This Sunday is the final Sunday of the liturgical church year. It also completes Year C. The Revised Common Lectionary provides for a three year cycle of readings; a set of readings for each week, with a reading from the Old Testament, the Psalms, Gospel, and an Epistle. Next week we will begin Year A with the commencement of Advent. This also marks one year of this regular feature on my blog.

This week’s readings focus on the coming reign of Christ. For the first time since Pentecost, my preaching will follow this week’s reading.

Matthew’s gospel recounts the crucifixion narrative and that Jesus’ crime was being the King of the Jews. In another gospel, the Pharisees complain to Pilate that Jesus was not the King of the Jews, but that He claimed to be King of the Jews and Pilate replies “I have written what I have written.”

The psalm is substituted this week with another song; the song of Zachariah, John the Baptist’s father. It is a great foreshadowing of next week, as we begin to look toward Christmas during our Advent Celebration.

Paul’s letter to the church at Colosse may have been the basis for The Apostle’s Creed and The Nicene Creed. As I conclude tonight, I’d like to repeat Paul’s words here: