St. Mary's Episcopal Church
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  • Home
  • Worship
    • Worship Schedule
    • Virtual Service Schedule
    • Sermons
    • Church Calendar
    • Recordings and Service Leaflets
    • Marian Antiphons
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • What We Believe >
      • The Sacraments
    • Membership
    • Our Leadership
    • Our Ministries
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    • Photos
  • News
    • Weekly Newsletter
    • Fr. Charles's Blog
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    • Contact Us
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    • William Baker Festival Singers
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Fr. Charles's Blog

An Exhortation

4/4/2019

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On Sunday, we will use the Exhortation as the Bidding to Confession at St. Mary's.
 
The Exhortation has been part of the Anglican liturgy since the first prayer book in 1549.  In a world of monthly or even quarterly celebrations of holy communion, it and was intended to be read on the Sunday or holy day prior to remind the faithful to approach the Holy Table worthily after having repented of their sins. Thankfully, in our day, weekly communion has been restored, but that means that we rarely hear these powerful words.
 
In the Exhortation, the Church invites us to approach the Holy Table worthily.  By accident, the Eucharist can become mindless repetition.  We mechanically sit, stand, and kneel, and recite the prayers from memory.  We approach the altar without even thinking about what we’re doing…without thinking about who we are or who we are about to consume.  The Exhortation reminds us that we are sinners called to repent, and that God is holy and stands ready to forgive us.
 
While the Lord calls us to receive communion worthily, the Eucharist is not a purity test.  There are churches that teach that you can’t receive communion unless your soul is in a “state of grace”, meaning free from mortal sin and pleasing to God (as if you are somehow less pleasing to God at other times).  That is not the message of the Exhortation!  This isn’t about being refused communion because of what the Church or the priest think about your conduct, it’s instead a call to “judge yourselves, therefore, lest you be judged by the Lord.” We are called to examine our lives by the rule of God’s commandment, reconcile with God and with our neighbor, and then “come to the banquet of that most heavenly Food.”
 
Beyond its occasional use at Mass, it is also a powerful tool for any Christian to use as a way to examine one’s conscience.  As Lent quickly comes to an end, let remember the dignity of the most Holy Sacrament, and let us repent and return to the Lord!
 -----------------------
An Exhortation – from page 316 of the Book of Common Prayer
 
This Exhortation may be used, in whole or in part, either during the Liturgy or at other times. In the absence of a deacon or priest, this Exhortation may be read by a lay person. The people stand or sit.
 
Beloved in the Lord: Our Savior Christ, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood as a sign and pledge of his love, for the continual remembrance of the sacrifice of his death, and for a spiritual sharing in his risen life. For in these holy Mysteries we are made one with Christ, and Christ with us; we are made one body in him, and members one of another.
 
Having in mind, therefore, his great love for us, and in obedience to his command, his Church renders to Almighty God our heavenly Father never-ending thanks for the creation of the world, for his continual providence over us, for his love for all mankind, and for the redemption of the world by our Savior Christ, who took upon himself our flesh, and humbled himself even to death on the cross, that he might make us the children of God by the power of the Holy Spirit, and exalt us to everlasting life.
 
But if we are to share rightly in the celebration of those holy Mysteries, and be nourished by that spiritual Food, we must remember the dignity of that holy Sacrament. I therefore call upon you to consider how Saint Paul exhorts all persons to prepare themselves carefully before eating of that Bread and drinking of that Cup.
 
For, as the benefit is great, if with penitent hearts and living faith we receive the holy Sacrament, so is the danger great, if we receive it improperly, not recognizing the Lord’s Body. Judge yourselves, therefore, lest you be judged by the Lord.
 
Examine your lives and conduct by the rule of God’s commandments, that you may perceive wherein you have offended in what you have done or left undone, whether in thought, word, or deed. And acknowledge your sins before Almighty God, with full purpose of amendment of life, being ready to make restitution for all injuries and wrongs done by you to others; and also being ready to forgive those who have offended you, in order that you yourselves may be forgiven. And then, being reconciled with one another, come to the banquet of that most heavenly Food.
 
And if, in your preparation, you need help and counsel, then go and open your grief to a discreet and understanding priest, and confess your sins, that you may receive the benefit of absolution, and spiritual counsel and advice; to the removal of scruple and doubt, the assurance of pardon, and the strengthening of your faith.
 
To Christ our Lord who loves us, and washed us in his own blood, and made us a kingdom of priests to serve his God and Father, to him be glory in the Church evermore. Through him let us offer continually the sacrifice of praise, which is our bounden duty and service, and, with faith in him, come boldly before the throne of grace [and humbly confess our sins to Almighty God].

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Musical changes

4/1/2019

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Dear St. Mary's Family,

It is with great joy that I announce to you a very important change in the life of our congregation.  As I'm sure you're aware, our parish has been worshiping using music and musical instruments that are woefully out-of-date.  Effective next Sunday, we will be improving our Sunday morning worship experience by retiring our antiquated and ineffective music program and taking up more relevant, contemporary music that will be sure to bring in the young people!

In order to bring our parish into the 21st century, we will need a new acoustic guitar, bass guitar, drum set, and sound system, along with a screen that can be lowered from the rood.  This important work will be funded by pawning off the organ pipes and hymnals.  Our two primary staff musicians, Dr. Maglione and Dr. Wilcken, have happily resigned to make available the funds needed to hire the band and AV technicians. 

Out with the Gregorian chant, and in with the strobe lights!  By Easter, we will ready to sing "Shine, Jesus Shine" in a way that truly honors our Lord!

Peace,
Fr. Charles

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The Altar of Repose

4/1/2019

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Dear St. Mary's Family
 
Between the time that Jesus and his disciples shared the last supper and his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked his disciples to keep watch with him while he prayed and struggled with what God was asking him to do.  You have an opportunity to answer Jesus' request this Holy Week by keeping vigil before the Altar of Repose.
 
At the end of the Maundy Thursday service (Thursday, April 18th at 7pm), the sacrament is removed from the Church and moved to St. George's Chapel where a candle-lit, garden-like setting will be created. A vigil will be kept before the Altar of Repose from 9:00 pm to midnight.  Spending an hour of prayer and contemplation before the Altar of Repose can be a powerful experience and if you have never done it, I encourage you to try it.
 
To sign up for a time slot, please click here and sign up on our website.
 
God's peace,
Fr. Charles

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The Lenten Veil

3/16/2019

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Why do we veil the crosses and images of saints in the church during Lent?
 
Like many of the liturgical practices in The Episcopal Church, this one isn’t prescribed by canon law or by the rubrics in the prayer book.  It’s an amalgamation of traditions that have formed over the centuries.  And like much of our liturgical ceremonial at St. Mary’s, this custom has its roots in two separate-yet-intertwining traditions: the traditional Roman rite[1], and the variation of the Roman rite that was used in parts of England prior to the Reformation: the Sarum use.[2]
 
In the Sarum use, unbleached linen trimmed in red and black (“Lenten array”) was typically used during Lent.  Images and crosses were covered from Ash Wednesday until Easter.  In the traditional Roman rite, the color used during Lent is violet.  Images and crosses are veiled during the two weeks preceding Easter.  Most Anglo-Catholics use violet during Lent as we do, and most Episcopal parishes observe the Lenten veil through the entirety of Lent.
 
What is the spiritual significance of this practice?
 
The Lenten veil is a visual representation of the penitential nature of the season.  The cross – the sign of Christ’s glorious victory over death – and the images of the saints who lead us closer to him are simply too bright for us to bear during this season of mourning and penance.  The veil also reminds us of the fig leaves worn by Adam and Eve, the visible sign of the shame felt by our first parents when they ate the apple from the forbidden tree.[3]  During Lent, we hone our spiritual habits, and as we do, we become more aware of our own sinfulness with its corresponding shame.  As we grow in self-awareness of our tendency to sin, we also become more and more aware that we are not able to fix ourselves on our own.  We need a Savior.
 
The veils will come off soon enough as Easter is just around the corner.  But in the meantime, the Lenten veil reminds us that we are sinners in need of a Savior.  In the words Fr. Alexander Schmemann, “The night may be dark and long, but all along the way, a mysterious and radiant dawn seems to shine on the horizon.” [4] 

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[1] By “traditional Roman rite”, I’m referring to the primary liturgy used in the Roman Catholic Church from 1570 until 1962 along with its prescribed ceremonial.  It is properly referred to as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, but commonly called the Tridentine Mass or the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM).

[2] The Sarum use is a now defunct pre-Reformation variation of the traditional Roman Rite that stems from the Diocese of Salisbury and spread to much of southern England as well as elsewhere in the British Isles.  If you’re interested in an academic overview of the Sarum use, click here.  It is a pet peeve of mine that in The Episcopal Church today, it is common to attribute any liturgical peculiarity to the Sarum use in order to attempt to legitimize it, even if it has no basis in historical practice.  For example, Episcopal parishes that use blue as the liturgical color during Advent often call it “Sarum blue”, even though blue was never the color used for Advent in the Sarum use.

[3] https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2015/03/03/veiling-crosses-in-lent/

[4] http://ww1.antiochian.org/great-lent-excerpts/intro_journey_to_pascha
​

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Choral Conversations: Dr. Tony Maglione

3/14/2019

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Our Choirmaster and Director of Music Dr. Tony Maglione was recently interviewed by the Kansas City Star's Patrick Neas and our own Dr. William Baker, director of the William Baker Festival Singers and chorister at St. Mary's. Spend a few minutes listening to the conversation, and to Tony's handiwork!  You can listen to the podcast by clicking here.  And you can hear his beautiful music making every Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. at St. Mary's Episcopal Church!

​Dr. Maglione's bio can be found here.

St. Mary's Episcopal Church is located at 1307 Holmes Road in downtown Kansas City.

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A pastoral letter concerning the recent actions of the United Methodist Church

2/26/2019

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Dear St. Mary’s Family,
 
Yesterday, the United Methodist Church voted to strengthen its ban on gay, lesbian, and trans clergy and same-sex marriages. As the UMC is the second largest Protestant denomination in the United States, many of us have friends and family who are directly affected by this decision.  I can think of many of our own parishioners who were Methodist for many years.
 
One of my college roommates is on the faculty at a United Methodist seminary. He said to me last night, “I’m horrified at our church’s witness. We are aghast. Many students are asking us whether to leave or stay. God have mercy.”  It is not an over-exaggeration to state that a deep and ugly church split is imminent.

Grief.  Pain.  Betrayal.  I cannot imagine the range of emotions our Methodist cousins are feeling  right now.

 
What can we do? First and most importantly, we should pray for our Methodist friends and family.  Second, we must continue to extend Christ’s love to everyone, no matter their race or sexual orientation or gender identity. And lastly, we can humbly invite those who are hurting to worship with a welcoming and loving church family here at St. Mary’s. 

But we must be careful, lest our extended hand of welcome be perceived as an accidental strike of abuse.  Many Methodists might hear "The Episcopal Church Welcomes You" as a grieving widow would hear "I know someone you might like."  And we certainly shouldn't use their ecclesiastical dysfunction as an opportunity for recruiting.  T
he UMC belongs to its LGBT members as much as it belongs to its traditionalist members. Some will leave, many will stay.  We must listen and give our Methodist cousins time to grieve.  But we at St. Mary's can and should welcome those seeking refuge from this storm, even if it's for a time.
 
We will offer prayers of healing for our Methodist brethren and for all who are hurt by this decision tonight at 6:00 p.m. at St. Mary’s. All are welcome.  You are invited to come and find solace and healing as we celebrate the great feast that unites us with Our Lord – the foretaste of that heavenly banquet where there is neither sorrow nor crying, but the fullness of joy.
 
Peace,
Fr. Charles

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Lent 2019

2/20/2019

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Dear St. Mary's Family,

Ash Wednesday (Wednesday, March 6th) marks the beginning of Lent. The Church invites us during this season to a time of examination and repentance, to prayer, fasting and self-denial, and the reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word. (BCP 265) 

What spiritual practice will you take on during Lent? From what food or drink or behavior will you abstain during Lent? In what way will you provide for those in need during Lent?

Fasting
  • Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are designated days of fasting. (BCP 17) Historically, fasting means intentionally not eating food. Fasting can also be practiced at other times during Lent, of course.
  • The other weekdays of Lent and Holy Week (as well as every Friday during the year!) are to be observed by "special acts of discipline and self-denial." (BCP 17) Historically, the primary "special act" was abstinence (not sexual abstinence, abstinence from eating flesh meat).
  • Each Christian may also choose to abstain from some eating some other item of food, or abstain from engaging in some other behavior or practice, as part of their Lenten devotion.
  • "Why do we fast? For fasting to make any sense, it must have a constructive purpose and be defined in positive, not negative terms. Put most simply, fasting is about freedom. Fasting frees us from slavery. Fasting is not about "giving something up", fasting is about freeing ourselves from the control of outside forces and temptations. Fasting can even be about saying no to ourselves when we have surrendered control of our lives to bad habits and dependencies. Fasting is about taking control of those things that threaten to control us. Some people suffer from addictions that rob them of their freedom. But for many who are not clinically addicted, life still has many distractions that take control of our lives in subtle ways." Read more here.


Prayer
  • Consider praying Stations of the Cross on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 p.m. at St. Mary's and participating in the Adult Forum and dinner (see more info in the weekly newsletter).
  • Come to a brief celebration of the Holy Eucharist at 12:05 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
  • Pray Morning Prayer or Evening Prayer or both (click here to pray the Daily Office).
  • Consider incorporating lectio divina into your daily prayer life.


Almsgiving
  • Prayer helps us re-frame our vision to see the world as God see it. Self-denial frees us from being enslaved to our own desires. All of this gives us time and energy to spend serving the needy.
  • Consider contributing to the Urban Necessities Project (see weekly newsletter). There are also volunteer opportunities.
  • Volunteer to serve the poor via Downtown Outreach.


It is my prayer that each of you will prayerfully consider these three pillars of Lent and intentionally engage each of them in some way. It is a deeply rewarding time of spiritual renewal that makes the joyful celebration of Our Lord's resurrection at Easter all the more meaningful.

Peace,
Fr. Charles

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Sermon: The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany - 2.10.2019

2/11/2019

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The audio recording of this sermon can be found here.

Epiphany V
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
The Rev’d Charles Everson
Isaiah 6:1-13, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
February 10, 2019

“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts!  Heaven and earth are full of thy glory!”  These words, referred to as the Sanctus – the Latin word for “holy” – have been sung in Christian worship from the very beginning, and they find their roots in our Old Testament passage from the prophet Isaiah. 

It begins with a simple fact that seems rather out of place in such an awe-inspiring vision: “In the year King Uzziah died.”  Uzziah was a real king in history.  We know the date of his death, a few things about his political views, and we know that like many of Israel’s kings, he began his reign as a good king but ended up going completely off the rails with his pride being his downfall. He was then struck with leprosy as punishment, and lived the rest of his life under house arrest until his death.[1]

It was in this historical context that Isaiah sees this vision of a very different kind of King. The vision is in the Temple in Jerusalem which the Hebrews believed was directly connected to God’s celestial palace in heaven.  Isaiah sees the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty, and in addition to the throne, an altar is present.  God has giant proportions in this vision with the hem of his robe filling the entire interior of the Temple.[2]  Angels with six wings were attending to him.  Two of the wings covered their faces, two covered their feet, and with two they flew – another translator indicates that hovered is a better translation.[3]  They were calling to one another, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of Hosts!  Heaven and earth are full of thy glory!

Their response to being in the presence of God was one of fear and trembling.  Perhaps even terror.  They covered their faces as God is so holy that they can’t even look at him.  And they covered their feet because they’re in the presence of holiness and can’t let their feet touch the ground.  Isaiah, faced with this awesome vision in the Temple, notes that the pivots of the thresholds shook at the voices of the angels as they sang this hymn, and the house was filled with smoke.

In a moment, when we sing the Sanctus, note that the altar party and even some in the congregation profoundly bow when we sing the hymn the angels sang in Isaiah’s vision, and you’ll see a decent amount of smoke arise.  In a sense, we are entering into the holiest moments of our worship of God, a God who is so holy and powerful and awesome that we can’t help but avert our eyes, bow in deep respect, and pay homage.

Isaiah, faced with this almost fantastical vision of God in his throne room in heaven, responds by saying, “Woe is me!  I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips…yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts!”  Faced with God’s holiness, he recognizes his sinfulness. The Hebrew words translated as unclean lips infer that he has a foul mouth and is perhaps even a liar, something you and I might be able to relate to.  One of the angels took a live coal from the altar – so hot that tongs were needed – and touched Isaiah’s lips with it.  Think about how sensitive your lips are.  This must have been a terribly painful experience[4] for Isaiah, but the result of it is that his guilt departs and his sin is blotted out.  It is only now that he’s been forgiven that Isaiah can respond in the affirmative to God’s question, Whom shall I send?  He says, Here I am; send me!

It would be really nice if the passage stopped here, and I could simply tell you, “recognize that you’re a sinner, accept God’s forgiveness, and then go out into the world and do God’s work!”
But God tells Isaiah to go to the people and tell them to keep listening but not understand.  He tells them to make the mind of the people dull.  Isaiah has to be confounded by God’s instruction, and asks, “How long, O Lord?”  How long until you relent and turn from judgment to rescue and redemption?  God responds not by giving a time and a date, but by saying that first the land has to be devastated.
Sometimes things get worse before they get better. 

Zac, as you’re preparing for Holy Baptism, know that the waters of baptism won’t be quite as painful as the burning coal was for Isaiah, though, we could run down to the Missouri River to baptize you by full immersion which would have the opposite effect.  But also know that responding to God’s holiness by acknowledging your sinfulness and accepting God’s forgiveness doesn’t automatically make your situation right.  Same thing for me and for all of you who have been on this Christian journey for a long time: sometimes, our circumstances get worse before they get better, no matter how faithful we are to our Lord and to his teachings.

In his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul reminds us to hold firmly to the Good News he’s proclaimed to us – the good news that he received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day.  This Good News, like the context of Isaiah’s vision, was rooted in history.  This isn’t a myth or a fable. Christ actually died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day.  As if he knew the church at Corinth wouldn’t believe him, he begins to call witnesses: Peter, James, the twelve apostles, and five hundred other brothers and sisters who saw Christ with their own eyes after his resurrection.  Like Isaiah, Paul responded to God’s call as an unclean man unworthy of such a calling – before his conversion, he persecuted Christians to the point of their death.  Even he could be redeemed and reconciled with the holy God Isaiah saw in his vision.

Friends, some of us in our community are struggling.  Struggling spiritually, financially, dealing with family dysfunction, physical illness, the awful effects of old age, and so on.    And yet we continue to gather in this place with our parish family and choose to worship a God that is so holy and powerful that we must avert our eyes and pay homage.  As you struggle, I encourage you to hold fast to the Good News that Jesus died for your sins, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day.  Choose to hold fast to this Good News day after day, even when things seem so dire that there appears to be no hope.  And choose to keep coming back to this Temple to encounter the Almighty in the beauty of holiness with your friends and family again and again.


[1] This summary comes from Same Old Song podcast, Mockingbird ministries.  https://www.mbird.com/podcasts/

[2] Robert Alter. The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2019.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Alter.
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Rorate Mass

11/27/2018

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Wednesday, December 12, 6:00 p.m.

The Rorate Mass takes it name from the opening words of the Introit in Latin: "Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, and bring forth a Savior" (Isaiah 45:8). It is a votive Mass during Advent in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and is only illuminated by candlelight. There will be a special focus on healing for those suffering from grief and pain. Please join us!
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The Last Sunday after Pentecost: Christ the King Sunday

11/25/2018

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Service Leaflet
Anthem
Sermon audio
​
Proper 29 – Christ the King
The Rev’d Charles Everson
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
November 18, 2018
 
Have you ever walked in to the parish hall over here from the parking lot and been spooked by the lady who is perpetually in my back seat?  Yes, that’s my car.  Her Majesty the Queen (or at least a window decal depicting her) travels with me around wherever I go.  I think it’s fair to say that I’m a big fan of the British monarchy.  And that’s not a terribly unpredictable thing.  After all, I’m a priest in a church born out of the Church of England of which Her Majesty the Queen is the Supreme Governor.

However, I find it incredibly ironic that you and I are celebrating Christ the King Sunday today as members of the “Protestant Episcopal Church”.  For you see, this feast was created very recently by Pope Pius XI in 1925.  The irony isn’t so much in the date the feast was instituted, but in the context in which it was born.  For Pius XI served as bishop of Rome, and from the 8th century until the year 1870, the bishops of Rome not only had a leadership role in the Church, they held temporal power over territories of land of various sizes throughout the centuries.  In other words, they weren’t only bishops, they were kings.  In 1870, after a decades of increasing nationalism in Italy, King Victor Emmanuel, after nine years as king of Italy, annexed the last vestiges of the Papal States, and the papacy…lost his earthly kingdom.  The Italian king quickly took up residence in Quirinal Palace, the papal residence where the current pope had been elected in conclave and which many Roman citizens viewed as the ultimate sign of authority in the city.  To give you some insight into his mindset…when asked for the keys to Quirinal Palace, the pope reportedly asked, "Whom do these thieves think they are kidding asking for the keys to open the door? Let them knock it down if they, like Bonaparte's soldiers, when they wanted to seize Pius VI, came through the window, but even they did not have the effrontery to ask for the keys."  Side note: a locksmith was later hired.[1]  This bitter sting and horror at losing his earthly, temporal power certainly contributed to the proclamation of papal infallibility later in 1870, as well as the proclamation of this feast, “The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe” a few decades later.”

What sick and twisted irony.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus at least appears to be more self-aware than the pope was – he acknowledges that his kingship is “not of this world.”  He said, “’For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.”  “[Jesus] is, as he says here, from another world.  The church calls this the incarnation: the descent of God from the eternal realm of uncreated light into the violence, darkness, sickness, and death of this world.”[2]  Jesus is indeed King of the Universe, but he’s a king unlike any earthly king.  Jesus Christ rules over a kingdom where the King came not to be served, but to serve.  In God’s kingdom, in order to be first, you must be last of all and servant of all. This kingdom has an entirely different value system than earthly kingdoms do.  The kingdom of God is the reality of existence brought about by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in which the poor have been chosen to be rich in faith – in which the last shall be first and the first shall be last.[3] The most important in the kingdom of heaven are the worthless rags of earth.  We experience this kingdom partially now, but the powers of this world are not yet vanquished.  Our king was shamefully executed at the hands of those serving an earthly king (the Roman Emperor), but yet we proclaim our allegiance to him at this and every Eucharist, and we eagerly await his coming in the manager at Christmas, in the bread and wine of holy communion, and at the end of the ages.

Despite the fact that the prayers, and the scripture readings, and the hymns today point to Christ the King, our prayer book calls today The Last Sunday after Pentecost.  No mention of Christ the King in the title of today’s celebration.  But interestingly, though, there is one unique element of the prayer book’s treatment of The Last Sunday after Pentecost: the prayer book allows for the use of the generic blurb used at the beginning of the Eucharistic prayer – the proper preface – that is used during the entire season after Pentecost, but it also allows for the use of the preface of baptism. It’s the only Sunday liturgy that we are allowed to use the preface of baptism; that’s not even allowed when baptisms occur on a Sunday.  Here’s the preface for baptism: “Because in Jesus Christ our Lord thou hast received us as thy sons and daughters, made us citizens of thy kingdom, and given us the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth.” 

Why the preface for baptism on Christ the King Sunday?  Because it is through baptism that we are made citizens of God’s kingdom, and it is through baptism that we adopt the value system of this kingdom that is in utter and complete opposition to the values of this world.  It is through baptism that we submit ourselves, as sons and daughters, to a father who loves us without condition.  It is in our baptism that we first bend the knee to a king who has no temporal power, but reigns in the hearts of the men and women who trust not in their own righteousness, but in the King’s manifold and great mercies.  In order to follow this King, in order to be citizens of this heavenly kingdom, we are called to deny ourselves daily and take up our cross and follow Him.  We are called to put others before ourselves and put God’s ways before the ways of the world.  In God’s kingdom, the humble and meek are exalted while the mighty are put down from their seat. Peace reigns over war; love overcomes all evil and hate.  Today’s feast reminds us who we are and whose we are.

Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you a king?”  He certainly wasn’t the sort of king the Jews were expecting, and his kingship is certainly not analogous in every way to The Queen who rides with me around town.  I mean, Jesus didn’t exactly have Ladies-in-Waiting like the Queen does who personally respond to ordination invitations from folks in Kansas.  It isn’t royal pleasantries like this, or even regal religious ceremonies like the coronation that sold me on my devotion to Her Majesty The Queen. It was her annual Christmas message.  Nearly every year beginning in 1932, the sovereign has made a broadcast to his or her subjects, primarily written by the monarch him- or herself (one of the only speeches throughout the year not written by the Queen herself).  It was on Christmas Day in the year 2000 when I first encountered her Christmas speech online.  And year after year, I listen on Christmas Day, to what has become an important tradition for me.  For in these speeches, the earthly monarch of a line that stretches back over a thousand years…with palaces and wealth and ladies-in -waiting…such an earthly monarch reveals her allegiance to different sort of monarch entirely.  She shares her faith in the same King of the Universe recognized by the old, bitter Pope Pius XI whom we can thank for this feast today.  The Queen’s Christmas speech has become for me a sort of icon of Christ’s kingship over a realm where the first shall be last and the last shall be first and love rules over hate and peace rules over war.

So next time you pass by my car outside the parish hall door, of course you should turn and do a little curtsy.  But more importantly, be reminded that you are citizen of a different kingdom whose king is not of this world.  Jesus Christ is Lord and King of the Universe and of our hearts, and unlike the princely powers and dominions of this world, his kingdom shall have no end.  Amen.


[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Question

[2] Fleming Rutledge, Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2018), 228-229 .

[3] James 2:5, NRSV

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    Fr. Charles Everson's love for music and liturgy led him to a suburban parish as a simple chorister, and as of late, to St. Mary's as a priest. He feels called to share the love of Jesus Christ with a broken world in desperate need of hope and reconciliation.

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To the Glory of God and in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary

St. Mary's is a parish of the Diocese of West Missouri, The Episcopal Church, and the Anglican Communion.

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