New Year in the Church Year
This Sunday is a festival Sunday in the church year known as “The Reign of Christ.” At our services this weekend we will hear the story of Christ’s crucifixion as we think about what it means for Christ to be king of our lives. We know that he reigns in heaven and on earth, but what does that actually look like in the midst of our day to day realities? That is what we are thinking about this weekend.
“The Reign of Christ” is also the last Sunday in the church year. It is our equivalent of New Year’s Eve. Next weekend we will be the first Sunday of Advent and a new church year will begin. As such, this is a time for us to both look back and look ahead. We can take stock in what we have done and we resolutions about what we hope to do differently.
Stewardship season always falls in this New Year’s time in the church when we ask you to take a look back at your financial commitment to the church in the past and prayerfully consider your commitment in the future. I hope that you will spend some time taking a look at the bar chart in the bulletin insert as a way to think about your commitment. It will take all of us offering our financial commitments to fulfill the 2020 vision.
Now, I know that it isn’t always popular for the church to talk about money. But, Jesus talked about money a lot! In fact, over a quarter of Jesus’ parables are about money. Why? Because Jesus meant what he said when he told his followers, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)”
Jesus knew that our hearts and our bank accounts (or the first century financial equivalent) are closely connected. How we spend our money speaks volumes about who and whose we are, which brings us right back to the church year celebration of the “Reign of Christ.”
As followers of Jesus, we believe that Christ is King—of heaven and earth, of our hearts and minds, of our treasures and finances. To acknowledge Christ as King in our hearts means to do so with our financial priorities as well. The two are more closely connected than we might some days want to think.