Christ the King Sunday

Sunday is Christ the King Sunday. It’s not a day that typically gets a lot of attention; in fact, it’s easy to overlook or skip over in the midst of all the other events of this season.

But Christ the King Sunday marks the end of the church year (unlike our regular calendars, the church year begins with the 1^st Sunday of Advent). So, Christ the King Sunday is something like the church’s New Year’s Eve. It’s a day when we look back, remembering everything that has come before, and it’s a day when we look forward with eager anticipation for what is still to come.

If you look at the scriptures for Sunday, you might be surprised that we find ourselves on the mountaintop of Golgotha (or maybe more accurately the hilltop of Golgotha). Jesus is nailed to the cross, speaking with the criminals being crucified beside him.

And for anyone looking on, the obvious question is, how did we end up here?

How did we go from a baby born in Bethlehem and placed in a manger, to that same man hanging on a cross?

How did we go from a man walking beside the Sea of Galilee calling his disciples to come and follow to that same man dying a humiliating death of a criminal?

How did we go from a man offering healing and forgiveness in the streets to that same man dying a horrific and painful death on a cross?

After all, just a few days before this scene at Golgotha the crowds gathered to wave palm branches and lay down their coats proclaiming, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”

Just a few days before everything seemed on track for Jesus to be coronated as the King of the Jews, as the Messiah, as the one for whom the people had been waiting for generations.

But now, Jesus is being crucified on a cross side-by-side common criminals.

Given our typical picture of kings, on Christ the King Sunday, we would expect a more kingly reading. Something from the Book of Revelation, perhaps, about Jesus decked out in splendid robes and a jeweled crown. Or something majestic from Isaiah: "A son will be given to us, and the government will rest upon his shoulders." Or at least a shiny moment from the Gospels: Jesus transfigured on the mountaintop. Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus emerging from the waters of baptism, heaven thundering in his ears.

But no. The King that Luke gives to us is one who hangs upon the cross.

And yet, that is exactly the King we need.

Grace and peace,

Kimmy