Hardly a Reign, Hardly a King

There was also an inscription over him, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’ Luke 23. 35-43

Christmas stuff was out before Halloween, Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and yet in our gospel reading for today we have to face the gruesome story of the Crucifixion of Jesus. Luke's telling of the horrible event provokes great pain for the readers...cruelty, mockery, humiliation and torture of the Prince of Peace. It is hardly what we want to think about while we are hearing sleigh bells and Christmas carols.

This year it is especially difficult to hear about kingship when our country is being encouraged to honor the president as a king, gilded and crowned. And yet...we deprive ourselves of an essential truth about Jesus the Christ if we do not recognize the power of his benevolent kingship, whose last words to another human being were words of forgiveness aligned with the ministry of his short life.

Perhaps the most important words for us to take from this painful reading are the words from the thief beside Jesus..."Remember me when you come into your kingdom" and Jesus' response, "Truly today you will be with me in Paradise," promising the thief even more than he asked for.

Let us pray that Jesus' promise be true for us as well. And on that note, next week we begin our Advent journey again for the first time as we turn the corner to a new year and stories about the First Coming and the Second Coming.