Daniel 7:13-14
Rev 1:5-8
John 18:33-37

Bishop Untener's Homily

Homily given at a Thanksgiving ecumenical prayer service at the Methodist church in Vassar, Michigan.

"My kingdom does not belong to this world"

First, I want to look at something Jesus said in today's Gospel: "My kingdom does not belong to this world." Jesus has plans for this world. He has become part of it, and he planted seeds in it - his teachings, his way of life, God's own goodness. These didn't spring up from the world. They came from God. That's why Jesus, who so frequently spoke of the Kingdom of God as already begun here on earth... that's why Jesus says his kingdom is not "of the world." Its values and principles didn't come from the world. They came from God. When Jesus says that his kingdom "does not belong to this world" he isn't saying that it does not involve this world. Indeed it does. God has plans for creation - and the ultimate plan is called "the kingdom of God." But the values and principles that belong to the world as we know it, are not the values and principles of God.

"The Great Rehearsal"

Next I want to use an image that comes from a book written in 1948. It was written by the historian Carl Van Doren, and it was titled "The Great Rehearsal". It was a detailed account of the founding of the "United States." After winning independence in the Revolutionary War, the colonies had to decide whether simply to be a league of individual and sovereign states, or create a federal government which, while allowing each state a degree of independence, would create a national government that would have the power to regulate national affairs.

Carl Van Doren tells the story of the Federal Convention in 1787 which, under the leadership of George Washington, created the United States of America. But not without difficulty. How do you balance the freedom of individual states, and their collective responsibility to a nation called "the United States"? How do you keep smaller states from being overpowered and overruled by larger states?

Well, it was a struggle, but we know how it ended. And if it hadn't succeeded, we wouldn't be celebrating Thanksgiving this week. Van Doren called this "The Great Rehearsal" because he said that it was a rehearsal of what this world will someday have to do.  As we look at it now, 55 years after Van Doren wrote his book, we see the need to think about this. We are already dealing with a world economy. And we are dealing with terrorism. And with the fear that more and more individual nations are developing nuclear arms. We can even look ahead to the threat of a large asteroid that could be headed straight for our earth, and would require a world-wide effort to fend off. Or, for that matter, perhaps the threatened invasion of human beings from another planet in the universe.

I'm not here tonight to deal with the complexities of some kind of world government. I simply want to use it as an image, and invite us to do some reflections on Christ the King. 

"What if ... "

Let's imagine that there was a world government and let's imagine that Jesus Christ was placed in charge. (Now this is just an image, so don't get lost in the details of how Jesus Christ could come back and do this. The point is simply to get us thinking.) So, in our imagination, we think of Jesus as the head of a world government. What is the first thing he would do? The truth is... I don't know. I just began thinking about this yesterday, and I find it intriguing. What's the first thing Jesus would do? And what are some of the next things he would do?  I think it would be very helpful for us to spend some time thinking about this.

Closer to Home

We could also bring it closer to home. Put that image aside for a moment and think about this. What if Jesus were the head of your local church or parish? What's the first thing he would do? What are some of the other things he would do? I think it would be very helpful for us to spend some time thinking about this.

Still Closer to Home

We could bring it even closer to home. What if Jesus were the head of your family - your extended family with grandparents, parents, in-laws, nephews and nieces? What's the first thing he would do? What are some of the other things he would do? I think it would be very helpful for us to spend some time thinking about this.

Very Close to Home

Finally, we can bring as close to home as it could possibly be. What if Jesus were in charge of my life? What if he said, "I've come to direct your life"? What's the first thing he would do? What are some of the other things he would do? I think it would be very helpful for us to spend some time thinking about this.

Thanksgiving Day

We're having this prayer service because Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. We have a lot to be grateful for.

We're grateful that the world exists. We're grateful that we have a free country. We're grateful that we have a church. We're grateful that we have an extended family. We're grateful that we as individuals exist. We're grateful that we have Jesus Christ as our brother.

But thanksgiving isn't meant to be a perfunctory "thank-you". Yesterday I was talking to a young grandmother whose son and daughter-in-law just had their first child... and it was this grandmother's first grand-child. She couldn't stop talking about how wondrous this was, and how thankful they all were, and what an effect this thankfulness had on her son and her daughter-in-law.

True thankfulness doesn't end up in a perfunctory "thank-you." When young parents realize how thankful they are to have a child, they think of all they want to do for this child. When, on this Thanksgiving holiday, we realize how thankful we are, it isn't a perfunctory "thank-you." We think of all we want to do with the gifts that God has given to us.

That's why I think it would be very good for all of us, this coming week, to think about those images that I talked about - Jesus Christ in charge of this world... in charge of your church... in charge of your family... in charge of you. What's the first thing he would do? What are some of the other things he would do?

This week, when I'm driving, or in the early morning quiet time, or late at night, I'm going to think about that. It's called meditation. It's a fine way to pray. And it's a fine thing to do in Thanksgiving week.

May God bless us all.

Originally given on November 23, 2003