15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; ¹⁶ for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

I need to admit that I wrote the bulk of this sermon of the Friday after Thanksgiving. The reason that I feel this need is the whole day prior I spent a fair amount of time sitting around with my family in front of the television. While the TV wasn’t much more than background noise (because all of the football games were horrible), I was reminded, once again, of just how commercialized this season has become. All the familiar trapping of Christmas are there: the snow, the tree, the lights, the greens highlighted by flashes of red holly, as well as many of the very familiar tunes.

However, none of it, not a single lick of it, is in reference to Jesus. I find it absolutely amazing, in a very frightening way that a holiday that is blatantly faith based, has had the faith element completely removed. It’s to the point where last year, I caught myself saying ‘happy holidays’. If anybody would get a pass for saying Merry Christmas you’d think it would be a minister, but even I have started to feel my mentality regarding the season that we are entering into being secularized. I’m ashamed to say it, but its true.

So it’s with that backdrop that I sat down to right a sermon for Christ the King Sunday, and all I could think to myself was, "well isn’t this an interesting confluence of dates. You’ve got Black Friday when people are ling up at 4 AM to get door buster shopping deals (4 AM!), and then two days later the church says that we recognize Christ as ruler in our life." (Makes you wonder doesn’t it, when people are able to get up in the middle of the night to go stand in a line to buy stuff, but say that making it to church by 9:15 or 11 AM on a Sunday morning is just way too arduous. But I digress.)

The thing is, as I read into the background of the history of this celebration I was struck by the rationale. Now, obviously, I wasn’t alive back in 1925 when Pope Pius XI instituted this feast for the Roman Catholic church, but his reasoning for why it was needed is striking. He said, "gradually the religion of Christ came to be likened to false religions and to be placed ignominiously on the same level with them. It was then put under the power of the state and tolerated more or less at the whim of princes and rulers. Some men went even further, and wished to set up in the place of God's religion a natural religion consisting in some instinctive affection of the heart."

These sentiments did create a consequence and he stated it this way: "The rebellion of individuals and states against the authority of Christ has produced deplorable consequences. We lament them today: the seeds of discord sown far and wide; those bitter enmities and rivalries between nations, which still hinder so much the cause of peace; that insatiable greed which is so often hidden under a pretense of public spirit and patriotism, and gives rise to so many private quarrels; a blind and immoderate selfishness, making [people] seek nothing but their own comfort and advantage, and measure everything by these; no peace in the home, because [people] have forgotten or neglect their duty; the unity and stability of the family undermined; society in a word, shaken to its foundations and on the way to ruin."

Now before you think that I have converted to Catholicism, I have not. In the same, breath, I recognize that Spirit of God can speak truth through many different avenues and the Catholic Church has absolutely been one of those places.

While the language used has the rhythm of a bygone era, what Pius recognized in the society of 80 years ago sounds, at least to me, frighteningly like the here and now. You could change some words, maybe take a few out (the joy of an economy of words) and what you have is a sentiment that many, I would hope almost all of us, would be able to hop aboard without any trouble at all.

What Pius recognized is that going through the motions in terms of following Christ is not enough. We need to stand up for the One whom we profess to be the king of our lives because if we do not, then the faith-filled practices that we have come to celebrate will be co-oped by the secular societies of which we are a part, and made little more than opportunities to have our own selfishness gratified.

If you think I’m that far off there’s are a series of commercials out there by a car company in which they use Christmas carols to sell their cars. I went to their website and they actually use four of them: O Christmas Tree, The Carol of the Bells, Silent Night, and Joy to the World. Now unless you’ve see the ads you might be saying "well that isn’t bad". However, they don’t sing the words: they just use the tune over which they have implanted their one word lyric: ‘duh’. Now I’ll give you that the first two carols (O Christmas Tree and Carol of the Bells) aren’t all that sacred but Silent Night and Joy to the World? I’m sorry but when we get to Christmas Eve and you’re holding your candle singing, I don’t want you to be thinking of the ‘Duh’ version of Silent Night.

Now I haven’t heard one person speak fondly of this commercial series but it must be selling some cars because what started in the summer to songs like the theme to the movie ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ and ‘Mission: Impossible’, has made it to Christmas time.

The Christmas carols that are being used are all songs that speak to Jesus, or at the very least the traditions that have sprung up in order to celebrate the birth of Jesus. But in their new setting it’s all about getting a new car with 0% financing and cash back. Jesus is gone.

For too long Christians have either stood idly by, or actually assisted in the dismantling of their faith traditions. This needs to stop. We need to stand up and declare where our allegiance lies. We need to declare in our words and actions that Christmas is about Christ the King, and that while we are celebrating a national holiday, what we are recognizing in that day is the birth of our savior, and not an opportunity to get something we want at a little less money. We need to take it back and the best way that I feel that we can do that is by standing up for the One we say that we believe in, the One whom we profess to follow. Stop being ashamed of your faith. Stand up for it and take it back from those who would like to create one amalgamated day of celebration!

One of the great parts of Reformed theology is that it is based in covenant, or promises made from one to another. We experienced this truth in the baptismal liturgy as Dale and Kristy Koerner promised to raise their daughter Kayla, in the faith so that she might "be [Jesus] disciple, follow his way, and show his love." They promised. Then you the congregation make the promise to, "welcome the new disciple into the household of God; to promise to share with them the good news of the gospel; and do you promise to pray for and work toward the well-being of children everywhere?" While much of that promise is centered around Kayla in particular, another part of it is focused toward all children, toward the entirety of the world: do you hope to share the good news of the gospel with all people, with all children everywhere? If you answered this question in the affirmative then I ask you this: how can you hope to share the good news of the gospel if you are unwilling to stand up for Christ the King during the season which leads up to the day when we celebrate his birth? In order to share the gospel we need to stand up for and declare the truth that we profess to believe in. We need to make Christmas more than just a day to satisfy our most selfish of desires: we need to make it a day, and the weeks leading up to it a season, when everyone we come into contact with is able to know what we believe. We need to act and speak in such a way that the glory of Christ the King is proclaimed. In doing so, we might actually be planting the seeds of faith that will, in God’s time, ultimately grow into faith.

When I practiced this sermon this morning it felt like there was something missing. There wasn’t that action step of taking these words and putting them into practice. What I ultimately thought of what that point of shame that I mentioned a few minutes ago. The holiday season that we are heading into is a happy holiday, but from a Christian perspective its about a Merry Christmas. Yes, it is a national holiday, but from a position of faith it is about recognizing and celebrating the birth of our Savior. If that is what you believe then that is what you need to stand up for. It is a happy holiday, but for Christians, for us, it is a Merry Christmas and that is what we need to declare to the world so that we might be able to take back these days of celebration that are truly faith filled. Stand up for it and do not be ashamed.

I know that we are still a week before the actual start of Advent, the four weeks prior to Christmas, but on this Christ the King Sunday it seems wonderfully appropriate to stand up, as a community of faith, and say that this holiday season is about lifting glory Jesus. Let us make that stand. Let us stand up for Christ the King!

Holy God, in these days of secularization it is so easy to forget why we gather at all: to lift praise to Christ the King. God, as we enter into this season of Advent, we pray that our words and actions declare what You have led us to believe, that this is a Merry Christmas and a time to celebrate the birth of a king. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.