Today we come to the end of that long
green season creatively named, “the Season after Pentecost,” or,
“Ordinary Time.” I have a habit of reminding my parishioners
that we refer to this season as Ordinary Time not because it is
ordinary and dull, but because the Sundays following Pentecost (and,
technically, Epiphany) are counted in sequence using ordinal
(ordinary) numbers – 1st, 2nd, 3rd,
4th, etc. – all the way through today, the 27th
Sunday after Pentecost. And, if you're like me, you're ready for the
change; green just gets so . . . well . . . ordinary.
During Ordinary Time our focus is on
the life of Christ and discipleship, unlike liturgical time when
things are color-coded and we focus on specific events in the life of
Christ. It is during this long season where we work hardest, or are
supposed to work hardest, at putting Christ in the center of our
daily lives. As we moved through the season, we heard parables and
witnessed miracles. We saw Jesus reach out to the marginalized, the
oppressed, and the despised, inviting them into the kingdom to be a
part of the new heaven and new earth of which we are co-creators with
God. The goal is to walk the path Jesus set before us, to become
disciples on a daily basis, and at the end of the journey, reach a
place where we proclaim him King.
So here we are on the Last Sunday after
Pentecost, Christ the King Sunday, proclaiming Jesus as King of kings
and Lord of lords, and singing songs extolling his power, triumph,
and glory. Today we look upon Jesus as King.
Look, then, upon your king –
betrayed, abandoned, beaten, and bloodied. Look upon your king,
tortured and torn. Look upon your king – whipped, stripped, nailed
through hands and feet, and hung on a cross to die. Look upon your
king.
On Christ the King Sunday we don't get
images of Jesus coming in power and glory. We don't see Jesus robed
in splendor sitting on a throne. What we get is Jesus beaten down,
stripped of his clothes, dying on a cross. What kind of king is
this?
This is the kind of king who refuses to
act against violence and hatred with an equal amount of violence.
This is the kind of king who understands his power is not defined by
our standards. This is the kind of king who identifies with the
oppressed, victimized, and marginalized to the point where he takes
their suffering upon him. This is the kind of king who asks us to
reevaluate where we center our lives. This is a king who cannot be
defended by violence of any kind.
Because this king refuses to define his
reign on our terms, because he refuses to play by our rules, because
he actively cares for and includes those whom we call Other, and
because his power doesn't rely on violence, the world executed him.
WE executed him. Because the world sees Jesus as just
another option that competes for space, the world will try to remove
him from its space.
So the world had him crucified. WE
had him crucified.
As we look at this crucifixion story we
can see things moving from the general to the specific. What's
moving is the call for Jesus to act as the world expects. The people
stood by and the distant leaders challenge him to use his power and
save himself. The soldiers who carried out the execution circle
closer mocking him and taunting him to save himself. And one
criminal, hanging next to Jesus, also encourages him to come down
from the cross. The world wants Jesus to behave in a certain way.
The way of the world is backed up by an influential contingent. And
insiders within that contingent try to exercise power over Christ.
But this king will not make use of the
world's power plays. This king does not ask for space in the world.
This king contains all space and nothing the world dishes out will
change that.
Within this firestorm of taunts and
violence there appears one man who recognizes that Jesus does not,
will not, and cannot, play by the rules of the world. This man
recognizes that the way of God, and therefore the way of Jesus, is
not to return violence for violence. This man understands that to
claim Christ as our king requires us to move our center of being from
us to him; and if that means we are to be crucified, so be it.
The man who comes to this realization
is hanging on a cross next to Jesus. “Remember me when you come
into your kingdom.”
Jesus replies, “Today you will be
with me in paradise.”
There's been a lot written about this
deathbed confession, absolution, and promise of heaven, but I like
what Pope Leo the Great said about it: This promise did not come from
the wood of a cross but from the throne of power.
This is your king – beaten, bloodied,
tortured, and crucified.
This is your king – who turns the
shame of the cross into the grace of salvation.
This is your king – can you, like the
thief next to him, place a crucified Christ at the center of your
life?
Amen.
4 comments:
This is beautiful.
Quite a contrast with what we want from our leaders now.
Yeah . . . and at the service I went off script and talked about how "the world" wants a king to take them back to better, more powerful times. Hmmmm .... sound familiar?
Ah, yes. Make America...oh, never mind. As a matter of fact, the title for my blog for the day after election day was a quote from Edward VII. "And now we all have a new king."
Good luck with that.
Or, to quote The Who, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."
Except this one's most definitely not the same.
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