Christ the King
17th November 2022
When they came to the place called “The Skull,” they crucified Jesus there, and the two criminals, one on his right and the other on his left….
Above him were written these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”
One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
The other one, however, rebuked him, saying, “Don’t you fear God? You received the same sentence he did. Ours, however, is only right, because we are getting what we deserve for what we did; but he has done no wrong.” And he said to Jesus, “Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King!”
Jesus said to him, “I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me.”
From Luke 23
This Sunday is kept by some churches as the festival of Christ the King. I wonder what ‘Christ the King’ brings to mind for you? We have a window in the church I go to with the image of Christ in glory seated on a throne, with an orb and sceptre in his hands in the centre, surrounded by saints and angels. I like to look at it – I find that the look on the face of Jesus draws me in, and I find it quite reassuring to think of Jesus in that position of authority.
The window is loosely based on the passage in the book of Revelation which speaks about a vision of one seated on a throne in heaven, surrounded by saints and angels worshipping. I wonder how you imagine that vision – the awesome figure on the throne – the huge throng of worshippers… If you were in the scene, I wonder where you would picture yourself standing? Maybe somewhere at the back – happy to be there but a long way from the throne…
There is a different image of Jesus as a king in our reading. The thief next to Jesus on the cross says ‘Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King’. he is looking to the future – but the Roman soldiers have already put a sign above Jesus saying ‘The King of the Jews’. Jesus was already a king, even on the cross – maybe especially there – the king of love, overcoming all the forces of evil.
And this same Jesus – Christ the King – is the one we see in the gospels living, eating and sleeping with his disciples, mingling with the crowds in the temple, giving himself to the people he encounters.
This Jesus is not away in the distance on a throne. He is there alongside people in their villages and their houses, walking with them, sitting next to them, living alongside them.
If we think about the royal family in this country, we may think that we know them, but really they are very separate from us – we feel very privileged if we meet them just for a few minutes. We may hear little stories which claim to tell what they are really like, or we may watch the imagining of their lives in The Crown on Netflix but we can’t really know them.
Jesus is different. He is not distant from us, or unknowable. He is ‘as close to us as breathing’. We are not at the back of a crowd peering to get a view – we are invited to become more and more aware of his presence with us and within us, in the depths of our lives.
And his kingdom is different too. Jesus warned his followers not to just look out for the kingdom somewhere in the future. ‘The kingdom of God is among you’ he said. This kingdom is not pomp and ceremony, but more like the quiet hidden activity of yeast, or a handful of seeds sprouting and growing.
I still find the image of Jesus in the window reassuring. I think it is more assuring because this Jesus who is pictured reigning in heaven is also the Jesus who I am learning to see alongside me every day. Somehow he brings the authority of his kingship – his gentle and loving kingship – into my life now. And I am invited to trust too that the one that I am coming to know now is also the one whose look of love will welcome me into the fulness of his kingdom one day.
Close our eyes… and imagine Christ the King … and now become aware of the presence of this same Christ with us and within us here…
Jesus, our king, help us to trust in you. Help us to trust in your presence with us each day. Help us to learn to accept the intimacy which you offer to us…
Jesus, our king, help us to recognise the work of your kingdom now, wherever you are bringing transformation and growth and new life. Give us grace to be part of that kingdom of love…
Jesus our king, we long for the fulfilment of your kingdom, however that will be. And we pray that we – and those that we hold in our hearts – may know your welcoming look of love in the fulness of that kingdom…