Luke
23:33-43
33 When they came to the place that is called
The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and
one on his left. 34 [Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do
not know what they are doing."] And they cast lots to divide his clothing.
35 And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying,
"He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah 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 there kept
deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? 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 have been
condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this
man has done nothing wrong." 42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me
when you come into your kingdom." 43 He replied, "Truly I tell you,
today you will be with me in Paradise."
Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your
kingdom."
·
This festival is called “Christ the King” or in some traditions,
“The Reign of Christ.” References to royalty and kingship bring up vision of
crowns, royal robes, ornate thrones, and rank upon rank of servants and guards.
What does not fit in our minds is the lonely figure of a man crucified,
executed in what might be the most shameful manner ever conceived.
·
He was abandoned by his friends and followers, betrayed by one of
them, mocked by the crowds, and even ridiculed by the criminals to either side
of him. One did change his tune later, and he made a strange request: Jesus,
remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answer is
positive, but a bit mysterious: Truly I tell you, today you will be with
me in Paradise.
·
The crucified king does not fit the idea of what a king might or
should be. No crown but thorns. No royal robes but the clothing the soldiers
diced for. No throne but a rude cross. No ranks of followers eager to do the
king’s bidding. No legions of angels to intervene in the name of God on that
terrible afternoon.
·
The crucified king changes the idea of who God is and what that
means to the life of the world. The king who suffers as the people suffer
changes how we might see that king. There, I think, is the biggest difference
in views of kingship. Kings lead their people and in the best light, serve as a
symbol of the people. This is often corrupted to become something quite the
opposite – where the people are seen as property of the king and tools for what
the king wants. Many earthly kings have set themselves apart from their people.
The excuse has been made that this distance is needed to maintain the “mystery”
of royalty.
·
In the case of Jesus as king, the distance is gone although
mystery remains. Our king did away with the distance between heaven and earth
in the stable in Bethlehem, yet that mystery of “the-Word-become-flesh” remains;
it will not go away.
·
The distance and mystery is also seen in the cross. Jesus suffered
and died and all humans die even though not all suffer as he did. His suffering
and humiliation unites him with all of us, for we have all experienced
humiliation and suffering of a sort. One way or another, no matter what we have
endured or suffered - whether that is sickness, loss, exile, betrayal, or
ridicule – Jesus has been there as well. He knows us and our lives for that has
been his life as well. Since we hold firm to his resurrection, this continues
to be his life.
·
Jesus’ kingship includes his suffering and death as much as it
includes what Paul wrote of in his letter …all things have been created through him
and for him. Jesus is and remains at the center of all creation as the
firstborn of all creation.
·
This is hard to understand; it remains mysterious and beyond our
understanding. The thing that is not so beyond us is that Jesus remains with
us, through all our troubles. We may well wonder why we suffer and why God does
not rescue us from those sufferings. My only answer to that is the one I
learned over time and that is to point to the cross. Jesus is with us in our
own crosses, assuring us that we are not alone in our pain, and even pointing
to what lays beyond the cross. Good Friday always leads to Easter Sunday, even
if we can’t feel it or see it.
·
The Christian writer and pastor, Eugene Peterson died a little
over a year ago. He was known for his pastoral writings and a
translation/version of the Scriptures entitled The Message, written in the style of modern language. At his
funeral, his son said Peterson fooled everyone and had only one message and one
sermon. It was something like this:
God loves you.
God is on your side.
He is coming after
you.
He is relentless. – Eugene Peterson
·
This is why the crucified Jesus responded to the other crucified man
with these words: Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.
·
What did the other man say? What is it that we might say?
Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your
kingdom."
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