Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. It is an important reminder that Christ after his resurrection ascended into heaven where he reigns as King of the universe.

At his Ascension, Jesus said: ‘all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’ (Mt. 28:18-20).

Jesus already reigns as King and his Kingdom on earth comes into effect when you and I become followers and obey everything Jesus said, and invite others to become followers and obey Jesus as well.

So that His Kingdom may come, and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, as we pray so often in the Lord’s Prayer.

In our Gospel reading we find Jesus standing on trial in front of Pilate. Because, while Jesus is arrested and condemned on the charge of blasphemy by his fellow-Jews, Pilate condemns Jesus on the charge that He is the King of the Jews.

It is the question Pilate asks at Jesus’ trial, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ and it is the charge that is on Jesus’ cross: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.

But Jesus says to Pilate ‘My Kingdom is not from this world’. His Kingdom is the Kingdom of Heaven, a Kingdom that is different from earthly Kingdoms, yet it is a Kingdom that unsettles, upsets, and challenges earthly kingdoms.

King Jesus’ authority does not rest on anything in this world and He does not force people to do what He wants. Instead, he invites people to follow Him, and he invites them to live their life in this world in a way that His Kingdom may come and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. To live lives in which loving God above all and our neighbour as ourselves are the central values, a life in which we recognise in every other human being that they are equally created by God to be like God, and therefore each human being has an intrinsic value.

And this way, Christ’s Kingdom of Heaven will change the Kingdoms of this earth into the Kingdom of heaven.

This set Christians apart in the Roman Empire. They were not only different because they worshipped Jesus Christ as God instead of the emperor. But their lives were different because they lived out their belief that each human being was valuable because it was created by God. They refused to abort children, they did not kill their babies if they didn’t like the fact it was a girl. During plagues, Christians refused to leave the sick to their own fate and instead cared for them while Pagan doctors fled the city. And people like the fourth century bishop Basil the Great set up leper hospitals to care and look after those that no one wanted to touch.

This all came at great costs and risks for those individuals who followed Jesus, but it made an astonishing difference to society.

But as our society turns away from Christianity, we see people struggle to live those values without the so-needed help, grace and forgiveness that Jesus Christ offers. It is hard trying to be good without relying on God as the source of all Good. And we can also see that those Christian values that are at the basis of so much good in our society are under threat. And I believe that is what is happening with the debate and vote this Friday on the Bill for Assisted Dying.

As you have had to listen to me preach for over a year now, you will be aware that I don’t do much politics from the pulpit. If you don’t like what I say about this, please do feel free to speak to me after the service or drop me a line if you’d like a chat.

But I believe it is my task and duty as a Christian priest to proclaim the Good News of Jesus including that of the worth and sanctity of each human life. And while our society is no longer Christian and thus free to turn away from God and his plan and commandments for us, it is our duty to warn people when they are about to hurt themselves and others by doing so.

Our own Bishop Andrew warned a couple of weeks ago that ‘the sanctity of human life has been baked into Western societies from the earliest times and is fundamental to the ethos of our legal system and healthcare service. Rather than jeopardise such a fundamental principle … it would seem wiser to put our energies into excellent social and palliative care, to promote true dignity as every life on earth draws to its close.’ 

Because the Christian idea about human life is that it does not belong to ourselves but to God who holds our beginning and our end. And so often, the teaching of the Bible is there to protect and to help us even when it sounds harsh or difficult. Because it may sound merciful to give people more control towards the end – I know many of you have held the hands of loved ones who were suffering terribly and maybe even asked if they could please die. But yet, we ought not to want that terrifying responsibility over life and death.

In my home country, The Netherlands, you can see what happens once we take that responsibility and control over life and death. Since introducing the assisted dying law in 2002 the definition of ‘endless and unbearable suffering’ that was our safeguard has been inflated and further inflated. It includes those mentally ill and not just the terminally ill but all those who suffer because of a medical reason. And now there is a proposed Bill called ‘Voltooid Leven’, ‘a completed life’ that would allow everyone above 75 who considers their life as complete even though they are in perfect health could receive assisted dying.

And I believe that is what inevitably will happen in this country too, because once we as a country and a culture shift authority over life and death from God to us and we no longer believe the sanctity of life to be an absolute value, there is no real reason why there should be any other barriers. Why should anyone who suffers be denied the right to control the end of their own life? In fact, it is rude and patronising to tell someone who says they are suffering terribly that you don’t think they are suffering enough for assisted dying.

While some might think this would be a positive change, the truth is that this is incredibly dangerous for those who are vulnerable and lonely, those who feel they are a burden on those around them or on society, those whose families are waiting for the inheritance, those struggling with mental health, those on long waiting lists. In the back of the church are flyers of Not Dead Yet, a network of disabled and terminally ill people who fear this law will bring the lives of the vulnerable at risk. Because it is easy for the right to die to change, sooner than we imagine, into a duty to die.

Because, it is just so easy to forget that each person is a glorious human being, made and loved by God, and of precious, irreplaceable value just because of that reason.

So please, do pray for this country, pray for Parliament as this Bill is debated and voted on. And pray for our own MP Jeremy Hunt who has said that while he was originally against, he is now likely to support this bill even though he is continuing to reflect on the issue.

And let’s as a church be a place where we, with the help, grace and the forgiveness of God, live out our belief in the sanctity and value of each human life. Where we treat each other with love and care, and reach out to those who are suffering.

Let us as a church pray and live in Cranleigh that prayer, your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Amen.