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This past Sunday was Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of our Church year; Advent marks the beginning of the Church year. The Church year starts with us waiting in anticipation for the one to come; the one who will be our Messiah, our king. The year ends with our proclaiming Jesus as our Christ, our king. The Gospel text we used is a portion of the passion of Jesus according to Luke. We may think this is a rather strange passage to use if we are proclaiming Jesus as king. Earthly kings may offer pardon. But only Jesus offers us pardon and release from our captivity to sin. Only Jesus offers redemption; the promise he makes to the thief - Jesus offer to us as well: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Jesus says this to the thief who is being crucified with him. The cross is the scepter upon which Jesus reaches out and touches us. The touch of this scepter, a symbol of divine authority, grants us pardon and forgiveness of our sin. We are no different than the thieves who are hanging on their crosses. We are sinners. Our sin convicts us and it is this sin upon which we are crucified. Jesus is the covenantal Passover sacrifice given for us, which redeems us from sin death and the devil. We are released from our cross and granted life eternal by the blood of Jesus on his cross. Christ our king extends this scepter of his authority to us so we may be touched by it and redeemed, freed from our captivity of sin and released from the cross we bear. +
We pray: We acclaim and profess - Christ is our King! When we are shackled by the chains of sin, we seek your redeeming presence in our lives. Help us to be like the thief who confesses his wronging and repents. Help us in seeking Jesus’ promise of pardon and redemption. As we hang on our cross, we pray to you Christ our King: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” In your Holy Name we pray. Amen.
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