Of all the festivals of the church, has not this one come the latest
and borne the most diametric images—among them the royalty of a king/the
humiliation of a cross, the brutal mockery/the truth of the “King of the Jews”
sign, the reverence due an earthly king/the torture of this divine king, the
power of an earthly king/the submission of this divine king, an earthly king
ruling people/the divine king giving his life for them? Do these contradictory
images not personify the kingdom of God? Even if our culture did understand the
concept of kingship, would not this one turn everything on its head? – Robin K.
Brown
Luke 23:33-43
As we contemporary Christians
clamor for more political control, celebrate our increased economic successes,
and master the skills of big business, one wonders whether we are still able to
see what the condemned criminal on Golgotha could see: the kingship of Jesus,
the crucified one. Has our vision been blurred by our intoxication with worldly
forms of power? Which kingdom finally claims our allegiance?. . . .
Luke's beatitudes promise the
kingdom to the poor, the hungry, those who weep, those who are hated, reviled
and defamed. In what ways do we resemble these blessed of God? How do our power
struggles in both church and culture reflect the cruciform values of the
kingdom of Christ?
The church urgently needs to
recover a vision of the kingdom of God that can be only clearly seen from the
angle of the cross. From this place alone will we be able to hear Jesus say to
us, as he did to that dying criminal, “you will be with me in Paradise.” – Michael A. Van Horn
Jeremiah 23:1-6
When the president of the United
States enters the House chamber to deliver [the] State of the Union address, all present,
regardless of their party, stand and applaud. Though many will disagree with
some or all of the president's statements, this initial applause is a
recognition of the office of president that goes beyond the current incumbent
in the office.
In modern times, the church has
been blessed to have popes who were holy and moral men. Yet in ages past, even
when the . . . bishop of Rome was a far less worthy man, Catholics would still
address him as “Your Holiness.” Again this is a recognition of the office of
the papacy, not a statement that the individual pope was in fact holy. . . . – Joseph McHugh
Colossians 1:11-20
Jeremiah . . . [turns] our attention to the awaited messianic king.
The gospel reading shows us the crucified Jesus ushering in the climax of
salvation history, the reconciliation of all men and women in him.
This hymn of praise acknowledges all that Christ the King has done to
establish the kingdom of God, of which, by the shedding of his blood, we are
privileged to be part. Jesus is the image of the invisible God and the
firstborn of all creation. All things find their fulfillment in him. By our
baptism we have been incorporated into Christ the King; we have become a holy
nation and a royal people. – Joseph McHugh
Robin K. Brown, a Lutheran pastor, is the Associate
Director, ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal at the ELCA headquarters in
Chicago.
Joseph McHugh is
a freelance writer from New Jersey, and a former weekly newspaper columnist writing
on lectionary readings whose writing includes a revision of Rev. Melvin L
Farrell’s Getting to Know the Bible (ACTA Publications, 2003).
Michael A. Van Horn,
an Evangelical Covenant pastor, served Trinity Church of Livonia, Michigan, for
ten years and is now a missionary with the Rock of Ages Ministries, Cleveland,
Tennessee.
Homily
Service 40, no. 12 (2007): 58-68.
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