It is interesting that we would probably say, "your kingdom come" as a phrase at almost every Anglican service, but I wonder how often that we stop to think about its exact meaning. By that, I mean to understand the full extent of commitment implied by such a phrase. It is for this reason, that the last Sunday of the church's year is designated as Christ the King - an opportunity to pause and reflect on the continuing legacy of the life and death and resurrection Jesus. It doesn't end, but is ongoing and indeed, theses times are an interim period prior to the future final reign of Jesus as King of kings.

Perhaps the true concept of a kingdom and a king is lost in these republican times. Even the monarchy that we have is a far cry from the sense of kingship that existed in the times that much of our Bible was written down. A far cry from the romantic notion of a ceremonial monarchy, ancient rulers are more like many of our dictatorships found around the world.

Kingship and reign meant the absolute authority and power and there was no room for dissent. Treason is a crime that carries the death penalty and if your ideas were contrary to those of the King, then that is the name of the crime. Treason and treachery are not to be tolerated.

It has become fashionable to promote tolerance and in particular in church circles to be tolerant of sin. This is not a new phenomenon as this is one of the principle reasons that Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians - to challenge them about this situation. This does not mean that we should be judgemental for this puts up barriers, but we are not called to overlook sin in the name of tolerance. There is difficult middle ground, to not be judgemental on the one side and yet on the other not to pretend that it does not matter.

Christ the King is a reminder that the future of our planet and all peoples and nations will be to submit to the rule of Jesus. This is our destiny, and this is why it is so important to deal with sin in the world. Sin is treason. It is a deliberate act against our heavenly father and against the coming kingdom. In some funerals we read the passage from Revelation 21:

And these are words of comfort for the bereaved but listen to the verse that follows:

This is uncomfortable as it promotes the idea of separation, for although the personal identification to most of these crimes is not there, all liars refers to anyone who has told a lie. Truth is important, and that will be the characteristic of the new kingdom.

Now let me make the point before moving on, that any offence (or sin) is forgivable. As I spoke last week, what we are talking about is the idea that Christianity does not cover sin, but deals with it so that it is no more, when we confess and claim the forgiveness offer through the cross. This is gone and so is the punishment. Any lie will not bar us from heaven, only failing to deal with it through confession and absolution.

Tolerance says the sin does not matter. But our calling is not to point out the sins of others and condemn them for that, but to offer them a solution to become right with God. Do you remember the words of Peter, when Jesus had instructed him to cast the net on the right side of the boat and it was full of fish - "Get away from me, for I am a sinful man". Jesus changed in his eyes from being a great teacher to being something more. Peter's subsequent response was to follow as a disciple. His journey as recorded in the Gospels was not perfect, but was gradually into citizenship of the kingdom.

Is our holiness as God's people a challenge to those who meet us. Now I am not talking the outside - the cladding but inside, is there a holiness that will challenge others. The impact of the church has always been greatest when its holiness challenges those with whom it comes into contact with. Condemnation of sin is not from us, but from a lifestyle and an attitude that illustrates the alternative.

Perhaps this is the long way to get there, but it took a while for me to see the point of our Gospel reading.

Pilate is clearly trying to distance himself from the circumstance - Are you the King of the Jews was to emphasise that he had claim on Pilate's life. Pilate's personal battle was to distance himself from the man that was set before him. Indeed this is the struggle of us all. It is convenient to acknowledge Jesus - but not to accept him as King - as ruler. We often see Pilate in a bad light, but there is a lot of Pilate in us all. We want to safely lock Jesus up in the church building and not allow him dominion over the rest of our lives, our society.

Christ the King asks us - are we ready to accept his reign? Are we ready to welcome him to the throne? Are we ready to submit?

Christmas has no meaning, unless we are prepared to deal with the consequences of the incarnation. So as Christ the King and the idea of the Second Coming begins our focus at Christmas, let us take this time to examine ourselves, you and I, and our response. Like Peter, we have to respond not only to the romanticised Jesus in the manger, the good and wise teacher, but to him as God and rightful ruler over us all. May this challenge be our gift this Christmas.