November 24^th 2019. Feast of Christ the King

GOSPEL: Luke 23:35-43

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini broadcast on Vatican Radio

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Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel

GOSPEL: Luke 23:35-43

The rulers sneered at Jesus and said,
"He saved others, let him save himself
if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God."
Even the soldiers jeered at him.
As they approached to offer him wine they called out,
"If you are King of the Jews, save yourself."
Above him there was an inscription that read,
"This is the King of the Jews."
Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying,
"Are you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us."
The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply,
"Have you no fear of God,
for you are subject to the same condemnation?
And indeed, we have been condemned justly,
for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes,
but this man has done nothing criminal."
Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . For the Feast of Christ the King, the Church presents us with the account of Jesus hanging on the cross. This prompts us to ask: what kind of king can this be, nailed to a piece of wood? The people in the Gospel scene are asking the same question in different ways! First of all the religious leaders demand that he save himself. Religion seeks a Messiah, seeks salvation, but the kind of salvation they are looking for here is an earthly kind of salvation: health, wellbeing, worldly success. Then the soldiers assail Jesus. They are looking for a king with political power. They want him to show his power by coming down off the cross. Then the “bad” thief begins to insult Jesus. He wants a Christ who will bring an end to his suffering. He represents all of suffering humanity who cannot understand the absence of God and cries out for assistance here and now. It is essential to note that Jesus does not reply to any of these. Finally the “good” thief turns to Jesus. He admits his guilt and acknowledges Jesus as a king, asking to be remembered when the Lord would come into his kingdom. Unlike all the others, he does not ask to be taken down off the cross! Now, finally, Jesus replies! “This day you will be with me in Paradise”. The good thief entered into a relationship with Jesus. So long as we are with Jesus we are in paradise. Now we see the power of Christ! Now we experience true salvation! We are saved when we enter into relationship with Jesus and remain with him. That is paradise.

The “religious” leaders demand that Jesus bring the sort of salvation that the world wants: health, wellbeing, worldly success. The soldiers demand that Jesus manifest his political power: come down from the cross and defeat your enemies! Jesus refuses to reply to either.

To celebrate the universal kingship of Jesus, the Church presents us with a paradoxical Gospel, the one in which Jesus is crucified! On the cross there is an epitaph: "King of the Jews". Is this, then, the throne of the King of the universe? In the passage Sunday, Jesus is insulted in various ways. The religious leaders tell him: "He saved others! Let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, the chosen one”. They do not deny the miracles of Jesus. Rather, they testify that Jesus indeed saved others. But it is not enough for them. What they are demanding is a religion that provides well-being, health and eliminates suffering. This is how a "chosen one" should behave! But Jesus gives no answer to these taunts. The soldiers, for their part, represent the power of Rome. The verbal insults that they aim at Jesus, in fact, are all about power: "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!" Show us that you are a king! Behave like a powerful man! What kind of king are you? Jesus gives no response to those who taunt him from a “religious” perspective and those who taunt him from a political perspective.

The crucified criminal represents suffering humanity who cries out to God for salvation but who is not changed in the process

Then one of the crucified criminals intervenes. He represents suffering humanity, hanging with Christ on the cross, with all of its problems and bitterness. "Aren't you the Christ?" he says. It should be noted that this thief, like the religious leaders, testifies that Jesus is the Messiah! He continues: "Save yourself and us!" Come on, act as Messiah! Take us out of this situation! What this poor man is asking for is very understandable. All of us, in moments of difficulty, cry out to heaven saying: "Do something for us! Why don't you help us? What kind of God are you if you don't save me?" Jesus does not respond to this man either.

By contrast, the good thief does not ask to be taken down from the cross. He acknowledges his own guilt and he confesses that Jesus is King. The only thing he asks for is that Jesus remember him.

Finally, the other evildoer enters the picture, and reproaches his companion: "Have you no fear of God, you who are condemned to the same fate? We were condemned justly, because we get what we deserve for our actions; but he did nothing wrong". This man is aware of at least two things: firstly he knows that he has done grave wrong, and secondly that he is in the presence of an innocent man who does not deserve to be there. But then he says a lot more: "Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom". So he acknowledges that Jesus, this man crucified beside him, is really a King! The soldiers asked Jesus to show his power by coming down; the religious leaders asked him to effect the kind of salvation that they wanted; but this poor criminal does not ask to be taken from the cross. Instead he says: "Remember me in your Kingdom". If you don’t forget me, then that will be enough. He asks for nothing else.

Now Jesus finally replies! Now we see his power! If we are with Jesus then we are on the road to paradise, regardless of present suffering. This is the power of the Christ

Now Christ finally speaks. It is important to note that he did not reply to any of his other interlocutors, but only to this thief.  But what a curious answer! "In truth I tell you: today you will be with me in paradise". What the thief had really asked for was a place in his heart, for a relationship with him. Being with Jesus means entering paradise. Today. If we are with Jesus then we are already in heaven. Today together on the cross, today together in paradise. The point is being with Christ. For this self-confessed criminal, the darkness becomes a tunnel with a light at the end. Suffering is still there, but there is also light. Now he knows where he is going because he knows who he is going with. In fact, St Paul says, "If we die with him, we will also live with him; if we persevere, we will also reign with him" (2 Tm 2,11). The real issue is being with him. With Jesus, the cross becomes the door of paradise. This is where his true power lies!