Dear friends in Christ,
This Sunday, our readings focus on the kingship of Jesus Christ. It’s always like this on the Last Sunday after Pentecost, pointing us toward Advent as we prepare to greet Jesus Christ when he comes in glorious majesty and when we meet him in our Christmas celebrations. But for Sunday, we worship Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Proclaiming “Jesus is Lord” was perhaps the first Christian credo. For believing it and saying it, many Christians gave their lives as martyrs. You see, if Jesus is Lord, then Caesar cannot be Lord.
As authoritarianism, chaos, lies, and violence rise around the world, we who follow Jesus do well to join the martyrs who went before us in proclaiming “Jesus is Lord!” To say this is to place our first allegiance to Jesus Christ, not to any earthly power or person.
And what kind of ruler is King Jesus? We’ll hear it in Sunday’s Gospel. From the Cross, he rules with perfect obedience to his Father. He rules unafraid of death. He rules with mercy. He rules with grace.
King Jesus bids us to do the same — to enact a world that is ruled by sacrifice, by obedience, by life, by mercy, and above all, by grace.
Yours faithfully,
Scott Gunn
Executive Director
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