Christ the King Sunday, 11/24/2013

Sermon on Luke 22:33-43, by Walter W. Harms

33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!" 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" 38 There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."
39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." 42 And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." 43 And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

If Jesus Is King...?

This is the final Sunday in the church year that is different from the calendar year. This last Sunday of the church year is always determined by having 4 Sundays before Christmas Day, Dec. 25. This Sunday is also called Christ the King Sunday in many churches that follow the church year.

While it is not strange for us to think about kings, we really don't know what it would be like to live with a king as the head of government, the all-powerful one. We see kings and queens also as simply figureheads, not having any real power at all.

So to understand Jesus as king is to have quite a different view of life, for us who live in a democracy where our leaders are elected. True kings had absolute authority over everything in their domain. Most of them literally owned all the territory over which they reigned. They owned the people. They had the power of life and death over people. They were the judge, jury and, if they wanted to be, the executioner over any person they wanted wiped out.

It is easy to see that for Jesus truly to be king, then, well then, he would have all the power over all people and all events and behaviors. If Jesus is your king, then you will have to see what control he has over you, your behavior, your present and your future.

In the Bible reading, called the Good News (it certainly doesn't read like good news), Jesus does not seem to be in charge of the situation at all. He is led away to Skull Hill, being executed the way Romans got rid of criminals and usurpers of power-being crucified--with two other criminals, and is scoffed at by the religious leaders, mocked by the Roman soldiers, and in general appears powerless, totally powerless.

Surely if Jesus were the king promised for centuries by God's prophets, he would never have gotten into this situation. If he were the king of anybody, he would have never permitted himself to be wiped out like a common criminal nor even to be associated with criminals.

So what's going on here? Well, for centuries the people of God known as the Jews expected someone to show up who would restore their place in the world as an independent country. This "king" would put down all their enemies, give them and the nation a place of high honor, throw off any infringement on them in any way, protect them and the city of Zion, God's city, Jerusalem.

Sure, in the trial of Jesus that preceded his crucifixion, Jesus had called himself a King, but not a king as the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, understood that word.

You see, Jesus is really king of the world, the one that we inhabit. Unlike you and me, he does not seek his own honor and fame. He comes to be king not only of the people called the Jews but also of everyone in the whole world. While he is in charge of the world, he does not come to manipulate us so that he gets the glory. He comes to rule us by making us free and then joyfully and willing to serve him.

Of course, you and I would like another kind of king. We want the kind who will save us from all pain and discomfort; a king (call him God) who will save us from whatever we think we need to be saved from. We want to be saved from other people, often from ourselves, from sickness, from old age, from death, and from what terrors lay beyond death.

We often think (or even say): "Come on, Jesus. You're king. Help us, give us what we want."

These "things" we often want are no more than temptations from the father of all lies, the devil himself. He started lying when he told Eve and Adam they would be as smart as God. They would know what is good for them and what is bad for them, and there were no consequences of their choices, certainly not anything like death!

Did you ever think something was good, desirable for you and discover it was bad? A child thinks immunization injections are bad, but the opposite is the truth.

Jesus was not immune to these assaults. He was hungry-make stones into bread. He wanted people to follow him-jump down right there in the middle of a crowd at worship in the temple. He wanted the world to know him-just do my song and dance, said the devil in all three of these temptations.

Here on the cross, once more the attacks came. This time from the religious gurus of his time who told him how to be a king if he truly was one, from the soldiers who didn't give a damn about anything (a king deserves a little wine doesn't he?), from the governor who mockingly printed the sign calling him "king", to one of the criminals who found himself in the devilish foxhole of the cross, asking him to get him out of the situation if he really is the king.

And you know that is precisely what he was doing. He was freeing us once and for all from that which chokes out our life, which frustrates us to the point of utter despair, which chains us to the foreign power of evil and death. He gives us life that is never going to end. He gives us hope when the tsunamis hit and destroy all we thought was precious and important and it appears there is nothing good ahead of us. He gives us joy when we have sorrow over our mistakes, errors, and evil. He dies to be king over life, death, and eternity.

He does all this through the very action the devil wished him to avoid-his suffering, his death, his rest in the tomb, and then his glorious resurrection where he proclaims to us even today that he is in charge, we are not, and hurray for that!

One of the criminals had his head screwed on right. He knew that what he was getting was what he deserved. He had no illusions about himself. He knew he deserved the punishment, the humiliation, the pain and the death that was coming his way. I don't know how but he knew that the man in the center was not only innocent, but that he was more than just a man. He knew Jesus was king, a person to be feared, and a person to whom they were accountable. And in an example of faith we could all follow, he asked Jesus a simple question: "Remember me when you come into your kingdom."

The thief knew somehow that Jesus was king. He trusted that Jesus would live beyond this time and moment in history; live beyond crucifixion, beyond the grave. He knew Jesus would have the power over all, over us and our time and our eternity.

This was a gutsy move by this murdering crook-to believe that he would be remembered, remembered not on some kind of tombstone, but remembered and given a place, a time again to live.

What a statement of faith! To trust that this dying Jesus would, could remember him and give him a place in his kingdom-wow! He didn't ask for a pain pill, a narcotic for life. He didn't ask for a sweet life with no difficulties. He asked to be remembered.

And he was and is to this day.

Who is king in your life? Whom have you crowned as lord and master? Most of the time it is simply "me." I want, I desire, and as much as possible I want to be and believe I am in control. The resultant difficulties we get ourselves into are still pressing in upon us, even though our actions are days, weeks, years, or even decades ago.

We flounder in life-all of us. We do not desire to follow our true king. We are as rebellious as anyone could ever be.

Yet, we are saved from our enemies, who are usually ourselves. Our King remembers us even today. We will be remembered until he calls us home to live with him forever. Then paradise will not be a hope, but the reality of life forever.

If you are coming to the Blessed Sacrament today, Jesus, this King asks you to remember his living and dying for you. Remember him as you live today, remember him when you wake tomorrow, remember him in the crosses that come your way and when the devil, the world, and our own self mocks us about our faith.

We can go through life with no compass or Christ can be our king. And if he is king....? Amen.

retired pastor Walter W. Harms
Austin, TX.U.S.A.
E-Mail: waltpast@aol.com

(top)