Christ the King Sunday, Immanuel Chapel, Luke 23:33-43
Suspended over the chancel of Zion Lutheran Church, Albert Lea, Minnesota is a hand carved figure of Christ on the cross. He does not wear the crown of thorns. A monarch’s crown rests on his head. He does not wear a loincloth. He is dressed in a royal robe. He is Christ the resurrected king.
Before Jesus was Christ the King, enthroned at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities and powers subject to him, he was Christ the crucified enthroned on a cross. There he was subjected to the jeers and sneers of his own people and the soldiers of Rome. Before his cross was ever set between two candles in a church, his was set between two criminals. Before his cross ever occupied a place on the altar of a church named Immanuel, or Hope or Grace, the cross was his altar of sacrifice. Before God highly exalted him, he humbled himself and took his place on an executioners’ hill called “The Skull.” Before every knee in the universe would bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is “Christ the Lord,” men would bow down in mockery and scoff “If you are the Christ of God as you say, save yourself.” Because he refused to save himself, He saved us, even those who mocked and scoffed.
He was born a Savior, whom God would give the throne of David. He was “good news of a great joy that will be for all the people.” He was a sign for the fall and rising of many. With the Spirit of the Lord upon him he came to “proclaim good news to the poor,” “liberty to the captives,” sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed and “the year of the Lord’s favor.” To be crucified, the sinless one in the midst of sinners, he set his face toward Jerusalem that we might see the glory of God in his face. In Jerusalem, the city named peace, he would find no peace that we might have peace and reconciliation with God. He was delivered into the domain of darkness that God might transfer us into the light of Christ’s kingdom. In Him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell that we might dwell with God fully in eternity. “Christ suffered for sins, once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God,” blameless. Through his resurrection God made him King of kings and Lord of Lords. He brought into being the year, the never ending year, of the Lord’s favor.
Not least among the reasons he came was to dethrone all other kings and Lords to whom we are subject and who demand our allegiance. A painting by James Jangknegt is entitled Cast our Crowns.” Jesus is sitting on a throne crowned as Christ the King holding the Book of Life. His bearded face radiates light. Before him people are lined up waiting to cast their crowns onto a pile already knee deep around Jesus’ throne. Some are holding their symbols of royalty while others are wearing theirs, reluctant to give them up until the last moment. We need to decrown ourselves that we might be crowned with the crown of life. We sing, “Crown him with many crowns.” However, when we look into ourselves where Christ would reign in our lives, we find that we have areas in which we follow Napoleon Bonaparte, who on December 2, 1804, crowned himself emperor. We crown ourselves with the many crowns, splitting our allegiance to Christ the King with that of lesser monarchs. As Simeon in the temple, blessed the child Jesus, he told Mary, his mother, that the salvation he now held in his arms would reveal the thoughts of many hearts.
Bernard of Clairvaux, lived in the 1100’s. His words help reveal the thoughts of our hearts even 900 years later. He quotes the angel who appeared to Mary. Her child “Will reign over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom there would be no end.” Jacob’s name revealed what was in his heart. He was a “usurper.” He put himself in the place of his brother Esau and took what wasn’t his to have. Bernard of Clairvaux writes, “Are there any among us who… will let God take the place of the devil in our hearts, struggle against our vices and desires, so that sin will not reign in our bodies, but Jesus alone will rule, through grace now, through glory for all eternity?...”Greed comes along and claims its throne in me; arrogance would dominate me; pride would be my king. Comfort and pleasure say: ‘We shall reign!’ Ambition, making myself greater while making others less, envy, and anger fight within me for supremacy, and seem to have me entirely in their power.”
At the end of the day, when we look inside ourselves to see what we have done, we will see that we added another heap of sin to Jesus suffering on the cross. We need be horrified and frightened how easily we have dethroned him and allowed the power of evil to once again establish its dark domain in our thoughts, words and deeds. With fear in our hearts we confess, “My God, my God, what have I done?”
In the light of what we have done, we look to Jesus on the cross. Christ the King is also Christ the Compassionate. The first words he speaks from his cross on The Skull in the gospel of Luke is, “Father, forgive them, for they know what they do.” Should we not have known that is what Jesus would pray? From the beginning, Luke’s gospel promises “knowledge of salvation…in the forgiveness of sins.” John the Baptist proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. When friends tore open a rooftop and lowered a paralyzed man into the room where Jesus was teaching, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.”
Jesus death on the cross covers all our sins. For in truth we do not know what we are doing; whether we sin deliberately not caring about the burden we add to Jesus cross or sin ignorantly like the Roman soldiers or out of weakness, or like the disciples just haven’t caught on to who Jesus truly is and why he came. Out of his great compassion Christ died that we might have forgiveness in any and all cases.
Then in his second words He answers the penitent criminal, who asks, “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus promises, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Jesus promise extends far beyond one sinner. In the forgiveness of sins Christ the crucified, Christ the Compassionate, Christ the resurrected King is also Christ who keeps his promises. Through faith, we are with Jesus in paradise today. Wherever his gospel is, there is paradise, now and forever. Jesus promises, “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
We conclude with a prayer by Bernard of Clairvaux, “Oh that Jesus, out of his great love he has for his people, would remember me, a sinner, when he comes into his kingdom! Oh that he may deign to come and save me on that day when he delivers up his kingdom to his God and Father, so that I may see the joy of his chosen ones and rejoice in the gladness of his people. Then I too shall be able to praise him together with his inheritance.”
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