Word to the Wise
Sunday, November 21, 2010 - Our Lord Jesus Christ the King
[2 Samuel 5:1-3; Colossians 1:12-20; Luke 23:35-43]<p>"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."</p>
Many portrayals of the crucifixion include the crosses of the two others who were put to death alongside Jesus. The Gospel of Luke records a brief conversation in the midst of the terrible suffering. One of the two criminals reviles Jesus by daring him to save himself and the other two. The second criminal, to whom tradition has given the name, "Dismas," rebukes the first and makes an act of faith in Jesus. His words and Jesus' reply are quoted above. What Dismas realizes is that Jesus' kingdom has nothing to do with the sign nailed to the cross above Jesus' head: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. To the Romans, Jesus was just one more would-be political "messiah" to be executed as an example to the Jews of the uselessness of rebellion. To the religious leaders who engineered the betrayal and execution, Jesus would no longer be a threat to their own positions of power and influence. The irony of it all is that this execution brought about the very kingdom Jesus came to establish - a kingdom that indeed will threaten any earthly notion of power and domination. The Preface prayer for this feast speaks of Jesus' kingdom as: "an eternal and universal kingdom: a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love, and peace." This kind of kingdom cannot be stopped by judicial murder or war or other human effort. Those who preach this kingdom may suffer physical death but they will not be prevented from establishing the kingdom of Christ. As long as one believer draws breath, that kingdom lives wherever there is faith. The "king" and the "kingdom" are the same. We are members of the Body of Christ and his kingdom is established wherever there is faith. This faith leads us to truth and life, holiness and grace, justice, love and peace! We are charged with "putting skin on" the kingdom of Our Lord Jesus Christ! AMEN