34. King of Love, Sunday Morning, November 22, 2020

Today is Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday in the liturgical Christian calendar. This particular designation is relatively new, being instituted originally in 1925 with the hopes of refocusing the church on the kingship of the one upon whom our faith is based.

In the year 2020, what is the significance of Christ the King Sunday? What does Christ being a king mean to us today, In the midst of the ever-worsening pandemic, in the midst of on-going political disruptions?

The King of Love our Shepherd is, wrote Henry Williams Baker back in 1868. True 2000 years ago, true today. Love. We shall celebrate the spirit of Christ being the spirit of love. We shall celebrate our desire to be people of The Way, the original title given to the early Christians. And the way, was the way of love. 

So today, on Christ the King Sunday, we take our leader down from any pedestal we may have placed him on in our doctrinal fisticuffs with other faiths and invite him to our table in a simple celebration of communion. And we sing very personal love songs, because we chose him as our teacher and our model of how to be in this world.

The King of love our shepherd is.

The King of Love my shepherd is,
Whose goodnesses faileth never,
I lack nothing if I’m his,
And he is mine forever.

— Henry Williams Baker, The King of Love My Shepherd Is