"The Pulling Power of Christ the King"

Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.  "Lift up your eyes and look about you: All gather and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm.  Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come.   Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD."  (Isaiah 6:3-6)

Isaiah is putting before the people a vision of a great city - the new Jerusalem.  The people of Israel are brought back together as one, reunited after having been scattered to the four winds. Crowds of Gentiles from surrounding countries are thronging towards it, just to catch a glimpse - they are bringing their camels burdened with gifts of gold and incense.

The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts.  All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him.  For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help.  He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death.  (Psalm 72:10-13)

The Psalmist is putting before the people a vision of a great king, a king who will rule with justice and righteousness and compassion.  This is a king whose reputation spreads to the four corners of the earth.  Other kings come to bow down before him, offering gifts.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

Matthew is telling of a baby, born in a manger, who, in midst of a busy town, draws shepherds and kings to himself, bringing them in  from the fields, bringing them across national boundaries to worship and adore.

In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,  which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets.  This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.  I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power.  Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ..

Paul is writing of his amazing discovery!  He, of all people has been drawn to the risen Christ, and he, the least of all God's people, has been called to share the awesome news that God's gift of grace is not limited to the people of Israel, God's gift of grace is offered to all.  God would draw all of creation to himself through his son Jesus Christ!

drawn to worship...drawn to give...drawn to share God's riches

Isaiah's holy City, the psalmist's righteous King, Matthew's baby in a manger, Paul's risen Christ - all of them pictures of the God who would draw us to himself.

Why are you here today?  Why do you come week-by-week?  All sorts of answers might come to mind, but I would suggest that the main reason you are here is one you cannot really put into words.  You are here because you are drawn here - you are drawn into worship.

It's the way we are made, it's what we are, God has designed us as worshipping people .  It isn't worship that needs to be explained, it is lack of worship that needs to be explained.  Nobody thinks to ask, "why do you eat?" or "why do you breath?" it is only when we stop eating (or worse) stop breathing that we need to ask questions.  Worship is like eating and breathing - it's what we are, it's how we are made, it's only when our lives are lacking in worship that we need to ask questions.

And worship is like eating and breathing because it fulfils a need in us.  Worship isn't something that God needs, it doesn't massage God's ego or make God feel better at the end of a long day. No, worship is something that we need, something that I need, something that you need. Worship sets the context for your whole life, worship puts everything in perpective, worship is an attitude towards the whole of life, the fulness of life that God has in mind for each one of us.

And I think you could hear this coming - we would not dream of eating or breathing for just one hour on a Sunday morning, we eat and we breathe every day of our lives, we organise our lives around our eating and our breathing - I think you can finish that thought for yourselves, you know where I'm going don't you?

We are drawn to worship.  Today we are drawn to God's table - "Come, for he wants to meet you here."

Isaiah's holy City, the psalmist's righteous King, Matthew's baby in a manger, Paul's risen Christ - all of them pictures of the God who would draw us to himself.

And there are gifts aren't there - "Gold, Frankenstein and Myrhh" - as the little lad told his Sunday School teacher (allegedly!).  Tributes are brought to Isaiah's holy city, Kings bring gifts to the psalmist's righteous king, wise men bring gifts to the baby Jesus and Paul talks about the awesome gift of the grace of God.

We too are drawn to give, we are drawn to give back some of what God has first given us.  All of our giving is a response to the gifts God has given us - the giving of our money, the giving of our time, the giving of our skills and talents, the giving of our whole selves in God's service - all of our giving is a response.  We are drawn to share God's riches with the poor and the wealthy; with young and the old; with friend and stranger.  We give because God first gave to us, we love because God first loved us.

We are drawn to worship, we are drawn to give...

Isaiah's holy City, the psalmist's righteous King, Matthew's baby in a manger, Paul's risen Christ - all of them pictures of the God who would draw us to himself.

And we are drawn together.  Isaiah pictures crowds of people streaming to and from the temple in the city on the hill.  The psalmist pictures crowds of people coming in and out of the palace to pay tribute to the righteous king.  Matthew tells of wise men and shepherds, and later of crowds numbering thousands who were drawn together around this person, Jesus Christ.  Paul speaks of God's people being drawn together so tightly that they can be described as a single body of many parts - the body of Christ.

God draws us into communion with himself and one another.  And this is no cosy picture of friends huddled together - it is the call of God to each and every one of us to be builders of true community, community where the Kingdom of God can be seen and heard and touched and lived.

Isaiah's holy City, the psalmist's righteous King, Matthew's baby in a manger, Paul's risen Christ - all of them pictures of the God who would draw us to himself.

We are drawn to worship, we are drawn to give, we are drawn together...

Let us pray:

As the crowds in Isaiah's vision were drawn together to worship, so may we allow ourselves this new year to be drawn into a deep experience of worshipping God - wherever and whenever we are.

As the kings in Matthew's story were drawn to give, so may we allow ourselves to be drawn into a deep experience of giving - to God and to God in our neighbour.

As Paul was drawn into the community of believers in the early church, so may we allow ourselves to be drawn into an deep experience of community where friend and stranger find peace and love and faith and hope and joy - life in all its fulness.

In the name of Christ Jesus who draws us to his father God,   Amen.