Luke 23:35-43
This is the last Sunday in the liturgical year C, and as always, we celebrate Christ the King. Of course we Americans have never had a king, and even modern countries that have kings don’t really know what it means to have a king. The first reading has to do with the establishment of David’s kingship over Israel. I’m sure it’s an account that was approved by a later king, probably not too close to the reality. David was a typical king for those days -- he had an army and he used it; he kept his generals in line by giving them power and riches, and punishing them when they got out of line; and when he thought about the common people at all, it was to figure out how to extract more wealth from them. Throw in one more thing -- kings wanted blood relatives - children or brothers or sisters -- to sit on the throne after they were gone. It was an attempt to be immortal. Although they don’t call him a king, Kim Jong Un of North Korea is probably the ruler most like a king these days. He is the third “Kim” to rule that poor country with an iron fist. His grandfather, Kim Il Sung was once asked why he was bent on developing a nuclear arsenal. Was he not worried about starting a war that would end the human race? His reply was that if he or his descendants weren’t around, there was no reason to worry about the rest of the world. This feast, by the way, was promulgated only 100 years ago -- maybe to remind the world that there is only one king.
Kings of the world have no problem sending their subjects to die for them. We have a king who chose to die for us. The second reading reminds us of our privileged position with respect to the rest of the human race; our king gives us direct access to God because he is true God and true man; he gives us a clear example of how to lead a truly human life; and he promises us perpetual citizenship in the world to come if we remain faithful.
If you think about the image of a naked suffering Jesus dying on the cross, he doesn’t seem to be a king. Pilate had put the plaque over his head to insult the Jews, not to recognize Jesus' kingship. That’s why the leaders of the Jews wanted him to write “He said he was King of the Jews”. But Pilate left the insult stand, when he told them “What I have written, I have written”. And Jesus is insulted by the crowd, by the soldiers, and by the other criminal, all of whom insist that if Jesus has some sort of special relationship with God, he could easily come down from the cross; his failure to do so proved that he was just another rabble rouser.
The other criminal, and this is important, begins by acknowledging his fear of God. He moves on to admit his sinful nature -- we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes. He recognizes that Jesus is innocent, and then he throws himself on Jesus’ mercy, recognizing that Jesus is more than he seems. And Jesus then exercises his kingship; he forgives the thief and promises him heaven. And in the last moments of his life, I’m sure he went from despair to blessed hope. That’s how I want to die.
So Jesus is king, the king of the Kingdom of God. What is this kingdom? Father Gerald Derring put it this way. First, the kingdom is a space. It exists in every home where parents and children love each other; in every country that cares for the weak and vulnerable; in every person or collection of persons who reach out to the needy. Second, it is a time. It happens when someone feeds a hungry person, shelters a homeless person, shows care to someone neglected, helps overturn an unjust law or avert a war or work to ease poverty or ignorance. It is in the past, when Jesus walked the earth; it’s in the present when the church and indeed many others work to create a world of goodness and justice; and it's in the future when what is on earth resembles what is in heaven. Finally it is a condition, where love, justice and peace conquer the world once and for all.
When we were baptized we became citizens of the kingdom. On this feast of Christ the King, we should review our commitment to the kingdom we promised to serve. Because we belong to his kingdom to the extent that we allow Jesus to be in charge of our lives. We should pray each day that Jesus gives us the right words to say, the right way to conduct ourselves. Jesus said that he came to serve and not to be served. IF we imitate him we will reign with him. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says “For the Christian, to reign is to serve him, particularly when serving the poor and the suffering in whom the Church recognizes the image of her poor and suffering founder.
We’ve probably all seen the bumper sticker that says “God is my co-pilot”. There’s another one that says “If Jesus is your co-pilot, change seats.” The life of a Christian, the life of someone who belongs to the kingdom, is always one in which we struggle to submit our will to that of the King. May we remember this today on his feast day.
