Description
The “Long Green” (as a young student of mine once called it), officially known as the Season after Pentecost has come to an end. The colours of white or gold, representing the change of the season, or marking a significant day are on display. Today is known as the Reign of the Christ or Christ the King Day. I have chosen to explore the day under the banner The Reign of Christ, for two reasons: one is political times have changed and there is some modern struggling with the term king and the other is the Reign of Christ deserves some exploration. What does it mean to live under the Reign of Christ? How is this different to an earthly reign? What are the benefits for us?
Looking at the readings you could be mistaken for changing the title to “Living under the shepherd.” Both the Ezekiel and Matthew readings rely heavily on the metaphor of the shepherd, but this is one hint that the Reign of Christ is something different. As Psalm 100 requests, it is full of joyful noise, of gladness of singing, of acknowledging God and thanking and praising the one who endures forever. It is exciting, and Ephesians hints that there is benefit for those living under Christ’s reign, not just for the Son of God.
I hope you will create a warm exciting service that allows everyone to participate and explore the importance of the Reign of Christ, through music, storytelling and craft.
