The Reign of Christ: Exactly Where Is That Kingdom of Justice and Truth?

Given the climate that many Christians have made for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, if I were to bring up the subject of today's particular feast day to many of them they would say: "Oh, I gave up on organized religion a long time ago." As a gay Christian I totally understand their disowning of religion. Given the activities of this past week such as The Manhattan Declaration the reaction of chucking all religion is a valid emotional and personal response.

Today the Church celebrates the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year. The Feast of Christ the King or other wise known as the Reign of Christ. In today's Speaking to the Soul, author Vicki K. Black writes: "What in fact is Christ’s kingdom? It is simply those who believe in him, those to whom he said, “You are not of this world, even as I am not of this world.” He willed, nevertheless, that they should be in the world, which is why he prayed to the Father, “I ask you not to take them out of the world but to protect them from the evil one.” So here also he did not say, “My kingdom is not” in this world but “is not of this world.” . . .

Indeed, his kingdom is here until the end of time, and until the harvest it will contain weeds. . . . Everyone who is reborn in Christ becomes the kingdom that is no longer of the world. For God has snatched us from the powers of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. This is that kingdom of which he said, “My kingdom is not of this world; my kingly power does not come from here.”

From Tractates on the Gospel of John 115.2, quoted in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament IVb, John 11-21, edited by Joel C. Elowsky (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2007)."

While I believe in what Vicki Black is writing here, I am fully aware of how many LGBT people do not. The disbelief in Jesus Christ is a result of the spiritual violence LGBT people have experienced from Christians. The pastoral, psychological and emotional injuries LGBT people have experienced are valid and their pain from massive rejection is real. As Christians, if we are to make the kingdom of Christ known then the leaders of Christian Church's that welcome LGBT individuals need to continue to make their voices heard and be sure they are ready to listen and respond pastorally.

Among the points that need to be shared with both the Church and the LGBT community on this Sunday of celebrating the Reign of Christ is the word all. In today's first reading from Daniel we read: "As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples nations and languages should serve him."(Daniel 7:13,14). God came to us in the Person of Jesus Christ, who is God's perfect revelation to bring liberation and salvation to all humankind. When Jesus read his "inaugural" address the same "inaugural" address for every follower of Christ, he read from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18 to 19, Isaiah 61:1 and 2). Jesus Christ came as one like us and yet different because he was without sin. Yet, Jesus came to seek those cast out by society and the Church and to make a home for them with God. Those whom society has forgotten, stripped them of their civil rights and ostracized as dirty or corrupted where the ones that Jesus came to find and bring them home to God. No Church leader has any business pushing LGBT people away from God or the Church.

In today's Gospel Jesus is facing his interrogation with Pontius Pilate. When Pilate asks Jesus: "So you are a king?" Jesus answered: "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." (John 18:37) The "truth" that Jesus is referring to, is himself. Jesus is proclaiming the reality of who Jesus is. Jesus is God's prefect revelation of God's self, the Incarnate Word. God came in Jesus Christ to call all humankind to God's self through Christ. So that the Reign of Christ's kingdom of justice, peace and mercy could come into this world, though it would not be ofthis world. Yet, the problem that many Christians have is that they just appear to want the Reign of Christ to be an exclusive social club for the right wing agenda. An agenda that excludes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, women, people who are uninsured, the homeless and the most needy. The problem with this kind of thinking is that it is the furthest thing from the truthabout the Reign of Christ the King.

Fr. Paul Bresnahan in his outstanding post An Invitation to an Inclusive Church wrote: "Even in Biblical material we are “one in Christ” as the blessed Apostle put; it without respect to classification by sex, gender, orientation, class, or ethnicity. In his very own words, he put it this way, “for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26-28)" There is absolutely noBiblical text that supports ostracizing LGBT people from the Church or society. Fr. Paul Bresnahan further wrote: "There was a special place in his (Jesus)heart too for the “eunuchs” of his time. I wonder what he meant by the following startling saying; But he said to them, "Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can." (Matthew 19:11-12) You can define that term as you like, but they clearly were not a threat to folks of the opposite sex. There is considerable evidence that when the biblical material refers to “eunuchs” we were talking of folks whose interests lay with folks of the same sex. We now refer to this group as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgendered, LGBT for short. And isn't it interesting to note that even Jesus realized that there were those who would find this teaching a hard one to accept. The radical love of Jesus is often hard to take because it includes our enemies."

The Reign of Christ is a reign of justice and equality for all people. Jesus has not put limits on who can or cannot receive the grace of God. Jesus has invited all people to receive the peace and love of God, to be forgiven of their sins and to experience conversion to become God's representatives of justice, love and equality in the world. Jesus Christ was often homeless. He hung around with the marginalized and stigmatized of society and the religious establishment of the day. Jesus called everyone to conversion of heart and so to recognize that we cannot save our own souls on our own. All of us need the help of God through Christ and the Holy Spirit to obtain salvation in this world and in the life to come. God does not close the door on anyone, except the one that will not let God in. In Jesus, God was often close to the lost, those left behind who knew that they needed God. The one's who thought they had God all figured out by just following the rules, well, Jesus had the most stern warnings to say to them.

Today as we celebrate the Reign of Christ, let us do our part to work for a society of equality, justice and peace. Let us make the kingdom of Christ visible on earth by agreeing to work towards acceptance of each other, no matter what our differences might be. Let us speak out against injustice against LGBT people such as those in Uganda who are facing their Parliament passing a law that says they could be put in prison or even face the death penalty just because they are gay. Let us pray for the conversion of the religious leaders who drafted the Manhattan Declaration. Let the Reign of Christ come on earth, because we refuse to tolerate injustice towards everyone who could be forgotten because of prejudice. Let the Truth about Jesus as God's revelation be known because we loved as Christ has loved us.

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grand that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, Collect for the Last Sunday in Pentecost, Christ the King, Page 236).