Christ our king
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series V, Cycle A
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Ezekiel 34:11--16, 20--24 (C); Ezekiel 34:11--12, 15--17 (RC); Ezekiel 34:11--17 (E); Ezekiel 34:11--16, 23--24 (L)
The people of Israel were destroyed. The nation was no more. The Holy City defiled and decimated; the sacred temple ravished. All hope had vanished. In this environment, Ezekiel spoke words of hope to God's captive people in Babylon. The image employed was that of the shepherd. God himself would shepherd the lost sheep of Israel and bring them back to their own land. God would again find them, feed them, and heal their wounds. The Lord would set over them a shepherd--king, descended from David. Yahweh was still their loving king, the source of their hope.
Lesson 2: Ephesians 1:15--23 (C)
God has put all things in subjection to Christ, who rules over all things in heaven and on earth and serves as head over the Church, his body.
Lesson 2: 1 Corinthians 15:20--26, 28 (RC); 1 Corinthians 15:20--28 (E, L)
The 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians establishes the centrality of Christ's resurrection for the Christian faith to counter those who would deny it. Christ has defeated the powers of sin and death and now reigns as the king of eternal life, the first of those to be raised to life. The resurrection is asserted as a fact to be received by faith (v. 20). The first man, Adam, brought death into the world through sin but the first born from the death, Jesus Christ, offers life to all who have faith. When Christ is totally victorious over the legions of sin and death, then he will deliver the kingdom over to God the Father.
Gospel: Matthew 25:31--46 (C, RC, E, L)
The parable of the sheep and the goats points to the glory of the future kingdom of God, when the Son of Man will separate the sheep from the goats. The shepherd--king gathers his sheep and culls out those who are not: the sheep on the right hand, the goats to his left. The basis for determining who falls into each group has nothing to do with appearance. They are judged on the basis of their attitudes and actions toward the needy, the poor, and the powerless. In serving these little ones, they minister to Christ. Judgment is based not only on the evil that
358
we do, but the good that we could have done, but didn't. Some interpreters would understand ''the least of these my brothers'' (v. 40) as Jesus' disciples. Many others would opt for a more universal identification of ''the least'' with all sufferers.
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 100 (C) - ''Know that the Lord is God'' (v. 3a).
Psalm 23 (RC) - ''The Lord is my shepherd'' (v. 1).
Psalm 95:1--7a (E, L) - ''For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods'' (v. 3).
Prayer Of The Day
O Lord God, many lords and powers contend for our ultimate allegiance but you alone are King of our conscience and Lord of our lives. Hasten the day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God. In his name we pray. Amen.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Ezekiel 34:11--16, 20--24
King of caring. Ezekiel holds up the image of God as a gentle and loving Shepherd. He brings back the scattered and strayed to their homeland. God will bind up the wounds of the injured, strengthen the weak, feed the hungry, and stand guard over the strong and the fat. The Shepherd--King serves his flock, rather than be served by them.
The Hound of Heaven. The bloodhound searches out the prey for destruction but the Hound of Heaven, our Lord and Shepherd, searches out his sheep in order to preserve them and care for them. God never gives up on his straying children and neither should we.
Watching over the weak and the strong. It's easy to see why the weak need watching over, but verse 22 states that the Lord also watches over the fat and the strong. Can't the strong ones take care of themselves? Not really: they might be tempted to ravage the weak and vulnerable ones. The Lord watches over the mighty ones so that they employ their strength in the service of life, not death.
Lesson 2: Ephesians 1:15--23
Power in us (v. 19). The New Testament does not so much proclaim the power of God over us as the power of God in us. We plug into Christ's power through the church. Free--floating power is, at best, unavailable; at worst, destructive. God's power is channeled by the gospel through the community of believers.
Decapitated churches. Have you ever lost your head? Like a decapitated chicken, it's not a pretty sight. Many moderns have cut themselves loose from all authority and power. They are decapitated and jerk aimlessly about until their end. Decapitated churches and Christians are even more pathetic because they have cut themselves loose from Christ, the head of the body we call the Church.
Lesson 2: 1 Corinthians 15:20--28
Christ the Victor. The kingdom of Christ has many enemies. The cross and resurrection prove to be the fatal blow to the power of The Enemy, Satan. At the end, this victory will be complete. Without the protection of our victorious King, we are easy prey for the forces of evil.
Gospel: Matthew 25:31--46
The final roundup. Back in the days when cattle roamed the range, owners would put their brands on the calves. When roundup time came about, the cattle owners would separate their own cattle from the herds into which they had dispersed. A similar image is observed in the First Lesson from Ezekiel. God, the Shepherd, promises to seek out and bring back those who have strayed.
359
Who are Christ's brothers and sisters? (v. 40). Who are those Christ identifies as the least, his brothers and sisters? Are they exclusively those named on the roster of his disciples or does Jesus identify himself with all downtrodden people everywhere? An argument can be made either way. However, if the brethren are only those called by his name, then we have something of a parochial, rather than a universal, deity whom we worship. Then, we are implying that God reserves his concern for less than 25 percent of the world's population. My reading of scripture says that Christ identifies with the weak and wounded, no matter what they call themselves.
Sheep and goats. It seems that Jesus has a bias toward sheep and against goats. Why? An argument could be made in favor of the superiority of the goat species. Goats are more independent than sheep, they can feed on a greater variety of food and are generally more hardy than sheep. While sheep are led, with the shepherd out front, goats must be driven from behind with a stick. Is it this pathological independent streak that makes the goats unacceptable in the community of heaven?
An affair of the heart. The righteous asked the King: When did they see him hungry, thirsty, and so forth. He replied, ''Just as you did it to the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me'' (v. 40). The service of their king was not an affair of the head, but of the heart. They responded to the needs of those around them instinctively. It was not that compassion was a function of their genes, but they had been transformed from within by the love of God.
The danger of doing nothing. The verdict of guilty was pronounced by the king not on the basis of what they had done but, rather, on what they hadn't done. ''As you did it not to one of the least, you did it not to me'' (v. 45). Some of us think that we can preserve our innocence by retreating from action in the world. Not possible, according to the teaching of Jesus. To act and to err is more forgivable in God's eyes than to refrain from action.
PREACHING APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
A three--point sermon on the kingship of Christ, each point based on one of the lessons, could be framed as follows:
Outline:
1. Christ is the Shepherd--King, caring for his fold (Ezekiel 34:11--16, 20--24) (Jesus appropriates this image to himself in John 10)
2. Christ is the King of the enemies of our soul (1 Corinthians 15:25--26)
3. Christ is the King of the keys of the kingdom (Matthew 25:31--46)
Lesson 1: Ezekiel 34:11--16, 20--24
Sermon Title: Rescue 911
Sermon Angle: Rescue 911 consists of true--life stories where various rescue units of police and fire departments throughout the nation focus their energies on saving lives. A shepherd often found himself in the rescue business. This lesson presents God as such a shepherd--rescuer, who goes to great lengths to find his sheep and bring them back into the fold. The Shepherd of our souls takes the initiative in the rescue operation; he doesn't wait to be called (vv. 11--12). So, too, Christians are called to seek out the lost and the strayed.
Sermon Title: Our Compassionate Shepherd--King
Sermon Angle: Some rulers try to fleece their flocks rather than care for their needs. Our Shepherd--King cares for his flock, seeking the lost, feeding the hungry, bandaging the wounds of the injured (v. 16). Jesus appropriates unto himself the role of shepherd--leadership in the 10th chapter of the Gospel of John. The same compassionate leadership must issue from those who lead in his name.
360
Outline:
1. Many rulers seek only personal power
- they don't identify with those they seek to lead
- they see those under them as objects rather than real people
2. God seeks to minister to those who belong to him
3. Jesus assumed the role of servant leadership, which the church must also incarnate
Lesson 2: Ephesians 1:15--23
Sermon Title: The Kingdom And The Power
Sermon Angle: The word power (dunamis) stands out in this text. God, the Creator of all things, is the Source of all power. That power could be employed in a cataclysm of destruction, to blot out us sinners. Rather, God harnessed that power in Christ. ''God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead ...'' (v. 20). Christ is like the engine that channels God's power to convey us through life to heaven. This text further states that God has put all things under Christ, for the benefit of the church. Christ is the Head of the church, his body, through which comes the kingdom and the power (v. 22).
Outline:
1. Do we know and experience the power of God?
2. The power of God works through Christ (v. 20)
- in his resurrection (v. 20)
- in the church (v. 19)
- not to subjugate but save
3. The church is the engine through which he accomplishes his will (v. 22)
Lesson 2: 1 Corinthians 15:20--28
Sermon Title: Christ The Conqueror
Sermon Angle: The crucifix suggests that the man hung thereon is a victim. The resurrection proclaims the unbelievable news that the victim has become the victor. The 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians brings to center stage Christ the Conqueror. He conquers his enemies, he conquers the powers of evil, and he conquers death, our last and greatest foe.
Outline:
1. The resurrection is the enthronement of the Christ (v. 20)
2. Christ conquers death (vv. 20--22)
3. Christ defeats and destroys the demonic powers (v. 24)
4. Christ subjects all enemies under his feet (vv. 25--27)
Sermon Title: The Kingdom Has Come
Sermon Angle: From the onset of the Church, there has always been a great deal of speculation concerning end things and the coming of the kingdom. Premillennialists teach that Christ will come, receive his own into heaven, and then reign for 1,000 years here on earth, until he has subjected all of his enemies. However, such an interpretation does violence to this text. We need to counter this notion with the assertion that the kingdom is come with the resurrection of Christ and the advent of the church. When Christ returns (the Parousia) the kingdom will be fully come. The battle of Christ and the forces of the Adversary will continue until the second coming. Are we fighting on the Lord's side so as to hasten the fulfillment of the kingdom?
Gospel: Matthew 25:31--46
Sermon Title: Estate Planning
Sermon Angle: To leave a legacy to those people and causes we cherish requires some estate planning. This parable states that God engaged in estate planning from the foundation of the world. He set out in his will those who were to inherit the kingdom (v. 34). These blessed ones embody the traits incarnated in the Shepherd--King of the First Lesson - compassion and mercy for the weak and the lost - thus demonstrating that they are his true children.
361
Outline:
1. God has bequeathed the kingdom to his children
2. Who are God's children?
- the least and the lost
- those who forget themselves in the service of others
Sermon Title: Rex Reckoning
Sermon Angle: No, Rex is not a German Shepherd but the Latin word for king. This parable paints a vivid picture of the time when our King will call us to his reckoning, when he will separate unto himself those who are his own. Those judged worthy of the kingdom consist of the ones who reflect the compassion of their King.
Sermon Title: Is The King Dead?
Sermon Angle: Years ago, I read a book titled The King Is Dead. The point made therein has it that the day of authoritarian structures is dead for both the world and the church. A large measure of truth adheres to this statement, yet, how can we, as Christians, agree to this adage? The central message of Jesus holds that the kingdom is at hand. The church operates not as a democracy but as a kingdom where Christ reigns. There can be no kingdom without a king.
Outline:
1. Americans pride themselves for throwing off the shackles of monarchy
2. Society remains adrift without adequate structures
3. The church is the kingdom of Christ
4. Christ will come in glory to receive those who have served him as king
America does not stand alone as a society cut loose from authority structures. Since the death of communism, the eastern block has experienced a painful vacuum of authority and power. Such a society is ripe for those who would be king. In Russia, a right--wing extremist by the name of Vladmir Zhirinovsky longs for the day when he can assert the might of Russia against all its foes. His party captured a surprisingly large percentage of the vote in the last election. In early October 1994, 1,000 monarchists gathered in the ancient hall of the nobility, near Red Square, in order to further their cause of restoring the monarchy. ''The Russian state needs a czar,'' roared one ultranationalist from a podium decorated with a two--headed Romanov eagle, as black--robed Orthodox priests and men decked in cossack uniforms thundered their approval.
The monarchists are not likely to be successful in their quest to restore the monarchy. However, we observe here an illustration of the truth that a society cannot operate long or well in the absence of a supreme authority.
In the demonstrations that were a part of the so--called Velvet Revolution, which led to the bloodless overthrow of the Communist government in Czechoslovakia, enthusiastic demonstrators chanted: ''You have lost already, you have lost already ....'' The victory was not yet won but in sight. Faith realizes that all creation does not yet acknowledge the kingship of Christ but, envisioning his final victory, acts as if it were already a reality.
362
Lesson 1: Ezekiel 34:11--16, 20--24 (C); Ezekiel 34:11--12, 15--17 (RC); Ezekiel 34:11--17 (E); Ezekiel 34:11--16, 23--24 (L)
The people of Israel were destroyed. The nation was no more. The Holy City defiled and decimated; the sacred temple ravished. All hope had vanished. In this environment, Ezekiel spoke words of hope to God's captive people in Babylon. The image employed was that of the shepherd. God himself would shepherd the lost sheep of Israel and bring them back to their own land. God would again find them, feed them, and heal their wounds. The Lord would set over them a shepherd--king, descended from David. Yahweh was still their loving king, the source of their hope.
Lesson 2: Ephesians 1:15--23 (C)
God has put all things in subjection to Christ, who rules over all things in heaven and on earth and serves as head over the Church, his body.
Lesson 2: 1 Corinthians 15:20--26, 28 (RC); 1 Corinthians 15:20--28 (E, L)
The 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians establishes the centrality of Christ's resurrection for the Christian faith to counter those who would deny it. Christ has defeated the powers of sin and death and now reigns as the king of eternal life, the first of those to be raised to life. The resurrection is asserted as a fact to be received by faith (v. 20). The first man, Adam, brought death into the world through sin but the first born from the death, Jesus Christ, offers life to all who have faith. When Christ is totally victorious over the legions of sin and death, then he will deliver the kingdom over to God the Father.
Gospel: Matthew 25:31--46 (C, RC, E, L)
The parable of the sheep and the goats points to the glory of the future kingdom of God, when the Son of Man will separate the sheep from the goats. The shepherd--king gathers his sheep and culls out those who are not: the sheep on the right hand, the goats to his left. The basis for determining who falls into each group has nothing to do with appearance. They are judged on the basis of their attitudes and actions toward the needy, the poor, and the powerless. In serving these little ones, they minister to Christ. Judgment is based not only on the evil that
358
we do, but the good that we could have done, but didn't. Some interpreters would understand ''the least of these my brothers'' (v. 40) as Jesus' disciples. Many others would opt for a more universal identification of ''the least'' with all sufferers.
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 100 (C) - ''Know that the Lord is God'' (v. 3a).
Psalm 23 (RC) - ''The Lord is my shepherd'' (v. 1).
Psalm 95:1--7a (E, L) - ''For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods'' (v. 3).
Prayer Of The Day
O Lord God, many lords and powers contend for our ultimate allegiance but you alone are King of our conscience and Lord of our lives. Hasten the day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God. In his name we pray. Amen.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Ezekiel 34:11--16, 20--24
King of caring. Ezekiel holds up the image of God as a gentle and loving Shepherd. He brings back the scattered and strayed to their homeland. God will bind up the wounds of the injured, strengthen the weak, feed the hungry, and stand guard over the strong and the fat. The Shepherd--King serves his flock, rather than be served by them.
The Hound of Heaven. The bloodhound searches out the prey for destruction but the Hound of Heaven, our Lord and Shepherd, searches out his sheep in order to preserve them and care for them. God never gives up on his straying children and neither should we.
Watching over the weak and the strong. It's easy to see why the weak need watching over, but verse 22 states that the Lord also watches over the fat and the strong. Can't the strong ones take care of themselves? Not really: they might be tempted to ravage the weak and vulnerable ones. The Lord watches over the mighty ones so that they employ their strength in the service of life, not death.
Lesson 2: Ephesians 1:15--23
Power in us (v. 19). The New Testament does not so much proclaim the power of God over us as the power of God in us. We plug into Christ's power through the church. Free--floating power is, at best, unavailable; at worst, destructive. God's power is channeled by the gospel through the community of believers.
Decapitated churches. Have you ever lost your head? Like a decapitated chicken, it's not a pretty sight. Many moderns have cut themselves loose from all authority and power. They are decapitated and jerk aimlessly about until their end. Decapitated churches and Christians are even more pathetic because they have cut themselves loose from Christ, the head of the body we call the Church.
Lesson 2: 1 Corinthians 15:20--28
Christ the Victor. The kingdom of Christ has many enemies. The cross and resurrection prove to be the fatal blow to the power of The Enemy, Satan. At the end, this victory will be complete. Without the protection of our victorious King, we are easy prey for the forces of evil.
Gospel: Matthew 25:31--46
The final roundup. Back in the days when cattle roamed the range, owners would put their brands on the calves. When roundup time came about, the cattle owners would separate their own cattle from the herds into which they had dispersed. A similar image is observed in the First Lesson from Ezekiel. God, the Shepherd, promises to seek out and bring back those who have strayed.
359
Who are Christ's brothers and sisters? (v. 40). Who are those Christ identifies as the least, his brothers and sisters? Are they exclusively those named on the roster of his disciples or does Jesus identify himself with all downtrodden people everywhere? An argument can be made either way. However, if the brethren are only those called by his name, then we have something of a parochial, rather than a universal, deity whom we worship. Then, we are implying that God reserves his concern for less than 25 percent of the world's population. My reading of scripture says that Christ identifies with the weak and wounded, no matter what they call themselves.
Sheep and goats. It seems that Jesus has a bias toward sheep and against goats. Why? An argument could be made in favor of the superiority of the goat species. Goats are more independent than sheep, they can feed on a greater variety of food and are generally more hardy than sheep. While sheep are led, with the shepherd out front, goats must be driven from behind with a stick. Is it this pathological independent streak that makes the goats unacceptable in the community of heaven?
An affair of the heart. The righteous asked the King: When did they see him hungry, thirsty, and so forth. He replied, ''Just as you did it to the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me'' (v. 40). The service of their king was not an affair of the head, but of the heart. They responded to the needs of those around them instinctively. It was not that compassion was a function of their genes, but they had been transformed from within by the love of God.
The danger of doing nothing. The verdict of guilty was pronounced by the king not on the basis of what they had done but, rather, on what they hadn't done. ''As you did it not to one of the least, you did it not to me'' (v. 45). Some of us think that we can preserve our innocence by retreating from action in the world. Not possible, according to the teaching of Jesus. To act and to err is more forgivable in God's eyes than to refrain from action.
PREACHING APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
A three--point sermon on the kingship of Christ, each point based on one of the lessons, could be framed as follows:
Outline:
1. Christ is the Shepherd--King, caring for his fold (Ezekiel 34:11--16, 20--24) (Jesus appropriates this image to himself in John 10)
2. Christ is the King of the enemies of our soul (1 Corinthians 15:25--26)
3. Christ is the King of the keys of the kingdom (Matthew 25:31--46)
Lesson 1: Ezekiel 34:11--16, 20--24
Sermon Title: Rescue 911
Sermon Angle: Rescue 911 consists of true--life stories where various rescue units of police and fire departments throughout the nation focus their energies on saving lives. A shepherd often found himself in the rescue business. This lesson presents God as such a shepherd--rescuer, who goes to great lengths to find his sheep and bring them back into the fold. The Shepherd of our souls takes the initiative in the rescue operation; he doesn't wait to be called (vv. 11--12). So, too, Christians are called to seek out the lost and the strayed.
Sermon Title: Our Compassionate Shepherd--King
Sermon Angle: Some rulers try to fleece their flocks rather than care for their needs. Our Shepherd--King cares for his flock, seeking the lost, feeding the hungry, bandaging the wounds of the injured (v. 16). Jesus appropriates unto himself the role of shepherd--leadership in the 10th chapter of the Gospel of John. The same compassionate leadership must issue from those who lead in his name.
360
Outline:
1. Many rulers seek only personal power
- they don't identify with those they seek to lead
- they see those under them as objects rather than real people
2. God seeks to minister to those who belong to him
3. Jesus assumed the role of servant leadership, which the church must also incarnate
Lesson 2: Ephesians 1:15--23
Sermon Title: The Kingdom And The Power
Sermon Angle: The word power (dunamis) stands out in this text. God, the Creator of all things, is the Source of all power. That power could be employed in a cataclysm of destruction, to blot out us sinners. Rather, God harnessed that power in Christ. ''God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead ...'' (v. 20). Christ is like the engine that channels God's power to convey us through life to heaven. This text further states that God has put all things under Christ, for the benefit of the church. Christ is the Head of the church, his body, through which comes the kingdom and the power (v. 22).
Outline:
1. Do we know and experience the power of God?
2. The power of God works through Christ (v. 20)
- in his resurrection (v. 20)
- in the church (v. 19)
- not to subjugate but save
3. The church is the engine through which he accomplishes his will (v. 22)
Lesson 2: 1 Corinthians 15:20--28
Sermon Title: Christ The Conqueror
Sermon Angle: The crucifix suggests that the man hung thereon is a victim. The resurrection proclaims the unbelievable news that the victim has become the victor. The 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians brings to center stage Christ the Conqueror. He conquers his enemies, he conquers the powers of evil, and he conquers death, our last and greatest foe.
Outline:
1. The resurrection is the enthronement of the Christ (v. 20)
2. Christ conquers death (vv. 20--22)
3. Christ defeats and destroys the demonic powers (v. 24)
4. Christ subjects all enemies under his feet (vv. 25--27)
Sermon Title: The Kingdom Has Come
Sermon Angle: From the onset of the Church, there has always been a great deal of speculation concerning end things and the coming of the kingdom. Premillennialists teach that Christ will come, receive his own into heaven, and then reign for 1,000 years here on earth, until he has subjected all of his enemies. However, such an interpretation does violence to this text. We need to counter this notion with the assertion that the kingdom is come with the resurrection of Christ and the advent of the church. When Christ returns (the Parousia) the kingdom will be fully come. The battle of Christ and the forces of the Adversary will continue until the second coming. Are we fighting on the Lord's side so as to hasten the fulfillment of the kingdom?
Gospel: Matthew 25:31--46
Sermon Title: Estate Planning
Sermon Angle: To leave a legacy to those people and causes we cherish requires some estate planning. This parable states that God engaged in estate planning from the foundation of the world. He set out in his will those who were to inherit the kingdom (v. 34). These blessed ones embody the traits incarnated in the Shepherd--King of the First Lesson - compassion and mercy for the weak and the lost - thus demonstrating that they are his true children.
361
Outline:
1. God has bequeathed the kingdom to his children
2. Who are God's children?
- the least and the lost
- those who forget themselves in the service of others
Sermon Title: Rex Reckoning
Sermon Angle: No, Rex is not a German Shepherd but the Latin word for king. This parable paints a vivid picture of the time when our King will call us to his reckoning, when he will separate unto himself those who are his own. Those judged worthy of the kingdom consist of the ones who reflect the compassion of their King.
Sermon Title: Is The King Dead?
Sermon Angle: Years ago, I read a book titled The King Is Dead. The point made therein has it that the day of authoritarian structures is dead for both the world and the church. A large measure of truth adheres to this statement, yet, how can we, as Christians, agree to this adage? The central message of Jesus holds that the kingdom is at hand. The church operates not as a democracy but as a kingdom where Christ reigns. There can be no kingdom without a king.
Outline:
1. Americans pride themselves for throwing off the shackles of monarchy
2. Society remains adrift without adequate structures
3. The church is the kingdom of Christ
4. Christ will come in glory to receive those who have served him as king
America does not stand alone as a society cut loose from authority structures. Since the death of communism, the eastern block has experienced a painful vacuum of authority and power. Such a society is ripe for those who would be king. In Russia, a right--wing extremist by the name of Vladmir Zhirinovsky longs for the day when he can assert the might of Russia against all its foes. His party captured a surprisingly large percentage of the vote in the last election. In early October 1994, 1,000 monarchists gathered in the ancient hall of the nobility, near Red Square, in order to further their cause of restoring the monarchy. ''The Russian state needs a czar,'' roared one ultranationalist from a podium decorated with a two--headed Romanov eagle, as black--robed Orthodox priests and men decked in cossack uniforms thundered their approval.
The monarchists are not likely to be successful in their quest to restore the monarchy. However, we observe here an illustration of the truth that a society cannot operate long or well in the absence of a supreme authority.
In the demonstrations that were a part of the so--called Velvet Revolution, which led to the bloodless overthrow of the Communist government in Czechoslovakia, enthusiastic demonstrators chanted: ''You have lost already, you have lost already ....'' The victory was not yet won but in sight. Faith realizes that all creation does not yet acknowledge the kingship of Christ but, envisioning his final victory, acts as if it were already a reality.
362
