Christ Transforming Culture (Proper C29)

At our ministerial meeting today, we wrestled with what a culture ruled by Christ would look like.

What does it mean to our sports culture? The Unionville-Sebewaing Area Patriots are trouncing every football team they come across and are well on their way to the Silver Dome for playoffs. The whole town is peppered with signs of support, eyes all atwinkle in the Friday-night lights. One church reads "Hallelujah, Praise be the Patriots" the blasphemy is, I hope, comical.

Is this culture out of step with the Kingdom? How can we root on our team in a way that worships God (ala Brother Lawrence)?

Chuck thought about putting a man on a cross with the face of George Bush… Who is your king?

What does it mean for us to live the culture of the Kingdom? Would it be a neo-monastic commune somehow immunized from cultic dictators and splits, always practicing the discipline of corporate guidance? How can Christ transform the culture we find ourselves in?

My great goal on Sunday is to share the excitement of the Kingdom of Christ! I want to start with the thief on the cross (a puppet singing Third Day's Thief), his experience of the immediacy of the Kingdom.

Luke's King (Proper C29)

Did you notice that this conversation with the thief is unique to Luke? I took a look at the Lukan context and found some other distinctions. Luke is the only one to show Pilot publicly declaring his innocence. Three times in fact he comes back trying to understand why this innocent is before him.

Luke defends the innocence of Christ, that his execution was unjust. In the same breath he is defending the legitimacy of the church. *

Also in Luke there is a stress on the immediacy of the Kingdom. Jesus said to the thief, "Today you will be with me in paradise." When is the Kingdom realized? Was it then when Jesus sacrificed himself ushering in a new covenant? Was it when he was born bearing in his flesh the very kingdom of God? Will it be in the end when he finally has dominion over all?

I say YES! The one you identify with no doubt has to do with your theology. I guess, being a postmodern child, I hungrily swallow all the truth of the theologian but spit out the conclusions which are at odds. Truly all these can be true at the same time, even in paradoxical harmony.

What does it mean for us? The Kingdom of God is near! It is in us, around us, here for ages, and yet to come. Oh God this is exciting. King of kings and all creation set us to awe again-to bow before you as loyal serfs. How my heart yearns with in me. My throat tightens, my eyes well with tears, my lips smile at the warmth in my longing heart!

Christ the King of me? (Proper C29)

What does it mean that Christ is the King in my life? Is his kingdom national? Is it a religious kingdom? Or is it, as Paul Nuechterlein suggests, cultural? Culture makes sense to me, even in the days of kings and vassals it was the culture their reign produced that was at odds with the kingdom of God. Even in the days of Pharisees or Idolaters, it was the culture that their concepts of gods and appeasement created that was at odds with the kingdom of God. Over and above this ruling elite with their ability to decree the culture of the rest stands Christ. Over and above it all.

What does this mean to me? My fear is that I reduce the reign of Christ in my life to a "Christian subculture." That would put me in the place of a religious elite at odds again with the Kingdom. Christ has as little to do with the subculture we Christians retreat to, as he has to do with Emperor worship, or for that mater American Idol worship.

With these questions in mind I look to this weeks texts. "Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the LORD." Sounds like those elite who lead the people away from the Kingdom, drawing them to a culture of their own making.

Christ stands above culture ruling us by Divine nature.

From with in our kingdoms and cultures Christ calls us to himself. The kingdoms of men are not fortified from the presence of Christ. Just as he could reconcile Jews, just as he welcomed the thief who was receiving justice from the Roman Empire, so he can work with in our twisted culture to bring us into his Righteous Kingdom!

He is Jehovah Tsidkanu, God our Righteousness!