Jesus, King of the rich and King of the poor.
We celebrate you as Christ the King today.
We confess that we celebrate with more than a little fear,
and great deal of uncertainty.
The world you called us to serve is a scary place;
The needs are so great; the suffering so intense.
We are afraid of what we will find there,
of the demands that will be made on us.
We like to be in control of our lives.
So we would like to keep our God in a bag, as it were.
Then God will be at our disposal not the other way round.
We can select our causes,
Pick and choose our neighbours,
and decide how much love we’ll provide at a time.
But if we acknowledge your reign,
if we place ourselves under your rule,
we leave the choices to you. We simply follow.
Oh Babe of Bethlehem, how we want to keep you in a manger.
But this day reminds us that you did not come for our convenience,
You came to rule as King.
Help us to choose your rule,
To follow your way,
To trust you in the world of our neighbours
And in the carrying of their burdens.
King Jesus, free us from our distractions, and fill us with your love;
Amen
Wondering Preacher 
Pingback: Beggars on the street: to give or not to give | Wondering Preacher
The last stanza particularly grabbed me, brother Ian. The world of my immediate neighbors is not the one I live in, not about God–His Son. And yet I pray for them all every night, ask for God to keep His Sovereign hand of protection over them–that maybe they will see His Light one day. And that maybe the candle I carry will be sufficient. God bless you–love, sis Caddo
LikeLike
Mmmm. True. As I wrote in my next post, I don’t have the answers. I do know some of the right questions, but I also know that I don’t grapple with them nearly enough. Thanks sis Caddo.
LikeLike
A meaningful prayer. It is so easy to think of the Babe of Bethlehem. Everyone can relate to a baby, but we must look further. That baby became the Man on the Cross – crucified,dead and buried so that we might be free from our sins. And then came the glorious resurrection so now we can say with conviction,”King of Kings and Lord of Lords”
Thanks Ian
Mum
LikeLike
Thank you. Amen!
LikeLike
Pingback: What is truth? Christ the King Sunday | Wondering Preacher