Sermon, Christ the King Sunday, 2009
The Reverend Scott T Homer
In the Name of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
I want to talk about restoration work this morning because on this Christ the King Sunday we are reminded that God is in the process of restoring the world…and us…to it’s and our former glory. He is in the process of establishing Christ’s kingdom forever.
In 1985, I was driving through one of the old but really solid suburbs of Cleveland, a place called Lakewood, Ohio and I noticed a “for sale” sign on a lawn and I looked up to see the property and I saw what looked like a grand mansion towering over the surrounding neighborhood. It had never noticed it there before. I was so taken with the house that I pulled off to the side of the road and I just stared at it for a long time. It was gorgeous—stucco construction, 21/2 stories tall with large, long expanses of roof. It was huge. It had multiple chimneys, seventy plus windows, two wings. It was built in the country Tudor style—one of the prettiest homes I have ever seen. It was old and little had been done to maintain it. It was rundown and in need of repair. The realtors would have advertised it as a fixer upper or needing TLC—all those terms realtors use to try and persuade you that it isn’t as bad as it seems; but my mind was not overwhelmed by the problems. It raced with the possibilities. I started to dream about what it would look like with new paint, new landscaping, and a new roof. When it had been built it must have been the jewel of the town and although it had suffered much over the last sixty years it could be a jewel again. What this house needed was a new owner—someone who could appreciate its true worth—someone committed to the long, difficult task of restoring it to its former glory—someone with the substantial resources that would be necessary in order to accomplish the restoration. We ended buying that place. And for the next seven years we poured our lives out, and we poured our money into that glorious old house.
What we did at that house was “restore” it. The place had lost its original luster. It had fallen into disrepair. It had become a fixer-upper but we took that old place and we tore out all the old damaged plaster. We gutted the kitchens and baths and replaced them with all the modern conveniences. We installed updated electrical service, ran a new larger water main in from the street. We knocked out old walls and re-plastered rooms. Outside we put on a new roof. We installed stone walls and patios and fences. We planted shrubs and gardens. We repainted everything. And, when it was all said and done that old house was restored to all its former glory—maybe even a little bit more. That house was once again the jewel of the neighborhood and it was a joy to its owners—but I have to admit too that it was more costly than we had ever imagined, and in fact, if we had understood the cost I am not sure we would have ever undertaken the task.
I want to draw your attention to the opening collect—that prayer that we pray towards the front end of our service. It is called a collect because the purpose of the prayer is to gather us all together around a common theme—to collect use—in order that our prayer and worship time might be focused and unified. So lets look at the prayer focus for this morning—on this Christ the King Sunday. We addressed Almighty God as the One “whose will is to restore all things in His beloved Son,” Jesus Christ. Our common focus for our worship this morning is Almighty God’s desire and purpose to restore his entire creation in his Son Jesus. That is what we will be singing about. That is what we will be reading the Scriptures about. That is what I am preaching about: God’s desire is to restore all things—all the trees and all the rocks, all the oceans and all the stars, all the animals and all the peoples of the earth—everything restored—that is, everything that has lost its luster, everything that has fallen into disrepair, everything that has become a fixer-upper, God wants to bring back to its original glory. God’s desire and purpose is to see his entire creation back to the way it was intended to be before it fell into disrepair.
Now, our collect tells us that “the peoples of the earth are divided and enslaved by sin. And the collect has got that right. Sin is the cause of our disrepair. You see, God never intended for us to be sick. It was not God’s plan that we should cry from the pain of a broken heart. God didn’t want us to have to suffer disappointment, or to know the sting of rejection, or to be brought low by depression. God didn’t design us to hate one another, or to be envious of others. He didn’t design us to be self-centered. God didn’t create smog. He didn’t foul our water. God was opposed to those guys flying airplanes into the World Trade Center. He despises the wars we wage against one another. He hates the way we allow our brothers and sisters to waste away from famine and thirst. He didn’t create any of us to age or to die. Lots of people go through life blaming God for the messes we find ourselves in, but it’s not God’s fault—unless you want to blame God for allowing us to have free will. (But if you are unhappy with your freedom you will have to become content with being a slave) The truth is that the world, and everything in it has fallen, and all this evil has come to pass because, from the beginning, humanity has chosen to live apart from God (that’s what sin means). We operate independent of God’s will for us (that’s sin too), demanding our own way (yes that is also sin). Nevertheless, when God looks at us and at his creation he remembers his beloved, beautiful, flawless creation. He recalls the glory of his children before the fall when they walked unashamed before him. He remembers how perfect it all was and his mind races with the possibilities for restoring his people. It is God’s will that everything in the universe be restored to its former glory.
And at the personal level, we are like houses that have fallen into disrepair. I never used to notice, but as I get older more and more stuff is breaking down. In the old days, if I didn’t hear you it was because I wasn’t listening. Now I don’t hear you because I can’t hear. When I try to run I get winded easily. I’m taking a fist full of drugs every morning to maintain this and prevent that. I’m less idealistic than I used to be. I want to be idealistic. I just can’t overcome the years of hard knocks. I don’t experience the great joys that I knew when I was younger. Sickness grabs me and holds on to me much longer than it used to. I have become a fixer upper. We are all fixer uppers in God’s eyes. But this is not the way God intends us to be. This is not the way God designed us. He designed us to walk with him in paradise forever. When God looks down on his servant he remembers the plans he made for you. He remembers the beauty and the joy and the peace he wanted for you. I suppose God weeps when he sees what has happened to us. But his tears are not tears of despair. When God sees us and he sees the disrepair into which we have fallen He takes the steps required to restore us. And, the first step, the first thing that has to happen, just like it did with me and that house years ago, is that a purchase has to be made. God has to purchase us. We have to come to belong to him. If you don’t belong to Christ, don’t expect him to be doing any rehab work in your life.
God has made an offer for your life. He has offered to buy you back from your present owner—sin and death. Death has owned you since you first sinned but the Lord has paid the price to purchase your life back. He sent his well-beloved Son, Jesus Christ to die on the Cross for you. In Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross, the price was paid for all your sins. In Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, the Lord tendered an offer sufficient for buying back your life and making you his child once more and forever. But you are still bound. There is one more thing holding you.
God has made an offer for your life…but the offer must be accepted. A house doesn’t get sold without the permission of its present owner. You have to agree to sell. You have to be sold out for Jesus Christ in order for the offer to take effect. The deed to your life has to be turned over to Jesus Christ. What must I do to be saved? Confess Christ crucified and accept Him as your Lord and Savior. The day you commit—or recommit—your life to Christ is the day when the work of restoration begins. It is just a beginning but it is a work that can not fail because God has the vision to see the project through. It is just a beginning but it will be completed because God has the strength and the resources to see it done. There may be a lifetime of rehab work before us. There may be some demolition work—maybe some excavating into areas left buried for too long. There may be lots of difficult days ahead and you may not see or feel the progress for a long time but “the Lord is able and he will do it.” Do you remember that quote from 1 Thessalonians? If you belong to him, if you have given yourself to him, “The Lord is able and he will do it.” And we will, one fine day, find ourselves restored to the dream the Maker had for us from the beginning. We will enjoy the fullness of life. We will live in the glorious light. We will know the peace that passes all understanding.
One last point: God’s desire and God’s purpose is that “all the peoples of the earth may be freed and brought together under the gracious rule of [our Lord Jesus Christ—God’s] well-beloved Son. People are set free the same way we are set free, that is, when they are brought under the reign of King Jesus; when they accept his ownership of their lives, and when they are sold out to the Lord. And people only come to Jesus by hearing the good news. This is why Christians are repeatedly asked to witness, to talk to other people, about their experience of coming into Christ’s kingdom, and of being blessed by God’s restorative work in their lives—to speak about the ways that Christ has made himself known to them—to speak about the freedom they are finding, the new life they are enjoying having sold out to Jesus. Christians are repeatedly asked to do good works, so that the world may see, so that those who do not know Jesus may learn about him by seeing the way his disciples act, and by benefiting from the works of kindness and mercy that his people perform. We love one another because Jesus loves us and gave his life for us—and if our king has been willing to give his life for me, and for you, and for us, then we ought to be willing to give our lives for one another too.
These days we hear a lot about reconciliation and the term is being abused. The work of reconciliation is not agreeing to disagree. It is actually about restoring broken people (people in some ways like us and some ways very different than us), restoring broken people to the Kingdom of God. It is like driving past rundown properties. It is like looking at distressed properties and seeing value in them, and committing to the work of restoring them. Reconciling the world to Christ is about investing our lives in the lives of those who do not yet know Christ. It is about the work of witnessing through our words and through our actions to the amazing grace that is being showered upon us day after wonderful day. It is about be grateful for the work God is doing in our lives and sharing the blessing with others.
There is one part of the story about our house in Lakewood that I didn’t mention. I wanted to wait until now. When I looked at that glorious but rundown old house and I considered how much it would cost to repair it, I knew that I did not have the resources necessary to get the job done by myself. And so, I went to my father and I asked if he would join me in the project. I asked if he would provide me with the tools I didn’t have and give me the money I needed to make it happen. And my father was delighted to help. In fact, he decided to join me in the project and together we worked until that place was done. Our church is being called out—we are being called out to witness to Christ and to bring people to faith and frankly, the project is too big for us. We need to ask our father to help. Pray to the Father. Pray everyday. Ask him to give us the tools we need. Ask him to give us the money we need and the other resources we need to make it happen. I know that our Father in heaven will hear our prayers and will delight in joining us in this greatest of all endeavors.
Lord we do ask for your help and your active participation, especially this morning as we begin the Mustard Seed Café, and as we look at doing prison ministries, and as we wonder about ways of moving our church outside the walls of this building and into the world around us. Open our eyes to see the potential in the people we meet, to see your intention in creating them. Open our hearts to commit to your will for the world, and to share our lives with others and to invite them to come and walk through life together. Lead and guide Lord until we find ourselves standing around your throne, worshipping you along with all our neighbors and coworkers and family, and singing Holy, Holy, Holy…we love you and we give you all the glory King Jesus.
Amen.
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