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Today is the last Sunday of the church year, next week the year begins with the first Sunday in Advent, four Sundays before Christmas. Our collect today reminds us that it is ‘Stir Up Sunday’ a Sunday synonymous with Christmas puddings. The great cry 'stir up' was a reminder to congregations to get the Christmas pudding made in plenty of time to mature before Christmas. An important addition to the mixture is a coin, whoever gets it on their plate on Christmas Day should get worldly riches heaped upon them.

However, the Stir Up prayer is actually asking God for something much more important. We are praying that God will stir up our wills, so that we might get on with doing the good works that he has planned for us to do. Then, as a consequence, we pray that we might receive our abundant reward.
In an age when so much is about how we feel, it is interesting to get another perspective. In the end, it is our will, rather than our feelings, that is the most important governor of our actions. Real love is not about feeling it is about choosing, by our wills, to do good to others even though we may not feel good towards them. Our feelings should not dominate our wills. And so we pray that God will "stir up" our wills, so that they will be in charge of us, doing what we know is right. In this prayer we recognise that we need God’s help in order for our wills to function properly.

"Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people;
that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded."

A Sermon for Stir up Sunday

Opening Verse of Scripture Psalm 139

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

Collect Prayer for the Day — Before we read we pray

Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people, that they, bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by you be richly rewarded: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

First Bible Reading Jeremiah 23:1-6

Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the LORD .Therefore this is what the LORD , the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: "Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done," declares the LORD "I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the LORD . "The days are coming," declares the LORD , "when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness. (Reader : This is the word of the Lord. (All: Thanks be to God)

Second Reading Colossians 1: 10-20

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 1n whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross
(Reader: This is the word of the Lord - All: Thanks be to God)

Gospel Reading Luke 23: 33-43

( Please stand for the Gospel Reading) When announced, Glory to Christ our Saviour.

When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals--one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One." The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself." There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise
(Reader: This is the gospel of Christ. All: Praise to Christ our Lord)

Post Communion Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ you ascended to the throne of heaven to rule over all things as Lord and King: keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit and in the bond of peace, that the whole created order may come to worship at your feet.

Commentary

We are in a season of remembering. We have recently celebrated the festivals of All Saints and All Souls, when we remember with gratitude the lives of those who have died in the Faith and been a Christian example to us, and more specifically, remembered those close to us who have died. We treasure the memories that we have shared and we hope for the future that in Jesus Christ we will be sustained through the difficult times by His love and eternal presence. In this season of remembrance, we have also given thanks to God for all those who have laid down their lives in the service of their country, both in the great wars of the last century and in the conflicts of this century. At the centre of our collective Worship has been our prayers for peace in the world and for Wisdom to be given to our world leaders.

Our Gospel reading today gives Luke’s account of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Jesus death and Resurrection link in with the forthcoming season of Advent since these events express the central message of the Christian Faith, that there is hope, that there is the possibility of a new beginning and that Jesus Christ is The Lord of all Creation. In Advent we start to look ahead to the birth of our Saviour and to prepare ourselves for this celebration and to reflect upon the implications which His birth has for the world.

One of the criminals crucified with Jesus asks to be remembered. There is a wonderful Taize chant, "Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom", which is obviously based upon these words of the criminal. We too would ask to be remembered by Jesus when he comes into His kingdom. Jesus assures the criminal that he will be in paradise with Jesus on that very day, a promise which is offered to each one of us. This assures us that we are not forgotten by God, infact we are remembered and borne in mind by God at all stages of our lives.

As we are remembered by God, so then we must be careful not to neglect members of society who are easily marginalized and forgotten. The elderly, especially those living in residential and nursing homes are easily forgotten and abandoned, even at times by members of their own families. Methodist Homes for the Aged is a Charity which works to provide high quality care for many elderly people across the nation. The work of MHA is spread across residential homes, sheltered housing, live at home care and dementia care, short stay and respite care and retirement housing. MHA offers this wide range of care for older people in our communities and reminds us that even when we grow old, we are still valuable members of society. As Jesus remembered the criminal crucified with Him, may we always remember the elderly in our community and let us take the opportunity today to celebrate the work of MHA Care Group.

Meditation

God does not rejoice at the death of sinners. On seeing the destruction of the Egyptians the angels wanted to break forth in song. But God silenced them saying: 'The work of my hands is drowning in the sea, and you desire to sing songs!' Talmud

Though we descend from those redeemed from brutal Egypt, and we have ourselves rejoiced to see oppressors overcome, yet our triumph is diminished by the slaughter of the foe, as the wine within the cup is lessened when we pout ten drops for the plagues upon Egypt. Passover Haggadah.

Hymns

H&Ps 653 God is here as we his people
MP 254 I am a new creation
H&Ps 595 As your family lord
H&Ps 764 Christ from whom all blessings flow
During communion All MP 38, 50 and 66.

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

representation of prayer as seed growing

"Prayer is a plant, the seed of which is sown in the heart of every Christian.
If it is well cultivated and nourished it will produce fruit, but if it is neglected, it will wither and die."

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

Gracious God,
look upon a sinner
who is yet created in your image.
Look upon a disciple
into whose heart you gaze.
Look upon a child
who longs to love you with a heart
yet more perfect,
and looking, forgive,
and gazing, pardon and bless;
for your truth and your mercy's sake.
Amen
Francois Fenelon, 1651-1715

Loving Heavenly Father I thank you for this new day, for its promise, its challenge and its opportunity. I have little to give you this day, but within my trembling hand I give you this will of mine and things that seem small, for you alone, O Lord, understand that when I yield Thee this I yield Thee all. So may my life this day, in all I think, speak or do, shew forth the mind of Christ. Amen.

God our Friend and protector, as we go through life help us to offer a hand of love and friendship to all in need. As our lives develop, like the seasons – spring when we blossom in our own ways, summer when we are full of the joys of young life, autumn when we hope to pass on the wisdom we have learnt, winter when we need the comfort of your presence at the closing of our days –
may we remember to thank you in our prayers for all your many blessings and help throughout our lives.

Heavenly Father we thank you for the gift of life and for loving each one of us, just as we are.
Now that we are elderly and less mobile, we have more time to sit and think. We give thanks for the gift of memory, whether of happy or sad occasions,– memories precious to us all. And, even if we cannot remember what happened yesterday, we can ponder over our youthful days and be thankful. Amen.

Creator God, we thank you that through the centuries you have given to men and women the gift of creativity. We think of all musicians and the music that inspires and brings us close to you.
We thank you for artists, as we gaze on their work we marvel at the details and the beauty of the colours. We think of the poet and his words, which can help and heal, and of the craftsmen, who have given such beautiful carving and buildings. Thank you too for those who use their creative gifts in leadership, creating order out of chaos and in building up broken relationships. O God you are the master craftsman and we would pray that we may use our own creative gifts for your honour and glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Additional Resources

Stir up Sunday - Christ the King

The feast of Christ the King was invented for us by Pius XI in 1925. Only in 1970 was it moved from October to the last Sunday before Advent.

This is a great day when we celebrate the Kingship of Christ, but his is a kingship unlike any other we know. As Jesus himself said 'My Kingdom is not of this world.' Jesus was right, his kingdom is out of this world. He is totally and radically different from any other king that we might care to think about. The rule of Jesus is not one of coercion, it is not imposed. The kingdom of Jesus is about love, justice and mercy. This kingdom will come in all of its fullness at a day in the future and it will never end. But, it has already arrived in the hearts of those who show allegiance to Jesus the King. Those who serve him pray 'Thy Kingdom come...' and they know that in Jesus they have found the one who is Alpha and Omega. He has been from the beginning of time itself and he will be with them forever.

This Sunday is also named after the magnificent collect prayer, which encourage us to seek God's help in energising our wills that we might better serve him.

In our bible reading from Luke today we read the words fixed over Jesus on the cross THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Today is the feast of Christ the king. It is the last Sunday of the church year, we celebrate this today before Advent starts a new church year next week.

Jesus hanging from the cross When we think of kingship we clearly imagine something very different than crucifixion and suffering. So the words inscribed over Jesus are mocking and part of a tragic irony, to call a man on a cross a king is a cruel joke. Yet as Christians we see in this episode not a tragedy but a triumph. Jesus on the cross redefines what it means to be a king. Power is seen in the very powerlessness which allowed Christ the King to be killed. Jesus on the cross challenges our ideas about God and in a sense he redefines the human idea of what God is. The Old Testament idea of a powerful God who helped people win battles and who ordered the genocide of the conquered people is gone. In its place we have a God in Jesus who to some might be regarded as a cissy. Jesus spends his time caring for the weak and frail, cries at funerals and ends up being tortured and stuck up on the cross. This is not the ideal of great leadership which has inspired other human kings. The crucifixion confronts our normal expectations with a new way. Make no mistake, Jesus was a radical, he was a revolutionary of that there can be no doubt. But he was not the kind of revolutionary that Pilate was used to dealing with, in characters like Barabbas.

So what was the kingship of Jesus like? Jesus was no cissy, this Jesus the Messiah, or Christ, was not harmless and neither was he only concerned with the inner or spiritual world, he was truly subversive. In this Gospel of Luke, Jesus begins by addressing Israel’s hopes of liberation. The songs of the birth narratives are full of it. Jesus marches into the synagogue to link his mission to Isaiah 61 in 4:16-20. He announces good news to the poor, to the hungry and to those who weep. He asserts and expresses the value of those considered valueless. He gathers people and announces change. Jesus is not announcing a message of personal enlightenment, to make us personally enriched; neither is he promising a utopia at another time and another place. Rather he is announcing change and embodying it already in himself and in his community. This is dangerous for those with a vested interest in the status quo. No wonder that so many people were threatened by him and wanted him dead.

To affirm that Jesus is king is to affirm a different kind of kingship. But it is not a weak kingship or one which abdicates into an inner or spiritual world. Jesus was enormously powerful and assertive. He did not come to create a set of doormats, but to spread a revolution of love and grace, which entailed identifying and embodying a new kind of power and priority. The feast of Christ the King is a challenge to us all because the kingdom which he brings places some considerable challenges to us all. The saviour of all humankind is a man hanging on a cross, yet still the king, opening the gates of his kingdom to the bewildered, misled, rabble around him. As he asks for forgiveness for the crowd, and as he leads the thief into the Kingdom, he is, in his agony, still the one whom all “thrones, dominions, rulers and powers” (Colossians 1.16) must acknowledge as Lord. Charles Royden

Meditation

Born in 1874 Winston Churchill led Britain as Prime Minister through the Second World War. Winston Churchill spoke the following words about relating with people:

“I have no secret. You haven’t learned life’s lesson very well if you haven’t noticed that you can decide the reaction you want of people in advance. It’s unbelievably simple. If you want them to smile, smile first. If you want them to take an interest in you, take an interest in them first. If you want to make them nervous, become nervous yourself. If you want them to shout and raise their voices, raise yours and shout. If you want them to strike you, strike first. It’s as simple as that. People will treat you like you treat them. It’s no secret. Look about you. You can prove it with the next person you meet.”

Prayer : Inspire me, Lord, to be of good influence on people I will meet today. Amen.

Hymns (Mission Praise and Morning Worship)

Rejoice the lord is King 575 (Tune Gopsal)
Make way 457
I know not why God' wondrous grace 279 (Tune I know whom)
Thou didst leave thy throne 697 (Tune Margaret)
O lord my God 506 (Tune How great thou art)

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

Draw near to your flock, O Shepherd of Israel, that we may rejoice at the sound of your voice; walk through the darkest shadows at your bidding and climb the rugged steeps under your protection. May we come at the last to the sight of your unclouded beauty where, in the glory of eternal light, you are worshipped for evermore. Amen.
Bede Jarrett, 1881-1934

God of new beginnings, your love to us knows neither measure nor end. Reveal yourself to us in the ordinary things of life, so that each day's tasks may be done for love of you and each day's living may bring us nearer you; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Saviour. Michael Townsend, Chair, Leeds District

Eternal God, in whose perfect realm no sword is drawn but the sword of justice, and no strength known but the strength of love: guide and inspire all who seek your kingdom, that peoples and nations may find their security in the love which casts out fear; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Gracious God we pray for ourselves, that we might remember who is in control in creation, who it is who holds together all things. So may we give complete control to you of our lives. Help us to entrust to you our fears and worries and to rest ourselves in Christ Jesus. Help us to grow in faith, to rejoice always in what you have done, to submit our will and our plans to your will and your plan for our lives. Amen

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