the Son of Man comes with all the angels, Jesus says, He will sit on the throne of glory (v. 31).
• All the nations will be gathered before the Son, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates sheep from goats (v. 32).
• Then the king will tell those He puts on His right that they are blessed and may inherit the kingdom prepared for them before the foundation of the world (v. 34). This idea underlines the certainty of promise, endorsing the Hebrew idea that something we expect in the future is already present in God.
• Jesus proceeds to comment that the reason for this separation was because those placed on His right fed Him when He was hungry, welcomed Him as a stranger, clothed and cared for Him when He was naked and sick (vv. 35-36).
• The righteous will answer with surprise that they had served Him (vv. 37-39). The king will answer that they have served Him when they served the least of those who are members of His family, for then these deeds were done to Him (v. 40).
• Then those placed by Jesus on His left hand are told by Him that they are cursed and must go to the eternal fire prepared for the devil (v. 41). They have not served Him when He came in the form of a stranger, or as one who is naked, sick, and in prison (vv. 42-43).
• The cursed will answer that they did not see Jesus come to them as hungry, thirsty, as a stranger, as naked, and the like (v. 44). Then Jesus will answer that as they did not do it to the least of these they have not done it to Him (v. 45). And then they will go away to eternal punishment, while the righteous go to eternal life (v. 46).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
• A text pertaining to Eschatology with implications for Sanctification and Justification.
• New Testament scholar Eduard Schweizer contends that this parable's emphasis on works must be held in tension with 20:1-6 and its stress on salvation by grace (The Good News According to Matthew, p. 480).
• Martin Luther seeks to explain this tension:
The second reason why Christ especially mentions these works of mercy and their omission... is, that He wishes to remind us, who have been called to be Christians, have received mercy through our Lord, have been redeemed from the wrath of God and the guilt of the fifth commandment and from eternal death, and on the contrary have a gracious God.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/1, p. 389)
• Jonathan Edwards offers a similar point:
Hereby the saints will be made the more sensible how great their salvation is. When they shall see how great the misery is from which God hath saved them, and how great a difference He hath made between their state, and the state of others, who were by nature, and perhaps for a time by practice, no more sinful and ill-deserving than any, it will give them a greater sense of the wonderfulness of God's grace to them.
(Works, Vol. 2, p. 87)
• Also while preaching on the text the Reformer notes:
For, as I have said, he who does not have faith will not do works of mercy to Christians, but he who does them will do them, because he believes that he has a faithful Savior and redeemer in Christ.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/1, p. 390)
This ought surely to be a strong, powerful admonition for us to live as Christians, so that we may stand in honor and without fear at the right hand of this majestic Lord, where there will be no fear nor terror, but pure comfort and love.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/1, p. 382)
• John Calvin offers a different but related perspective on the text:
The sum of what is said is, that believers, in order to encourage themselves to a holy and upright conduct, ought to contemplate with the eyes of faith the heavenly life, which, though it is now concealed, will at length be manifested at the last coming of Christ.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/1, p. 174)
• The Reformer too construes the text to be about grace:
But before speaking of the reward of good works, He points out, in passing, that the commencement of salvation flows from a higher source; for by calling them blessed of the Father, He reminds them, that their salvation proceeded from the undeserved favour of God.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/1, pp. 176-177)
Secondly, although by the guidance of the Spirit they aim at the practice of righteousness, yet as they never fulfill the law of God, no reward is due to them, but the term reward is applied to that which is bestowed by grace.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/1, p. 179)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
• On poverty, follow the leads in the next-to-last bullet point of this section for the First Lesson. More than two million Americans were incarcerated in mid-2012. This statistic may be updated by googling.
• Social commentator Ellen Willis contends that the real aim of pro-business welfare reformers has been to mount an attack on welfare mothers, to demonize them in hopes that with enough pressure the underclass will stop breeding (Don't Think, Smile: Notes on a Decade of Denial, p. 37).
• John Calvin offers sound insights about the text's reference to the poor (vv. 35-36):
So then, whenever we are reluctant to assist the poor, let us place before our eyes the Son of God, to whom it would be base sacrilege to refuse any thing.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/1, p. 181)
5. Gimmick
Read dramatically verses 31-32. After a pause, state the words "the last judgment."
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
• Ask the congregation what they think of the last judgment, whether it is not a fearsome reality.
• Note the appropriateness of dealing with this on the last Sunday of the church year, when we consider Christ's kingship. How appropriate as we begin next week to prepare for Christ's coming in the child Jesus. But that does not seem to make the last judgment any less fearful.
• Even more problematic seems to be Jesus' words in our lesson implying that the judgment is based on our works and whether we have cared for the poor. If so, we are in big trouble!
• Use the insights of New Testament scholar Eduard Schweizer in the second bullet point of Theological Insights. Reference to the works done by those saved needs to be held in tension with Jesus' references to grace. Review Matthew 20:1-6, the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, where the lord gives the same reward to all the laborers, no matter how long they had worked.
• Use the quotation by Martin Luther in the third bullet point of Theological Insights. Follow with the quote by the famed American Puritan Jonathan Edwards in the next bullet point in the section. Nobody who is saved is less sinful than those who aren't. The works are not the basis for God's wonderful graciousness to us.
• There are other reasons why Jesus talked about the works done by those who are saved and the failure of the damned to do such works. Cite the first quotation by Martin Luther in the fifth bullet point of Theological Insights. Good works are only possible because of faith, because of what God does to us.
• Use the second quotation by John Calvin in the last bullet point of Theological Insights to make clear that those saved are not saved as a reward for their coming for the poor, naked, sick, and imprisoned. It is the grace that made the blessed do these things that deserves reward. Ultimately the last judgment is about God's goodness to us and a love for the poor that prompts those saved to keep the poor, the hungry, and those in jail on their radar screens.
7. Wrap-Up
In the big picture our stereotypes of the last judgment are off base. Because the last judgment, when Christ reigns, is good news. Use the second quotation by Martin Luther in the fifth bullet point of Theological Insights. The last judgment is not about fear or terror. For us who by God's grace have faith, the second coming is all about comfort and love, a love that comforts the poor and comforts us who are privileged too.
