session essentials - st. john the evangelist catholic church...the crown. ask the children to...

© 2014 Published by Morehouse Education Resources, http://www.MorehouseEducation.org. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this page for use in the purchasing congregation only.

session essentialsP r eschoo l /K i nde r ga r t en

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Question of the WeekHow do we help each other every day? How do we help when there’s a special need?

Helps for Catechists ◆ More about Today’s Scriptures◆ Reflection◆ The Scriptures and the Catechism◆ Liturgy Link: The Feast of Christ the

King ◆ The World of the Bible: A New

Creation

Enrichment ◆ Discover the Good News◆ Singing Together◆ Story-Review Game: I Was...◆ Art: Crown Banner (large round

carton, long dowel, string, foil, sequins, glitter, sharp knife for leader, optional: ribbons, small bells, clothespins and line)

◆ Story Sharing: Help◆ Info: Season Review◆ Info: Young Children and the

Gospel◆ Info: Where You’ll Find Everything

Else

Core Session ◆ Getting Started (colored cloth,

paper crown)◆ Gospel Story: We Can Help

Jesus ◆ Roleplay: I Was Hungry...

(free-play materials such as water cups, play food, dress-up clothes, pillow, etc.)

◆ Praying Together

We are to serve others with the compassion of Christ.◆ Jesus tells us how he will come again as king of those who serve others.◆ Young children have no historical or contemporary knowledge of kings, but they can take

the first steps in learning about our beloved King Jesus as one who loves those who serve.◆ Today’s session celebrates Christ our King through roleplay, storytelling, game and art.

King of CompassionScriptureMatthew 25:31-46

Ch r i s t t h e K i ng – A

Living the Good News | Preschool/Kindergarten | Christ the King – A

http://www.MorehouseEducation.org

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Getting Started (5-15 minutes)Children roleplay actions that would welcome Jesus.

Explain that we call Jesus our King. We don’t have many kings today, but they are like people with lots of money and the right to tell other people what to do. Jesus is not a king like that. Jesus didn’t have lots of money. Jesus didn’t want to tell other people what to do. Jesus came to love and help others.

Drape a chair in cloths. Put a paper crown on the seat of the chair. Say:◆ Imagine Jesus is here today, sitting in that chair.◆ What would we like to say to Jesus?◆ What would we like to do with Jesus?

Encourage children both to act out their ideas. Explain that in today’s story, Jesus has some ideas about what to do, too!

Gospel Story (5-10 minutes)Story Focus: Use 10 pennies as a visual focus for today’s story.

Young children often confuse the leader with God or Jesus. To minimize that possibility in today’s story, ask a volunteer to act as Jesus as you tell the story. Follow the directions printed in italics. Use the materials for the Getting Started activity above to tell today’s story. After the story, provide play materials for the children to use as props.

We Can Help JesusOnce Jesus said, “This is what it will be like when I come back to you as King.

“I will sit on a throne. (Seat the child on the cloth-draped chair. Place the crown on his or her head.) I will gather all the people of the world together.

“Then I will say, ‘Good people, come to my side.’ (Encourage all the children to come close to the crowned child’s side.)

“Then I, King Jesus, will say to the good people, ‘We will be happy together forever; because…

I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you invited me to your home. I had no clothes and you gave me some. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you came to see me.’

“But the good people will say to me, ’Jesus, when did we see you hungry or thirsty? When did we help you when you were a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison?’

“And I will tell them, ‘If you took care of anyone at all who was hungry or thirsty, if you took care of a stranger or someone with no clothes, if you took care of someone who was sick or in prison, it is just the same as if you did it for me!’”

(Repeat with other children as volunteers, if interest is sustained.)

Roleplay (10-15 minutes)I Was Hungry...Invite children to roleplay the actions of the good people in today’s story.

Sit with the children in a semicircle. Begin by saying:◆ Jesus says, “I was hungry and you fed me.”◆ Who can show us what it’s like to be hungry? (Ask a

volunteer to stand in front of the children and act out being hungry.)

◆ Who can feed this hungry person? (Ask a volunteer to act out giving food to the hungry person.)

Continue for the other sentences from today’s story, inviting volunteers to act out these parts:◆ a thirsty person and someone who gives a drink◆ someone who needs clothes and someone to give

clothes◆ a sick person and a caregiver

Children can use free-play materials to provide appropriate props.

Praying Together (5 minutes)Invite children to thank King Jesus for people who help them.

Close by praying:◆ Thank you, King Jesus, for everyone who helps us.

Show us how to help others, too. Amen.

Note: Distribute this week’s At Home with the Good News to children before they leave, or e-mail it to their parents after the session.



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Discover the Good News (5-10 minutes)On page 1 of today’s Discover the Good News, you’ll find an illustrated version of today’s story.

On page 2 you’ll find a matching game in which children link items to the people who need them.

Singing Together (5-10 minutes)From Singing the Good News, sing together:◆ “Live in Harmony” (songbook p. 4, also available as

an MP3)◆ “The Great Commandment” (songbook p. 8, also

available as an MP3)

Note: To access both the songbook and its attached MP3 files, open your Fall-A Seasonal Resources folder, then click on Singing the Good News.

Story-Review Game (10-15 minutes)I Was...To play without competition, you will need only one team. Arrange the children in a line at one end of the room and the free-play materials from today’s story at the other end.

Read a need from today’s story:◆ I was hungry and you fed me.◆ I was thirsty and you gave me a drink.◆ I was a stranger and you invited me to your home.◆ I had no clothes and you gave me some.◆ I was sick and you took care of me.◆ I was in prison and you came to see me.

The first child in line races to the materials to get the item necessary to meet the need and runs back with it.

For example, if you read, “I had no clothes,” the child runs to get a jacket or cloth and returns. The first child then goes to the end of the line and the next child races.

Art (10-25 minutes)Crown Banner Explain that today we celebrate our King, Jesus. One way we celebrate our King is to walk in church singing songs and carrying special decorations, such as candles and this banner.

Discard the lid of the ice cream carton. Cut out the bottom. Cut points along the rim to shape the carton

like a crown. Glue aluminum foil or metallic paper to the crown.

Ask the children to decorate the crown with glue, glitter and sequins. At four points evenly spaced around the top of the crown, punch holes. Tie string through the holes to make a hanger.

Notch the top of the dowel with a knife, making per-pendicular notches. Suspend the crown from the top of the dowel, fitting the string into the notches. If you like, punch holes at evenly spaced intervals around the bottom of the crown. Tie bells to ribbons and suspend the ribbons from the holes.

Story Sharing (5-15 minutes)HelpingChildren tell stories about helping and being helped. Not all young children enjoy this kind of verbal activity. If the children are restless and bored, move on to another activity. Ask:◆ Have you ever helped anyone who was sick?◆ Have you ever been sick? Did anyone help you?◆ Have you ever given food to someone who was

hungry?◆ Who has given you food when you were hungry?◆ Have you ever given a drink to someone who was

thirsty?◆ Does anyone bring you a drink when you are

thirsty?

Explain that when we help others, it is the same as if we are caring for Jesus himself. When others help us, they are treating us as special people. They are treating us as if we are King Jesus.



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Season ReviewWhat went well this season? What still needs

attention in the weeks to come?

We suggest you review the season and make notes for the next, whether you or another leader will be working with the children. Use this checklist:◆ Do I have well-established routines for beginning

and ending the session?◆ Can I recall each child by name? Can I think of one

positive thing I enjoy about each child?◆ Which art activities (drawing, painting, working

with clay, etc.) worked well?◆ Which movement activities (games, creative drama,

etc.) worked well?◆ Are there changes I would choose to make next

season?

Young Children and the Gospel

Today’s session celebrates the paradox of Jesus’ lordship on this Feast of Christ the King. Jesus proclaims himself our king and judge, but teaches us that we will find him, not in pursuit of power or luxury, but in humble service to those in need.

As we come to the last of this season’s sessions, we can reflect once more on the outreach opportunities our Church offers to its young children. If your church has been unresponsive to your efforts to include the children in its ministries, you may need to reflect on these words of Rabbi Hillel: If not you, who? If not now, when?

Where You’ll Find Everything Else

◆ Attached to this Session Plan you will find:— Backgrounds and reflections for today’s

readings, titled More about Today’s Scriptures.— Today’s Gospel Story, to distribute or e-mail to

children and their families.— Suggestions for exploring Our Parish.— Instructions for an alternative Art Activity.— An article on Christ the King to distribute or

e-mail to families.— Today’s At Home with the Good News, to

distribute or e-mail to families after the session.◆ Open your Fall-A Seasonal Resources folder, then

click on Seasonal Articles to find:— Information on Fall-A’s Models of the Faith.— A reproducible LTGN Overview for Parents, to

e-mail to parents or to print and send home with participants.

— An article for leaders on The Lectionary and the Church Year.

— A printable article further exploring The Feast of Christ the King.

— A reproducible handout exploring Thanksgiving Day.


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More about Today’s ScripturesToday’s readings celebrate Christ our compassion-ate King. Ezekiel pictures God as our Shepherd who rescues and watches over us. Paul pictures Christ as reigning triumphantly over all his enemies, including death. In today’s gospel, Jesus presents a vision of final judgement, in which the Son of Man welcomes into God’s kingdom those who have treated others with compassion and mercy.

Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17In the ancient Near East, the king was often pictured as a shepherd. But the pre-exilic kings and leaders

were false shepherds, exploiting and neglecting their flock. Now God will act as the good shepherd, searching out God’s people scattered among the nations and gathering them back to their own land. The reestablished monarchy will act only as God’s faithful regent (vv. 22-24).

Ezekiel reveals God’s nature as one of both compassion and judgment. God’s mercy extends to the lost and injured—those who

have suffered from the injustices of others as well as from their own wrong choices.

God’s judgment reaches the sheep as well as the shepherds. As the shepherds have been judged, so also the sheep must be judged for their behavior to one another (vv. 17-22).

1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28 In chapter 15, Paul reminds the Corinthians of the res-urrection traditions he has passed on to them. He then points out that their doubts about the resurrection of the dead are logically incompatible with their belief in Jesus’ resurrection and their experience of its power in their lives.

In today’s reading, he goes on to show that Jesus’ resur-rection is the basis for the resurrection of all and for the ultimate redemption of the universe. Christ is the first fruits of the dead; the offering of the first fruits of the harvest symbolized the dedication of the whole harvest to God.

Matthew 25:31-46Today’s reading, the last of Matthew’s three end-time parables, is more a vision of the last judgment than it is a parable. Here the Son of Man, Jesus’ title for himself, is clearly identified as the King and Judge of all people, roles traditionally attributed exclusively to God.

The King offers only one criterion of judgment: deeds of compassion. Verses 35-45 list six representative good works, five of which are found in standard Jewish lists. The sixth service, visiting prisoners, was an issue of concern for the early Christian communities.

Here is Jesus’ unmistakable revelation of God’s true nature. As Son of Man, Jesus associates himself not with the brilliant, the pious, the famous or the powerful, but with the least—the hungry, thirsty, lonely, sick, naked and imprisoned. Jesus clearly delineates the values of the kingdom of heaven. Those who suffer are close to the heart of God. Those who minister to the suffering receive the Father’s blessing.

The hearts of the righteous in the vision are as pure as their actions; their surprise betrays the selflessness of their motives. The righteous did not serve those in need in order to score points with God; the accursed would certainly not have neglected the poor if they had known what they would have gained by deeds of mercy. Good intentions are insufficient; what counts are actions, not words.

ReflectionMost kings in Jesus’ day were warlords, but he refuses to do violence. The king’s subjects were expected to follow him, fighting bravely. In today’s gospel, Jesus proposes a different paradigm. He asks his followers to recognize him in the least majestic people, the unpalatial places and unglorious tasks.

Then he asks us to follow him, not into battle, but into the ordinary, almost unconscious tasks of cooking, providing clothes and drinks, welcoming strangers and visiting prisoners. Kathleen Chesto offers a wonderful

“We must find the Lord not only in the table of the Eucharist, but in the table of the world around us. If we do not see Jesus in this table of the world, we will really not find Jesus in the table of the Eucharist; and if we do indeed find Jesus in the table of the Eucharist, we should leave the Eucharistic celebration with eyes of faith that allow us to find Jesus throughout the table of the world.”

––Kenan B. Osborne Sacramental Theology


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take on this parable (Family Centered Intergenerational Religious Education, Sheed & Ward, 1980, p. 29-30), in which parents voice their bewilderment about where they’ve met or nurtured Christ. To “when did I see you hungry?” he replies: “How could you ask? You of the three and a half million peanut butter sandwiches?”

To “Naked, Lord, homeless?” he responds: “I was born to you naked and homeless and you sheltered me, first in wombs, then in arms… And you spent the next twenty years keeping me in jeans.”

To “But imprisoned, Lord?” he says: “I was imprisoned in my littleness, behind the bars of a crib. I cried out in the night and you came…”

Perhaps we should all rewrite the parable to appreciate our own life works.

The Scriptures and the CatechismWe await Jesus’ return in glory (CCC, #668–70), but Jesus has been hidden among us all the time in the poor and needy. In today’s parable, Christ the Judge (CCC, #440, 668–79) evaluates all communities on their behavior to those in need. By responding to these needs, we share in God’s work to transform our world into the kingdom of God (CCC, #2046, 2443–49, 2186)—a kingdom of justice rather than domination, held together by love and respect for life not violence, and providing peace rather than conflict, hatred and war (CCC, #671–77).

Liturgy LinkThe Feast of Christ the KingAs we come to the end of the Church year, we focus on Christ our heavenly King and on the kingdom he proclaimed. This kingdom is embodied in the community of people who live in a new and different way because of God’s presence in their lives.

Following Jesus’ royal guidelines, his kingdom is the foundation of a new order—a new creation—that would be free from oppression, injustice, violence and suffering. In it, persons would finally return to the original ideal of relationships characterized by justice, rooted in love and bringing peace for everyone.

Christ robed as King and reigning from the cross, the Christus Rex, was for a number of centuries one of the dominant images of Christ shown in art. In the early

centuries, looking at Good Friday from the perspective of Easter, Christians did not depict the crucifixion. It was not until the 13th century that the crucifix became a common motif.

This theme of the reigning King was emphasized once again when the Feast of Christ the King was established in 1925 by the Catholic Church. The feast was first held on the last Sunday of October. After Vatican II, the desire grew to integrate the feast within the context of the liturgical calendar. Thus the celebration was moved to the last Sunday of the Church year, which has always had a strong escha-tological (end-time) flavor. This puts the celebration of Christ’s kingship in its proper biblical setting, connecting it with the return of Christ and the final defeat of evil.

As King, Jesus calls us to become his new kingdom people—a community that will always stand in contrast to the values of earthly political and social systems. We cannot disconnect our relationship with God from our relationships with others.

As the bishops gathered at Vatican Council II reminded us, “This split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age” (The Church in the Modern World, #43). Jesus’ twin commands to love God and neighbor challenge us to discover what it takes today to become a kingdom community living according to the mind of Christ.

The World of the BibleA New CreationUnlike ourselves, biblical people did not think the world was progressing but always regressing. From the Garden of Eden onward, God’s original vision for creation had steadily deteriorated. But since God alone rules creation, the only way things could really be made better was not by human effort but through a new creation by which God would re-order the world without sin and in which everything would finally be perfect.

Paul believed that God had begun this re-ordering in Jesus and so a new creation had actually taken place. He also believed that the whole world would soon be transformed by God’s power, but we realize that this transformation did not happen as fast as he wanted but continues even today.


©2014 by Morehouse education resources • all rights reserved • www.livingthegoodnews.coM • 1-800-242-1918

Fall • Year A

Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this page for use in the purchasing congregation only.

Write a sentence at the top of each sheet of construction paper. Use these sentences, repeating each as often as necessary to prepare a sheet for each child:• I was hungry and you fed me.• I was thirsty and you gave me a drink.• I was a stranger and you invited me to your home.• I had no clothes and you gave me some.• I was sick and you took care of me.• I was in prison and you visited me.

Ask each child to choose a sheet of paper and draw a picture that goes with the sentence written there. (You will need to read the sentences aloud for the children.)

Explain by offering examples: “Mario, your sentence says, `I was hungry and you fed me.’ Can you draw a picture of someone giving food to a hungry person?”

Tape the finished pictures to a wall or hang them on a clothesline.

Art Activity: Sentence Pictures

PK-FA-PR29-DL-A-Art Activity

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Today’s readings celebrate Christ, our compas-sionate King. In Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17, the prophet pictures God as our Shepherd, who rescues and watches over us. In 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28, Paul pictures Christ as reigning triumphantly over all his enemies,

including death. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus presents a vision of final judgement, in which the Son of Man welcomes into God’s kingdom those who have treated others with compas-sion and mercy.

Preschool/Kindergarten children acted out ways

to welcome Jesus and shared stories about helping.

Today’s story was the basis for a roleplay, a relay game

and poster making. The children also made a crown

banner to be carried in procession into the church.

Primary (Grades 1-3) children learned that member-

ship in God’s kingdom is based on God’s love for us

and finds expression in our active love for others. Ses-

sion activities included playing a variation of Detec-

tive, hearing today’s Bible story and making a cloth or

paper banner.

Based on today’s gospel in which Jesus urges us to

help others, Intermediate (Grades 4-6) participants

created pictures of needy people. After a discussion of

the scripture passage, group members prepared skits

of ways that intermediate members can help people

in need. Bible Skills Activities designed to help the

participants learn the order of the books in the New

Testament concluded this session.

Christ the King • Year A

© 2014 Morehouse Education Resources. All rights reserved. www.livingthegoodnews.com • 1-800-242-1918 • Permission is hereby granted to reproduce these pages for use in the purchasing congregation only.

Talk about the coming holiday

season and how we might serve

the hungry, thirsty, naked, ill or

imprisoned—within our families

and in the larger world.

Most kings in Jesus’ day were warlords. Their subjects were expected to follow them, fighting bravely. In today’s gospel, Jesus proposes a different paradigm. He asks his followers to recognize him in the least majestic people, in unpalatial places and inglorious tasks.

Then Jesus asks us to follow him, not into battle, but into the ordinary, almost unconscious tasks of cooking, providing clothes and drinks, welcoming strangers and visiting prisoners. Kathleen Chesto wrote a wonderful take on this parable, in which parents voice their bewilderment about where they’ve met or nurtured Christ. To “When did I see you hungry?” he replies:

“How could you ask? You of the three and a half million peanut butter sandwiches?”

To “Naked, Lord, homeless?” he responds:

“I was born to you naked and homeless and you sheltered me, first in wombs, then in arms… And you spent the next twenty years keeping me in jeans.”

“But imprisoned, Lord?”

“I was imprisoned in my littleness, behind the bars of a crib. I cried out in the night and you came…” (from Family Centered Intergenerational Religious Education (Sheed & Ward, 1980, pp. 29-30).


In your own words, give thanks for a King who identifies with human suffering, who doesn’t live in a palace but abides right here with us.

Between now and Thanksgiving, name one new blessing every day that you are

grateful for. This practice will sharpen an “attitude of gratitude.”

How do we help each other every day? How do we help when there’s a special need?


Fall • Year A


We generally first make contact with our Catholic heritage through its local manifestation: our parish church. This season, we suggest ways in which you can help children explore their parish church. These suggestions may be used throughout the year.

In today’s session, we suggest you invite children to explore parish works of liturgical art that celebrate Christ the King. Make time before the session to discover what examples exist in your parish. Possibilities include:• crucifixes based on the image of Christus Victor: Christ crowned and fully clothed

with his arms raised in victory•banners decorated with crowns or other royal motifs• stained-glass representations of today’s gospel or other stories celebrating Christ as

King

You can finish this activity by showing children the poster Suffering Servant, also attached to your session plan. As you view the poster, play reflective music such as the “Adagio” from Rodrigo’s Concierto De Aranjuez. (Open your Fall-A Seasonal Resources folder, then click on Companion Music for options on obtaining this music.)

Gather children around the poster. Ask:•Who is in this picture?•How is this picture like the other pictures or statues we viewed?•How is this picture different from the other pictures or statues we viewed?•What would you like to say to Jesus today?

Our Parish

PK-FA-CHKI-DL-C-Our Parish


Fall • Year A


Gospel Story:We Can Help Jesus

Story Focus: Use 10 pennies as a visual focus for today’s story.

Young children often confuse the leader with God or Jesus. To minimize that possibility in today’s story, ask a volunteer to act as Jesus as you tell the story. Follow the directions printed in italics. Use the materials for the Getting Started activity to tell today’s story. After the story, provide play materials for the children to use as props.

Once Jesus said, “This is what it will be like when I come back to you as King.

“I will sit on a throne. (Seat the child on the cloth-draped chair. Place the crown on his or her head.) I will gather all the people of the world together.

“Then I will say, ‘Good people, come to my side.’ (Encourage all the children to come close to the crowned child’s side.)

“Then I, King Jesus, will say to the good people, ‘We will be happy together forever; because…

I was hungry and you fed me.I was thirsty and you gave me a drink.I was a stranger and you invited me to your home.I had no clothes and you gave me some.I was sick and you took care of me.I was in prison and you came to see me.’

“But the good people will say to me, ’Jesus, when did we see you hungry or thirsty? When did we help you when you were a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison?’”

“And I will tell them, ‘If you took care of anyone at all who was hungry or thirsty, if you took care of a stranger or someone with no clothes, if you took care of someone who was sick or in prison, it is just the same as if you did it for me!’”

(Repeat this story with other children as volunteers, if interest is sustained.)

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Today’s readings celebrate Christ our com-passionate King. Ezekiel pictures God as our Shepherd who rescues and watches over us. Paul pictures Christ as reigning triumphantly over all his enemies, including death. In today’s gospel, Jesus presents a vision of final judgement, in which the Son of Man welcomes into God’s kingdom those who have treated others with compassion and mercy.

Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17

In the ancient Near East, the king was often pictured as a shepherd. But the pre-exilic kings and leaders were false shepherds, exploiting and neglecting their flock. Now God will act as the good shepherd, searching out God’s people scattered among the nations and gathering them back to their own land. The reestablished monarchy will act only as God’s faithful regent (vv. 22-24).

Ezekiel reveals God’s nature as one of both compassion and judgment. God’s mercy extends to the lost and injured—those who have suffered from the injustices of others as well as from their own wrong choices.

God’s judgment reaches the sheep as well as the shepherds. As the shepherds have been judged, so also the sheep must be judged for their behavior to one another (vv. 17-22).

1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28

In chapter 15, Paul reminds the Corinthians of the resurrection traditions he has passed on to them. He then points out that their doubts about the resurrection of the dead are logically incompatible with their belief in Jesus’

resurrection and their experience of its power in their lives.

In today’s reading, he goes on to show that Jesus’ resurrection is the basis for the resurrection of all and for the ultimate redemption of the universe. Christ is the first fruits of the dead; the offering of the first fruits of the harvest symbolized the dedication of the whole harvest to God.

Matthew 25:31-46

Today’s reading, the last of Matthew’s three end-time parables, is more a vision of the last judgment than it is a parable. Here the Son of Man, Jesus’ title for himself, is clearly identified as the King and Judge of all people, roles tradi-tionally attributed exclusively to God.

The King offers only one criterion of judgment: deeds of compassion. Verses 35-45 list six repre-sentative good works, five of which are found in standard Jewish lists. The sixth service, visiting prisoners, was an issue of concern for the early Christian communities.

Here is Jesus’ unmistakable revelation of God’s true nature. As Son of Man, Jesus associates himself not with the brilliant, the pious, the famous or the powerful, but with the least—the hungry, thirsty, lonely, sick, naked and imprisoned. Jesus clearly delineates the values of the kingdom of heaven. Those who suffer are close to the heart of God. Those who minister to the suffering receive the Father’s blessing.

The hearts of the righteous in the vision are as pure as their actions; their surprise betrays the selflessness of their motives. The righteous did not serve those in need in order to score points with God; the accursed would certainly

00-FA-CHKI-SB-C-More about Today_s Scriptures

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not have neglected the poor if they had known what they would have gained by deeds of mercy. Good intentions are insufficient; what counts are actions, not words.

ReflectionMost kings in Jesus’ day were warlords, but he refuses to do violence. The king’s subjects were expected to follow him, fighting bravely. In today’s gospel, Jesus proposes a different paradigm. He asks his followers to recognize him in the least majestic people, the unpalatial places and unglorious tasks.

Then he asks us to follow him, not into battle, but into the ordinary, almost unconscious tasks of cooking, providing clothes and drinks, welcoming strangers and visiting prisoners. Kathleen Chesto wrote a wonderful take on this parable (Family Centered Intergenerational Religious Education, Sheed & Ward, 1980, pp. 29-30), in which parents voice their bewilder-ment about where they’ve met or nurtured Christ. To “when did I see you hungry?” he replies: “How could you ask? You of the three and a half million peanut butter sandwiches?”

To “Naked, Lord, homeless?” he responds: “I was born to you naked and homeless and you sheltered me, first in wombs, then in arms…And you spent the next twenty years keeping me in jeans.”

To “But imprisoned, Lord?” he says: “I was imprisoned in my littleness, behind the bars of a crib. I cried out in the night and you came…”


More about Today’s Scriptures Christ the King

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The readings for the last Sunday after Pentecost are, in all three cycles, full of references to the return of Christ, when evil will be defeated and Jesus will begin his reign as King of kings. This festival is known as Christ the King in many churches, and celebrated with hymns, banners and pennants, and a special procession. The Lutheran Church in Germany calls this day Eternity Sunday.

Many of us do not have any experience of being the subjects of a monarch; American democracy has shaped our patterns of thought. Nevertheless, Christians are fond of titles such as “King of kings” and “Lord of lords.” How can we understand the kingship of Christ and integrate its implications into our lives?

The Prayer of the Day gives us at least one phrase to help us understand, in part, the nature of the kingship of Christ: “Grant that all the people of the earth, now divided by the power of sin, may be united under the glorious and gentle rule of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.” Unlike earthly kings who simply maintain order, the kingship of Christ involves the restoration of all things to their original relationship to God.

To offer one’s life to Christ as Lord and Savior allows him to clean away the debris of sin that mars our makeup, thus restoring us to wholeness. We may seem to be the same persons, but inwardly we are being transformed as old clutter is replaced by new order.

Celebrating the kingship of Christ gives us an opportunity to proclaim the good news that his second coming brings joy rather than fear, hope rather than despair. We are cleansed and renewed and brought closer to our God. How appropriate it is to sing hymns and carry banners on this festival of our King! In Advent, the Church year begins with a focus on the final restoration of all creation to its original glory. In preparation, on the last Sunday of the Church year, we proclaim the expected advent of the Lord of lords and King of kings.

Christ the King

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