November 26, 2023: “The upside-down kin-dom.”

Rev. Dr. Mark Maddix sermon, “The upside-down kin-dom.”  This Sunday is the last Sunday in the Christian calendar, and it is called “Christ the King Sunday” which emphasizes Christ’s rule over all of creation. Christ the King Sunday is right before Advent when we begin with the hope of the coming Messiah and ends with the proclamation of his universal reign.

On Sunday we will explore Jesus’ last apocalyptic message in Matthew 25: 31-40 that focuses on the division of the goats and the sheep. While some interpreters view this as a passage that focuses on the separation of the godly and the ungodly when Christ returns, we will explore how Jesus’ reign is nothing like we would imagine of a King. Jesus’ reign is an upside-down kingdom that focuses on caring for the “least of these,” and Jesus says when we do so we encounter him. Jesus chooses to identify with the hungry, imprisoned, sick, naked, the lonely, the outcasts, the disposable, the losers, the oppressed. And as John Wesley said, when we encounter the poor and oppressed of society, we experience the presence of Christ.