St. Paul's Episcopal Church
  • About
  • Worship
  • Our Ministries
  • News
  • Stewardship
  • Resources
  • Preschool
  • About
  • Worship
  • Our Ministries
  • News
  • Stewardship
  • Resources
  • Preschool

News

The Feast of Christ the King

“Christ Jesus, whom God has made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30).

As Jesus Christ is God’s assurance of the forgiveness of all our sins, so, in the same way and with the same seriousness he is also God’s mighty claim upon our whole life. Through him befalls us a joyful deliverance from the godless fetters of this world for a free, grateful service to his creatures.

We reject the false doctrine, as though there were areas of our life in which we would not belong to Jesus Christ, but to other lords—areas in which we would not need justification and sanctification through him.

The Barmen Declaration of 1934, Article 2

We are coming to the end of another year. (Church year, that is.)

The Feast of Christ the King—the final Sunday of the church year—will take place on November 22. Though the idea of Christ’s kingship has been with us since the beginning of the Jesus Movement, the feast day itself is a modern development: Pope Pius XI promoted its observance in the encyclical Quas primas on December 11, 1925.

The Great War cast a long shadow over the 1920s. At its inception, this new feast day was a response to the growing secularism and nationalism on the world stage. By celebrating Christ’s universal kingship over all peoples, Pius XI hoped that the faithful would “become more and more conscious of the link that binds them together, and thus many conflicts will be either prevented entirely or at least their bitterness will be diminished.”

So much for that. The ties that bind us together these days seem, not just fragile, but virtually non-existent. In times like these, it is tempting to give lip service to the idea that “God is in control” and leave it at that.

Too often, however, claiming that God is in control glosses over our duties and responsibilities as God’s people. Claiming that Christ is King, you see, does not mean that things are how they are supposed to be. Rather, claiming that Christ is King is a statement about the One to whom we owe our allegiance to—and the kingdom to which we truly belong.

That allegiance demands something—it demands everything—of us. As the leaders of the Confessing Church in Germany proclaimed in the 1930s, we must reject the false doctrine that “there [are] areas of our life in which we would not belong to Christ, but to other lords.” God demands our full, unrelenting, uncompromising allegiance, and that extends to the first citizens of God’s Kingdom too: the poor and the disenfranchised, the sick and the suffering, the meek, the forgotten, and those who have given into despair.  

Thank God for that. Thank God for a kingdom that welcomes such a motley crew, and for the strength and courage to stand with them—especially in times like these.

— Fr. Javier

Tags: From the Clergy, Hope for the Journey

You might also like

  • Weekly Update Feb 26, 2021: A Letter from the Rector - February 26, 2021
  • Transformative Respect - February 26, 2021
  • Weekly Update Feb 19, 2021: A Letter from the Rector - February 19, 2021
  • “He brought us out from there in order to bring us in…” - February 17, 2021

Parish Meeting Recording

Weekly Update Nov 13, 2020: A Letter from the Rector

2021 Stewardship

Pledge Online

Weekly Updates

➤ Recent updates from St. Paul’s
➤ This week’s prayer list

Photos

View parish photos on Smugmug.

Homilies

Self-Examination and Repentance

Self-Examination and Repentance

February 28, 2021
The Rev. George Adamik considers the Lenten call to self-examination and repente
First Sunday in Lent (2021)

First Sunday in Lent (2021)

February 21, 2021
On the First Sunday in Lent (2021), the Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista reflects
Ash Wednesday (2021)

Ash Wednesday (2021)

February 17, 2021

Search Site

Contact

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
221 Union St., Cary, NC 27511

Phone: 919-467-1477
Fax: 919-467-0152
Office Hours: M-F 9-3

Worship Schedule

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, we have suspended in-person services.

Join us for our livestreamed service at 9:00 AM on Sundays on Facebook.

Site Map
Copyright © St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Cary, NC

Please Note: Our Lobster Rolls and Chicken Meals are made with the following ingredients in our church kitchen.  While every effort is made to avoid cross contamination, we cannot guarantee that there won’t be trace amounts of other foods in the mix.  Thank you for your understanding.

Lobster Roll Mix

  • Lobster Meat
  • Celery
  • Mayo (Dukes brand)
  • Lemon Juice
  • Red Pepper
  • Old Bay
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Broiled Chicken

  • Chicken
  • Cooking spray
  • Herbs
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Nextdoor Instructions

Thank you for agreeing to publicize Lobster Fest on Nextdoor. Here are a few things we’re asking:

  1. Please post this as an Event.
  2. Under “Choose Neighbors,” select Yours and Nearby
  3. For Category, choose Festival. Title is “Lobster Fest Cary“.
  4. Cut and paste this description, please:

Lobster Fest Cary brings the fresh taste of Maine lobster right here to Wake County! The lobsters are pulled out of the water, packed in a cooler truck in Maine and driven overnight to Cary. Dine-In and enjoy a social event or Take Out and make your own event – Live Lobster, Cooked Lobster, Lobster Rolls – you decide! Pre-ordering online (lobsterfestcary.org) is a must, as quantities often run out early in the day, and we hate to disappoint Lobster Lovers.