The apocalyptic literature in the scripture readings of recent Sundays caused me to recall a children’s song I heard on many long car trips, “Are we there yet?”  “Are we there yet?” “How much farther do we have to go?”

Well, we are at our destination, the last Sunday of the liturgical year.   

We call it the Sunday of the Fulfillment.     

Thanks to AI, I learned the meaning of “fulfillment”.          

In business, fulfillment is the complete process of receiving, processing, and delivering a customer’s order to their specified location. It encompasses all steps from when a customer places an order to when they receive the product, including warehousing, picking, packing, shipping, and handling returns. Efficient fulfillment is critical for customer satisfaction and a company’s reputation and can be handled in-house or outsourced to a specialized third-party logistics (3PL) company.  That is the Amazon model of meeting each of our demands for next day delivery, and a very timely thought at the beginning of this frenzied buying time of year.             

But that is not at all what we have in mind today, is it?    

Elsewhere it is called Christ the King Sunday.        

At one time the German Lutherans called it “Eternity Sunday”. 

As liturgical solemnities go, it does not have a long pedigree.     

• Establishment in 1925: Pope Pius XI created the feast through his encyclical Quas primas to counteract growing secularism and the perceived rise of ideologies that rejected Christ’s authority.                      
• Response to political climate: The feast was a response to the increasing secularization of society and the rise of totalitarian regimes and figures like Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin, who sought absolute power.                              
• Emphasis on spiritual authority:   The feast was intended to remind people that their ultimate allegiance is to Christ, not to any earthly power, and that His reign is eternal. 

Seems rather timely today, does it not? 

In decades past I would most often hear the hymn Crown Him With Many Crowns on this occasion.

Apart from its stilted language, it does have a nice 4/4 tempo suitable for a military parade as Christ Jesus marches ahead of us into heaven.

I wonder, though, if a military parade is really what we need in our lives right now.

What time measure and what beat will inspire us to follow the crucified one into the fulfillment of God’s plan for us?

We might find a clue in the reading from Colossians today.

Many scholars of Paul think this passage utilizes a hymn sung at baptismal liturgies in the early church.

While we do not have the original Greek words available to us, I think the English translation lends itself to either a waltz tempo or some sort of jazz riff.

Christ is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn of all creation;

for in Christ all things in heaven and on earth were created,

things visible and invisible,

whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—

all things have been created through Christ and for Christ.

Christ himself is before all things,

and in him all things hold together.

Christ is the head of the body, the church;

Christ is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,

so that he might come to have first place in everything.

For in Christ all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

and through him God was pleased to reconcile all things,

whether on earth or in heaven,

by making peace through the blood of the cross.

– Colossians 1:15-20

That is a rather nice image for me.

We could dance our way into the reign of God, following the one who pardoned us and even those who participated in his execution.

If any of us were so gifted we could launch into liturgical dance as we transition from the liturgy of the word to the liturgy of the Eucharist.

But wait. There is more.

This solemnity is both a time to give thanks and to recommit ourselves to cooperate with the grace of God in each day given us.

Within every faith community work goes on to strengthen the bonds of unity and charity and friendship.

Much of it goes unnoticed until it is not there.

It is good for us to pause on this day to reflect on the efforts of our sisters and brothers in faith in this assembly and in this community of communities.

From clearing dirty dishes after a meal to raising funds, from giving directions to a newcomer to straightening the chairs after liturgy, from singing in the choir to offering childcare – we build up the Body of Christ and the People of God.

And within every faith community work goes on to bring good news to the world.

Singly and in groups we witness to the world our faith in the power of redemptive love.

From serving a meal at Luke House to taking the bread of life to the home bound, from canvassing our neighbors before an election to listening to a loved one who feels misunderstood, from marching with young people for environmental justice to planting prairie seeds in new places –we bring Good News to the Poor in Spirit.

“What God has in store for the creation is realized “already” in the community of believers, the community of Christ …”

–The Lectionary Commentary, The Second Readings, p. 378, ed., Van Horn [contributor, Arland J. Hultgren]

The Social Gospel movement of Protestant churches in this country and the Social Encyclicals of Catholic popes dating back to Leo XIII, have been a significant inspiration for many of us in this assembly.

We often immerse ourselves in activities we hope will build up a more just and peaceful world where all persons and creatures can thrive.

We get understandably discouraged when even more conflict breaks out and the working poor are cast aside by a “gig” economy and an amoral dependence on quarterly profit reports.

The God of each of the covenants, the covenant with Noah, the covenant with Abraham, the covenant with Moses, and the covenant in and through Christ Jesus – that God is faithful and loving and blesses the work of our hands when we cannot fathom why the outcomes we hoped for seem to elude us.

And God’s loving kindness is our cause for joy at this liturgy of thanksgiving.

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In thanksgiving for the redemptive love of God that inspires acts of charity and service in this monastery and in this Sunday Assembly, we pray …

In thanksgiving for the prophetic word of God in our midst that inspires acts of resistance to oppression, we pray …

In thanksgiving for the healing word of God in our midst that inspires acts of reconciliation, we pray …

Please take a few moments now to call to mind those persons and situations that weigh on your minds and hearts that we may lift up their names to an understanding God. For these and all listed in our book of intentions, we pray …

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[Addendum to homily borrowed from Sojourner’s Truth and Action Round-up, November 21, 2025]

Jazz great John Coltrane co-created the four-part masterpiece A Love Supreme with an extraordinary quartet in 1964. In four movements—Acknowledgement, Resolution, Pursuance, and Psalm—Coltrane transcends human language with a musical complexity that feels divinely inspired.

The fourth movement is what Coltrane called a “musical narration,” or what author and musician Lewis Porter described as “a wordless expression.” Each note becomes a word. The words alone are beautiful… Yet when set to Coltrane’s melodious tenor sax, something happens.

A Love Supreme

by John Coltrane

I will do all I can to be worthy of Thee, O Lord.
It all has to do with it.
Thank You God.

Peace.
There is none other.
God is. It is so beautiful.
Thank You God.

God is all.
Help us to resolve our fears and weaknesses.
In you all things are possible.
Thank you God.

We know. God made us so.
Keep your eye on God.
God is. He always was.
He always will be.
No matter what… it is God.

He is gracious and merciful.
It is most important that I know Thee.
Words, sounds, speech, men, memory,
Thoughts, fears, and emotions—time—all
Related… all made from one… all made in one.

Blessed be His name.
Thought waves—heat waves—all vibrations,
All paths lead to God. Thank You God.

His way… it is so lovely… it is gracious.
It is merciful. Thank you God.
One thought can produce millions of vibrations,
And they all go back to God… everything does.

Thank You God.
Have no fear.
Believe.
Thank You God.

The universe has many wonders.
God is all.
His way… it is so wonderful.
Thoughts—deeds—vibrations,
All go back to God and He cleanses all.

He is gracious and merciful.
Thank You God.
Glory to God… God is so alive.
God is. God loves.

May I be acceptable in Thy sight.
We are all one in His grace.
The fact that we do exist
Is acknowledgment of Thee, O Lord.
Thank you God.

God will wash away all our tears.
He always has.
He always will.
Seek Him every day.
In all ways seek God every day.
Let us sing all songs to God
To whom all praise is due…
Praise God.

No road is an easy one, but they all go back to God.
With all we share God.
It is all with God.
It is all with Thee.

Obey The Lord.
Blessed is He.
We are all from one thing… the will of God…
Thank You God.

I have seen God—I have seen ungodly—
None can be greater—none can compare to God.
Thank You God.

He will remake… He always has, and He always will.
It’s true—blessed be His name—Thank You God.

God breathes through us so completely…
So gently we hardly feel it…
Yet, it is our everything.

Thank You God.
Elation… Elegance… Exaltation…
All from God.

Thank You God. Amen.