I'd like to reflect with you today on the Gospel reading that you will hear for Christ the King this Sunday.
Our Gospel reading will come to us from chapter 23 of Luke's gospel and we know it as the famous scene of the good thief and Jesus on the cross. And one of the first things to notice about this passage is how Jesus is told to save himself by coming down from the cross. We that if Jesus is the Christ to come down from the cross and save himself.
Most Kings tried to separate themselves from the suffering of their people. Jesus is one who enters most deeply into human suffering on the cross. Most Kings really sought lives of great luxury Jesus is someone who embraces the harshness of being crucified.
Jesus reveals himself as the true king the true presence of God in our midst but a king that is very different from the kings of the Earth so the kingship of Jesus is established on Calvary and our Lord defends that kingship.
It is in the midst of Jesus's reigning from the cross and being revealed to the world is Christ the King that one of the crucified criminals begins to ridicule him and begins to berate him.
You know if you are the king of the Jews save us and save yourself but he is rebuked by another criminal who stands up for Jesus who defends Jesus who acknowledges his own just punishment in the face of his own sin. This good thief experienced pain on the cross when acknowledged Jesus.
He professed Jesus's innocence and at the end of that exchange the good thief simply turns to Jesus and says remember me when you come into your kingdom and in response to that humble and honest petition for God's mercy Jesus assures the good thief that this day you will be with me in Paradise. The good thief was sincerely repentant and admitted to his wrong doing and had a genuine change of heart.
Now that passage teaches us a lot also about Christ the King a king who desires to reconcile and save every one of his lost and alienated subjects. Especially those like The Condemned criminal who are being discarded by the world.
So Jesus is manifesting the greatness of his mercy and his whole life has been defined by mercy. Hasn't it even in chapter 6 of Luke's gospel Jesus says be merciful as your heavenly father is merciful. Mercy is really the defining quality of God in Luke's gospel and Jesus is going to manifest his mercy to the very last moment of his life as he extends this offer of salvation. This promise of salvation to the good thief now what that tells us there's a couple of things.
The first is that like the good thief each of us needs to have that ability to respond to the moment of God's visitation in our lives. You know the good thief whatever it is that took place in his life this apparently was his first opportunity to meet Jesus and it happens in his very last moments of life. Nonetheless even in his last moments of life if this is his opportunity to meet Jesus he takes advantage of that opportunity he seizes that opportunity he acts on that opportunity and he reaches out for God's mercy and God's salvation.
The disciples who followed Jesus for years from the shores of Galilee. Jesus invited them in a very specific time and place and they responded to that invitation in that time in that place.
The Lord offers us that opportunity for discipleship it's up to us to say yes to it then and now rather than postponing such opportunities which may never resurface again. Today death bed conversions can lead to salvation if judged to be genuine, but they can be seen as a gamble. True repentance can be a process of transformation that can happen over a course of time, that gives us a chance to demonstrate that we have lived this life and shown that we have done the commandments of God.
We need to seize our opportunities whenever they happen even if it be at the last moment of life. That shows us how gracious God's Mercy is that God is willing to reach out and save and reconcile and redeem even during the final moments of the good thief's of Earthly life.
So Jesus is revealing to us what kind of a king he is of course it's up to us to choose to be his faithful subject in that kingdom of God. A faithful subject who mirrors the Lord's mercy to others who extends mercy to them in their moments of dire need.
Lord Jesus we come before you as Christ Our King we beg that we might always be faithful subjects of your kingdom obedient to you in every way welcoming your rule in our lives and every part of our lives every day we pray that we will be witnesses of your mercy and Justice in a world that seeks violence condemnation and employs ridicule rather than respect.
