See with the Eyes of your Heart”

Christ the King Sunday - November 26, 23

(Confirmation Day for Kjersti Hanson)

Ezekiel 34: 11-16, 20-24 & Ephesians 1: 15-23

Pastor Deb - BRCC

When I was a kid growing up on a farm, my dad used to warn us about going anywhere near the big black angus bull in the barnyard. He always said, “Stay away from that bull, because he could get angry and charge at you if provoked.” But, to tell you the truth, that big black angus bull had nothing on the fat old goat who strutted around our yard whenever he could escape through the barnyard gate. One day I was doing my chores around the barn and out of the blue, that old goat put his head down and ran at me so fiercely that he knocked me flat! And then he stood there looking at me with a victorious gunt as if he had conquered the world. Sheep are dumb and sometimes reckless animals, but goats…well, they are so much worse because they think they are the “king!”

I tell you this story to help us understand this last parable in Matthew’s gospel that Jesus tells before he faces the unfolding events of his last passover with his disciples, his arrest and time of trial, and ultimately his death on a cruel cross. A cross that will have an ironic sign placed above declaring Jesus “King of the Jews.” To understand the significance, we need to remember that there was a time in the history of Israel, when the people cried to God through the prophet Nathan to give them a “king.” They in essence rejected God as their only “king” and wanted an earthly “king” like all the other nations around them. God let them learn about “earthly kings” and Saul was anointed their king. If we read the history in the old testament, we know that Saul started out ok, but quickly succumbed to the temptation of ego and power. What started out as a good king quickly became an abusive king, and a jealous one when God and now the people appeared to be favoring David as his successor. Perhaps you remember how a crazy King Saul went so far as to try and kill David, and ended up taking his own life by falling on his sword when he lost the battle. King David, and then his son, King Solomon, ushered in a time of prosperity, peace and national identity. The kingdom of Israel rose to great heights and wealth, because, even though King David was very human and sinful himself, his heart stayed true to God. This historical time of national empowerment quickly crumbled in the generations to come as king after king rose to the throne and like that old goat, became cruel, self-absorbed and recklessly warring. The old testament books of 1st and 2nd Samuel, Kings and Chronicles relate the terrible story as the United Kingdom of Israel under David and Solomon decays into divided monarchs of Judah and Israel. There is a dark and terrible period where war, cruelty and destruction leads to total defeat and the Israelites are taken into exile by the Assyrian and Babylonian Nations. God sends prophet after prophet to warn his people and call them back from the brink, and yet, by 587 B.C. Jerusalem not only falls but the temple is destroyed. The voices of the prophets keep alive the promise that God’s Kingdom will be restored, but it will be a different kind of kingdom than any of these “bully kings” could provide. Daniel’s visions speak of a “Son of Man” who will rise up against the “beasts” and bring healing and NEW KIND OF KINGDOM with God…This KINGDOM OF GOD WILL REIGN FOREVER.

In the Bible, the word shepherd is a metaphor for leadership. And so, in our text from Ezekial, we see a picture of a new shepherd King that is totally different from the generations of evil kings they have known. “Thus says the Lord God, I myself will search for my sheep…I will rescue them…feed them…give them pasture in which to lie down. I will seek the lost, bring back the strayed, and bind up the injured. I will strengthen the weak, BUT the fat I will destroy. I will feed them with JUSTICE.” The prophet Isaiah continues this theme as he speaks to disillusioned, exiled and destroyed people. “Comfort, O Comfort my people, says your God…a voice cries out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord…Have you not known, have you not heard, the LORD is the everlasting God…those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles…they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40)

And then the prophet Isaiah begins to describe the Son of Man revealed to Daniel in his visions, and this new Shepherd who Ezekiel will bring life to dead bones. Listen to these familiar words from Isaiah 53: “He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected…a man of suffering…he was despised, and we held him of no account. Surely he has borne our infirmities…We like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” The Son of Man…the good shepherd will be nothing like the kings of the past… God is creating something new, and it will change everything.

So why is it so important that we revisit all this old testament history to understand this last teaching of Jesus before he faces his cross? Because, according to Matthew, Jesus has spent his ministry on earth pointing to the KINGDOM OF GOD…explaining the KINGDOM OF GOD, and revealing that he, himself is the SON OF MAN, THE GOOD SHEPHERD OF GOD’S SHEEP. He will usher in this kingdom and be our KING….no one else!. In this parable, Jesus is describing the incredible contrast between the kings of this earth..(kings that will pass away), and the DREAM God has for an eternal kingdom where the Good Shepherd King not only reigns, but brings HIS PEOPLE HOME. And guess what the measurement of that contrast is? MERCY!

The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of MERCY…and that, and only that, will divide humankind into sheep and goats when it comes time to enter into God’s eternal glory.

Jesus is the ONLY perfect KING…the perfect SHEPHERD. He alone can bring the MERCY that will heal and save us and God’s creation. An ancient church father wrote this:

Jesus began his ministry by being hungry, yet He is the Bread of Life. Jesus ended his earthly ministry by being thirsty, yet He is the Living Water. Jesus was weary, yet He is our rest. Jesus paid tribune, yet HE is the King. Jesus was accused of having a demon, yet He cast out demons. Jesus wept, yet He wipes away our tears. Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver, yet HE redeemed the world. JEsus was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, yet HE is the Good Shepherd. Jesus died, yet by His death He destroyed the power of death. (Gregory of Nazianzus AD 381)

In a few moments, we are privileged to share in a beautiful young girl’s affirmation of faith. It has been a joy for me to walk her through the themes in the Bible, the creeds of faith, the ten commandments that guide life and the Lord’s prayer, which unites our heart with the very heart of God. Kjersti has gone with me to help at Ruby’s Pantry and has demonstrated a heart that cares about others and is willing to give that another might be fed and cared for. I am proud of her…and her family for the commitment to grow in faith that shapes their walk with Christ. But I also remind Kjersti and also all of you that FAITH IS A JOURNEY. It is not perfected, applauded and then set on a shelf to admire from afar. It is to be lived! It is to be experienced! It is to be shared. There will be highs of faith, where God’s love and presence feel so close and spectacular. And there will be valleys where faith seems elusive or redundant….maybe even boring!

But just as the God of Israel stayed present to his people through the ups and downs of their journey into the promised land…the nation of Israel…their years of bondage and oppression…always declaring promises of hope and victory…so does YOUR GOD TODAY, walk beside you Kjersti. Nothing will ever separate you from His love and His MERCY! He simply asks you to pass it on…grow it, feed it with justice and gentleness, and SHARE it with a hurting world.

Paul’s words to the Ephesians seem so appropriate for Kjersti today. “I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord JEsus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the EYES OF YOUR HEART enlightened, you may KNOW what is the hope to which he has called you, and the riches of his glorious inheritance.” (Ephesians 1: 15-18)

Kjersti…Jen, Zek, Odin…beloved flock of Baptism River CC….NEVER lose sight of the Power of faith that brings GOD’S KINGDOM OF MERCY into this life we share. For it IS the POWER OF THE RESURRECTION of the one and only KING, our Lord Jesus Christ, who will Shepherd us, in faith, by grace, and into the fullness of his glory. Amen.

And now…after we sing our hymn…I invite Kjersti to come forward and share her faith statement with us as she prepares to affirm her Christian faith.