Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King 2016 - St …

1 Our lord Jesus christ , Universal king 2016 As we honour Jesus christ as the Universal king today, we see him in Luke s Gospel hanging on his throne which is his cross. In a sense we are there because whenever we celebrate the Eucharist, the crucifixion of Jesus could not be more present and our participation in it is utterly real. St Luke tells us that there are three groups of people there. Perhaps a question to ask is "With which of the three groups do I identify? The first group is the majority of the people who would have been there for a variety of motives, which I am sure is the case at any public execution. They simply stand and watch, which means contemplate the horrific and paradoxical scene. Then there are the leaders of the people of Israel, who jeered at him and invited him to save himself if he is the christ of God, the chosen one.

2 These were the religious ones who were testing his claim to be the Messiah. A claim that, for them, would be completely denied as a possibility if he died on the Cross. Along with them were the soldiers who had a more political view. They were not really interested in whether or not he was the Messiah. They wanted him to save himself if he was the king of the Jews, the one with political authority. The Jewish leaders and the soldiers would have gone away disappointed. We are here because he did not save himself. He died an horrific and disgraceful death in every sense. Yes, we know that he did rise from the dead on the third day and his resurrection makes him the king of the Universe but today we are united with that crowd of people as they watch and contemplate Jesus at that high point of his Kingship dying on a cross.

3 His death as a king is crucially important. Yes, it may seem contradictory and paradoxical to those without faith but to us it is an indispensable truth. With his throne as a cross and his crown made of thorns, Jesus as God unites himself with the brokenness and fragility of being human. In his death on the cross he is perfectly united with sinful and suffering humanity, he shares the fractures that divide us and submits himself to the death that terrifies us all. What the leaders and soldiers miss is the fact that as he experiences the pain and shame of the cross his life and power as God connect with our brokenness and sin removing its destructive power filling creation and humanity with the power of divine life, which is the presence and action of the Holy Spirit. The cross is about Jesus pouring out his life as God to complete his Father s work of creation so that we might be perfected and fulfilled.

4 No other king could do this. No other king has done it. As St. Paul describes so beautifully as we contemplate the crucifixion of Jesus , we contemplate the one who is the image of God and the one through whom all things are made. He is the blueprint of creation and humanity and therefore the one who holds all things in perfect unity. By his death on the cross he is king because in that death he reconciled all things and makes perfect peace. Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist give us a share in his kingship. We are kings with him. That kingship gives us the responsibility to work with him to bring about the reality of the kingdom which he established. That is our role as Christians. I would suggest a few challenges. The first is to be one with the crowd contemplating the cross. Only in faith and prayer will we come to appreciate more deeply why the disgraced and shameful figure on the cross is the king of the Universe.

5 As we gaze we are contemplating the one who is the image of God. Paul reminds us that Jesus is the one in whom all things are created. That is why our lives and decisions must be shaped and directed by his word and message. That means everything from our political view to our personal morality. Jesus is king because he is the way and truth which lead to life. Paul also mentions unity, reconciliation and peace as being essential fruits of Jesus s saving work. Through faith and the power of the Holy Spirit, our first responsibility is to be people who work in all things for that connectedness which establishes peace, respect and that balance for which our world is desperately searching.