The King Has To Go (Lk 23: 35-43)

Celebrating Christ as king of the universe with a reading about his crucifixion seems contradictory at best.  For, one hardly expects a powerful king to be treated in such a cruel and shameful manner.  The contradiction is even more dramatic in view of the royal treatment Jesus had received just a short time before.  As Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on his donkey, his followers threw their cloaks on the road before him and proclaimed him a king sent from God: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord” they shouted.  The people adore Jesus as a king sent by God on one day, and just a short while later, demand his execution as a common criminal who threatens Caesar and the Roman Empire.

This dramatic shift in their treatment of Jesus has roots in the general expectation about the coming messiah, and these expectations were not completely unfounded.  Through the prophets the people had come to expect a messiah who would be a political liberator as well as a religious leader. The prophet Zechariah, for example, had proclaimed that their savior would come to them riding on a donkey.  He would banish the warrior’s bow and proclaim peace to the nations, and his dominion would go to the ends of the earth (Zech 9: 9-10).  Thus, the idea that Jesus was the one sent by God to liberate them from their oppression and slavery by the Romans was evident in their joyful welcome of his arrival in Jerusalem.

Gradually, however, many of his followers came to realize that Jesus preached a very different message in both word and deed.  For one, rather than live as a mighty warrior and powerful king, Jesus lives as a hermit for forty days in a desert.  Afterward, he visits a social outcast named John and asks John to baptize him.  Jesus then travels the countryside as a homeless person, preaching the good news of salvation.  He has no place to sleep, let alone a country estate.  He eats with tax collectors and sinners, and enlists the aid of women to lead his mission.  He even treats women as equals—hardly the mark of royalty in his day.  Indeed, a woman anoints his feet with tears and oil, rather than his head as the high priest would anoint a king of this world.  And, Jesus praises her act of love.

In fact, Jesus promotes a kingdom not of this world, where membership is freely granted to faithful servants, not earned by loyal subjects, and where love rules supreme, not power and wealth.  Many of his followers looked for a political warrior, not a spiritual teacher, to save them from Roman oppression, not from the slavery of sin and death.  Those who listen do not understand nor do they accept his message that love of God and love of neighbor go hand in hand.  Serving others as the way to love God is not in their vocabulary.  His message thus becomes a threat to the power and control of the religious leaders among his own people, and a threat to the profitable collaboration they enjoyed with the Roman government.

And yet, this is the message that Jesus delivers over and over.  He informs his followers that the Son of Man came to serve, not to be served.  He tells them that they must not lord it over others.  For, the greatest among them must be the least, the one who washes the feet of the others.  Jesus demonstrates though word and deed what participation in the kingdom of God entails.  He heals the sick; he cares for the poor, the vulnerable, the marginalized; he challenges injustice; he insists that mercy and compassion overrule custom and ritual; he sums up the entire Torah with the dual command to love God and to love neighbor.  

Jesus is the obedient Son who is one with the father and keeps his word.  Jesus shows his followers how to share the same intimate relationship with the father that he has.  Jesus does the father’s will, rather than build lavish castles, and tells his followers that they must conduct their own lives in the same manner.  Those who love Jesus will keep his commandments, and he and the father will abide in them.  Their treasure is not silver or gold, but an everlasting life of peace and joy.

Soon, we begin our Advent preparation for the coming of our great King, Jesus Christ.  We do this with full awareness of what participation in his kingdom really means.  Following Christ means picking up the cross of self denial, rather than a royal scepter of power.  It means having an active regard for others out of love for God.  It means developing and nurturing an ambition for that which has everlasting value.  As Paul reminds us in his letter to the Ephesians, following Jesus means living a life worthy of the gift and calling that we have received—living in peace and unity, with patience and humility, bearing with one another through love—in the Spirit of Christ our King (Eph 4:1-6; cf. 2 Pt 1:10-11).

What you don't see is what you get (Lk 17:20-25)

            When Jesus says to his disciples that, “The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed,” he makes clear the idea that the kingdom of God is not something tangible, like a building or a territory.  He further explains that the kingdom is not something that will appear suddenly at a moment in time.  Rather, Jesus explains that the kingdom of God is already present among us, although not necessarily in its fullest sense.  Jesus is also revealing that the kingdom of God is something that is felt, perceived, and experienced.

The idea that the kingdom is already present had meaning for those who lived long ago as much as it does for us today.  Most did not realize that living in the presence of Jesus was the same as living in the presence of God.  Those who lived in covenant with God, however, sensed that they were living in the kingdom.  For those who perceived Jesus as the incarnation of love itself also realized that they were living in the kingdom of God. The Apostle John relied on this same revelation when he taught the early Christian community that “whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him” (1 Jn 4:16).  For us today, the kingdom of God is present through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit guides us to follow the example of Jesus in our love for each other and for all of creation.  In this respect, our imitation of Jesus and love for each other make the kingdom of God present among us.

Jesus never reveals what the kingdom of God will look like in its fullest sense.  He merely affirms that the kingdom will come.  Although Jesus initiated the kingdom of heaven through his own life and mission, he seeks other laborers for the vineyard, those who work in the present for the harvest of the future.  Jesus invites us to continue his work of building up the kingdom by making God fully present in the here and now.

But, Jesus is not looking for grandiose effort on our part.  Our contribution will often come in very ordinary ways through the performance of ordinary duties.  Jesus is our model.  He tells us in the Beatitudes, for example, that we build up the kingdom with a helping hand, a kind word, a compassionate response, a decision to forgive, a desire to love others—all in imitation of him and his love for others.  For that reason, we build up the kingdom each time we renew our commitment to be just and good to others, especially to the poor and vulnerable members of society.  We build up the kingdom by daring to be Christ to others, even though it makes us uncomfortable, even though others do not appreciate our effort, and even though we may not see the result. The result will be God’s work and not our own.

In the meantime, Jesus invites us to enter the kingdom.  He invites us to enter a relationship with God our Father and with each other, a relationship built on love, mercy, kindness, and compassion. Accepting his invitation means placing our total trust and confidence in God our Father, who works all things to the good.  When we accept this invitation to follow Jesus, once again we make the kingdom of God present among us.

Hang in There--The Only Way to Go (Lk 13:31-35)

          There are basically two ways to approach life when things get rough.  We can either cut and run, or hang in there and be true to our purpose.  There is a story in Luke’s gospel that illustrates these two different approaches.  As the story goes, some Pharisees warned Jesus and wanted him to cut and run because Herod was out to kill him.  But, Jesus would have none of it.  Instead, Jesus turns this warning on its head to show Herod what he was about—healing and reaching out to those in need.  “Go and tell that fox,” Jesus says in reply, “Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings…” (Lk 13:32).

His compassionate love for those in need is what motivated Jesus to come in the first place.  Healing those who are wounded and broken is the will of his heavenly Father, and Jesus is driven to carry out his Father’s will, even at the cost of his own life.  He reveals this passionate aim when he says to his disciples: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work” (Jn 4:34).

Jesus’ passionate love for the Father’s will motivates his lament over the stubbornness of Jerusalem.  Jesus is keenly aware of Jerusalem’s need for conversion, and he cries because the only reason conversion will not come is due to the stubbornness of the Israelites.  This sadness of Jesus is borne out of love, not out of judgment. Jesus is profoundly troubled because, if Jerusalem does not convert, eventually Jerusalem will abandon God.

All of this serves to remind us of our own call to conversion and how we might respond.  At times, we too resist and ignore God’s call because we prefer our own interests rather than the will of God.  Too many reasons account for why our vision gets obscured in this way.  We are not alone in our struggle, however.  Jesus understands the reality and the difficulty we face. 

At two very critical moments in his life when things got rough, he too was tempted to pursue his own interests rather than the will of God. This temptation was more intense at the beginning of his mission during his sojourn in the desert, and again at the end of his mission during his agony in the garden. His unwavering response in both cases, however, provides the sure example for us to follow, especially his prayer in the garden:  Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me—yet, not my will but yours be done (Lk 22:42).

This can be our prayer as well.  No matter how rough things get for us, Jesus guarantees the outcome.  He makes this clear to the scholar who asks, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus tells him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind—and your neighbor as yourself…do this and you will live” (Lk 18:26-28). The proof is in the pudding.  If God is for us, who can be against us?  Nothing and no one can separate us from the love of God because God is never failing in his love for us.  Basking in the love of God is the only way to go, especially when life gets rough.