As the liturgical year comes full circle, we celebrate the ongoing Reign of Christ. One of the texts for this Sunday in the lectionary cycle is Jeremiah 23:1-6, where God speaks through the prophet to condemn those who harm the flock and promises to raise up a righteous ruler who will gather and care for those that have been scattered.
So we look to our belief that Jesus is the fulfillment of these words and reflect on how his reign is different than our experience of earthly rulers. And we consider what it means to live in God's kingdom even as we live in earthly kingdoms.
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On the final Sunday of the liturgical year, we come full circle and celebrate the end of the beginning. Over the course of the year, we have explored all that God has done and all that God has promised to do. We have traveled through the key events of the life of Jesus, from birth to death, from life to resurrection, from teaching to healing.
As we prepare to enter Advent again, we enter another season of expectation. We look back with reverence to the birth of Jesus, to God entering the world as one of us. And we look ahead to the second coming, to the ultimate fulfillment of all that God has promised. In the last few weeks, we have looked back even farther to remind ourselves of God’s creation and we have glimpsed the future that God is preparing for us.
But on the final Sunday before we start the cycle over, we are reminded that Jesus reigns - today and always. We are reminded of what it means today that Jesus is Lord. We are reminded of what God is doing in the world right now.
The End of the Beginning: What God Will Do
This week, I continue to reflect on what it means to come to the end of the beginning. As one liturgical year draws to a close and another is set to begin, how do we live into the promises of all that God has promised? Looking to Isaiah 65:17-25 and examples from movies and song, we consider what the kingdom that God looks like and how we begin to live into all that God has promised.
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As we continue toward the end of the liturgical year, as we draw closer to the cycle once again starting over at the beginning of the Jesus story, we are reminded not only of all that God has done, but also all that God will do. As we touched on last week, though we are coming to an end, it is only the end of the beginning. While much has been accomplished, there is still more to do.
This is part of what I love about the structure of the church year. The church year is a circle that constantly repeats itself. We start the year leading up to the birth of Jesus. Then Jesus is born and begins to be known to the world. Then we come to another season of preparation as we focus on repentance and renewing our relationship with God before we celebrate the fulfillment of God’s love in the Resurrection. Then we settle into a time of growth as we reflect on all of the teachings that Jesus shared with his disciples and others along the way before coming full circle to start back over at the beginning.
So in November each year, we approach the end. But we also recognize that the life of Jesus and the work of those first disciples was only the beginning.
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As we continue toward the end of the liturgical year, as we draw closer to the cycle once again starting over at the beginning of the Jesus story, we are reminded not only of all that God has done, but also all that God will do. As we touched on last week, though we are coming to an end, it is only the end of the beginning. While much has been accomplished, there is still more to do.
This is part of what I love about the structure of the church year. The church year is a circle that constantly repeats itself. We start the year leading up to the birth of Jesus. Then Jesus is born and begins to be known to the world. Then we come to another season of preparation as we focus on repentance and renewing our relationship with God before we celebrate the fulfillment of God’s love in the Resurrection. Then we settle into a time of growth as we reflect on all of the teachings that Jesus shared with his disciples and others along the way before coming full circle to start back over at the beginning.
So in November each year, we approach the end. But we also recognize that the life of Jesus and the work of those first disciples was only the beginning.
The End of the Beginning: What God Has Done
The liturgical year flows in a circle that constantly repeats itself. Over the course of each year, we take ourselves from the beginning of the Jesus story -- the one foretold by the prophets who has been here, who is risen, and who is still to come -- to the end of that story. We start this year off waiting for the birth of a baby, and we end up this year recognizing the kingship of that same child now risen to glory. For those of us that claim Christ, the story of Jesus' earthly ministry is only the beginning.
So we head into these last few weeks looking back so that we might see the path ahead. Drawing a bit on the structure of the liturgical year and a bit on Psalm 145 (see Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21), we consider what God has done, what that tells us about who God is, and what that means for what is to come.
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So we head into these last few weeks looking back so that we might see the path ahead. Drawing a bit on the structure of the liturgical year and a bit on Psalm 145 (see Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21), we consider what God has done, what that tells us about who God is, and what that means for what is to come.
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