One of the great issues that I struggle with is keeping accounts short and my conscience clean. If I am righteous in one area, another turns around and bites me: if I am able to control my fleshly appetites and not give quarter to gluttony and lust, wrath consumes me.

And now, having confessed what is my triad of weaknesses, I am thinking of the email we got that today is Christ the King Sunday: the feast the Romans made during the 20th century for they considered that the ideologies of the age were displacing the worship of God.

Christ the King, above all, is a correction to idolatry. It is a reminder that the Church is not ours, but it belongs to God. And he will make us pure. He will take our tears. He will purify us, if we like it or not.

Or we will not be part of his kingdom, and remove ourselves from his church.

Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

(1 Peter 3:13-22 ESV)

Now, I am not that enamoured with the church calendar. The congregation I belong to follows it, and I do not think that is sufficient a reason not to worship with them: on times and seasons we should respect those who honour such, and not be confrontational. For both observance, and holding all days as equally righteous, is permitted. [1]

But we need to watch for ideologies. Things that can look good can take over. We are encouraged to wear white ribbons against this, or pink ribbons against that, but woe will follow if one slaps a cross onto one’s shirt (unless you are a padre).

For our ideology should be Christ. The issues of this day — well we need to do good, and discern what is evil, power plays, masquerading as righteousness. One test is if the group will acknowledge Christ as Lord, or if they see Christ as part of the power structure they are subverting. And in doing this, one needs to look beyond words to actions.

And, saying that, I better get the kids up for Kirk.

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1. This was a point of bloody contention between the Reformers and the Romans. Both needed to read their Paul.