We still have more than a month
to go before we celebrate New Year’s Eve and the end of 2013. Today, we
celebrate the end of our Church’s liturgical year. And we always end the
liturgical year with solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of Universe, celebrating
Jesus as King of God’s Kingdom, as King of faith to which we profess.
When we think of kings & kingdoms, we
probably think of them in an earthly sense. Here on earth, a king is someone
who rules over vast empire with great riches, with mighty army, with great
power & might & control. A lot of Americans are interested in history,
and in particular the history of kings and queens, since we don’t have kings in
queens in the United States as a part of our form of government. I remember a
few years ago – the Tudor era in English history was very popular, with many
books, TV mini-series, and movies coming out about Henry VIII, his wives, and
the battle of succession after his death with his children Edward, Mary, and
Elizabeth. It is interesting to think of kings we have on earth, to see how
Christ is a very different kind of king compared to any of them.
The Gospel about Jesus today as we
celebrate him as King of universe emphasizes this difference, as it does not
show Jesus ina position of control or power, but is rather taken from Luke’s narrative of Christ’s crucifixion. We
know that Jesus has come to usher in a very different kingdom, a very different
order. It is a kingdom that will bring
us new life, new hope, and a sense of God’s grace to live under. But if that is
true – why show us a Gospel today that shows Jesus suffering a very humiliating
death? In fact, most of characters in
today’s Gospel are mocking Jesus, mocking his kingdom and mocking the values
for which he stands. The rulers sneer at Jesus as he is hanging on the cross. The
soldiers jeer at him, taunting him to save himself if he indeed is a king. The inscription hanging above him says: “This
is the King of the Jews,” but it is not meant as a compliment or an honor, but
rather as a sarcastic insult.
What lesson can we take away from Gospel
today if we indeed see Jesus as king of universe? Perhaps we can learn a lesson
from the Good thief today, a man convicted of a terrible crime and sentenced
next to Jesus. The good thief understands what is going on, he realizes who Jesus
is. He reaches out to Jesus not only in compassion and kindness, but he recognizes
his own sinfulness and Jesus’ ability to save.
We can learn from way good thief wants
another chance, how he wants to be a part of the Kingdom of God. This can make
sense for us in the way we experience darkness in our lives, in the way we make
mistakes and see the ways we need to repent and convert. In the way we need a second chance. Or a
third chance. Or a hundredth
chance.
We hear Paul tells us today that God has
delivered us from the power of darkness in the world, that he has ushered us
into the kingdom of his son. Yes, this is true, but because the Kingdom of God
has not yet entered into its fullness here on earth, we still have darkness in
our lives. There are demons that chase us and haunt us and try to lure us away
from the path of faith. The good thief
hanging on the cross next to Jesus had opportunity to receive God’s grace in
his life, to enter into new life that Christ offers us. We have new life in Christ,
but we still need to turn to him in a constant cycle of repentance, renewal and
conversion in life in order to combat that darkness and those demons that we
struggle with.
J was nailed on cross and mocked for
message he proclaimed, for new order he ushered in through his proclamation of
God’s Kingdom. Jesus challenged the
order that exists in our earthly kingdoms, that exists in our human systems of
power and might. Jesus did so not by asserting his our power, but by declaring
a reign of love and mercy. He did not seek revenge or vengeance for the
humiliating death he endured, but rather offers us grace, forgiveness, and
salvation. Jesus is our king, but a different
kind of king. Like the good thief, where do we need to seek Christ’s love and
mercy and compassion today? Where do we need another chance in our live, on our
journey?
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