Christ the King - Reflection by Canon Leslie

Today is the last Sunday before Advent, the last Sunday of the Church’s lectionary year, the day when the Church celebrates the Feast of Christ the King. Here is the triumphal acknowledgement that Christ reigns.  The image offered from John’s Gospel is from the conversation between Jesus and Pilate.  Pilate asks Jesus the direct question ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus takes this as an opportunity to define his kingdom as ‘not from this world’.  The theme of Christ the King provides an appropriate reason for celebration before the more sombre days of Advent begin.  One way to celebrate is by holding a festival. 
 
For those of you who wanted to do some thinking and preparation for today’s service during the preceding week, I invited reflection on the image of festival time. In today’s picture from their book, Exploring Buddhism, Sara and Rees are enjoying an outdoor festival with their friends.  
 
Lord Jesus, 
you are Christ the King, 
your reign has no end. 
Inspire us to live as your disciples, 
to display your reign in our lives, 
and to rejoice in your glory; 
now and always. 
Amen. 
 
Next Sunday, Advent Sunday, opens a new year in the life of the Church. During this new year we will be following Luke’s Gospel. The season of Advent calls us to be ready to welcome the birth of Christ on Christmas Day. The image to help us prepare for next Sunday’s theme is Advent calendar. You can find out more about that theme here https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html. We would really appreciate you letting us know how you are using these materials.  
 
You are warmly invited to join us in worship online. We are livestreaming our 10:30am service on both our Facebook and YouTube pages. To access the service on Facebook, follow this link to our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LiverpoolCathedral. To access the service on YouTube, follow this link to our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/user/LiverpoolCathedral/videos.