Luke 23:33-43

Laterally Luke…Christ the King (Last S after Pentecost) 2019…Rev2019

N.B.: From next Sunday (Dec.1st) please see: matthewinthemargins.blogspot.com

Is it reasonable to begin by asking what relevance Christ has as King in a day when kings or monarchs of any kind are pretty few & far between? When there are leaders elected democratically, dictators of various kinds, some pretending to be democrats, & others making no pretence at all.  Does Christ fit into any of today’s pictures? Isn’t He His own unique picture? Don’t we have to work within that frame. His frame?

Is there a Divine irony in that, though God is no democrat, in our passage people get to vote for who would not be their King? Jesus wins; His prize a cross. The Jewish leaders at the foot of that cross get to vote again. Still they vote against Him. As does the first bandit up there beside Him. The second, though, votes for Him in a way that resounds down the ages.

When Pilate sets free the person the crowd asks for, is he simply freeing the un-God in us all? A consequence of choosing not-God instead of God?

When Jesus tells the second of His fellow-crucifieds he'll “be with Him in Paradise today” let's not be diverted into thinking of life with God only starting when we die. We can choose to live every day in ‘Paradise' - God's garden - if we choose God as our King. Our True Ruler, day in, day out!

Talk of Paradise reminds us of the mythic Eden, where God rules un-questioned till those physical & spiritual forbears of ours choose otherwise. Do we all have to live - & die - with the consequences not only of their bad choices, but our own, too?

What does our call to live out Jesus’ Rule mean in down to earth terms today? Not in the Middle East, but where we ourselves live? A Rule that’s all about living in a dynamic relationship with God?

To recognise Jesus as King is an earth-shattering, life-changing, life-giving experience. Two last questions: ‘Is that a risk worth taking?’, &, ‘Is it an even greater risk not to take it?’  

Brian 

Afterthought: Wasn’t it Farouk, the deposed king of Egypt, who’s reputed to have said there’d soon be only five kings left - the king of England, & those of Hearts, Diamonds, Spades & Clubs? Oh, Farouk, you seem to have forgotten the One King who really matters!