Jeremiah 23:1-6 Canticle 16 Colossians 1:11-20 Luke 23:33-43

“For in him, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of the cross.”  [Colossians 1:19-20]

Once again, we have come to the end of our yearly journey with Jesus throughout his earthly ministry.  We have been guided through this previous year by the inspired words of the writer of Luke’s Gospel.  This last Sunday of the Church year is designated Christ the King Sunday.  We are more fortunate than most church goers throughout the world.  For, whenever we come together for worship, and particularly today, we have as our focus point – Christ the King, depicted in our magnificent Christus Rex, a gift to our parish from generations past.

And so, we kneel before this symbol of our salvation – Christ, who has redeemed us sinners once and for all by his one perfect sacrifice; Christ, who is victorious over death and the grave; Christ, the king who draws us into his kingdom, into the grace of these open arms with nail-scarred hands – pleased to receive us into the arms of his mercy as affirmed in the words of our epistle lesson.

Yet, to fully rejoice in our looking up to our victorious king, we first take time on this Sunday of Christ the King to look down through the words of our Gospel account of details of the Crucifixion.  With deep contemplation, we close our eyes and force our focus on the humiliation; the torture; the broken, beaten, bleeding body of Jesus, lashed by the whips of Roman soldiers; his lips torn by the gravel and his bloody wounds encrusted with the filth of the rocky path on which he has fallen under the weight of the cross he carried.  Then, lifted upon that cross, we hear the soldiers continue to mock him, “Save yourself, King of the Jews!”

Now, still focused on this abhorrent image, hear again and inwardly digest these words from the epistle to the people of Colossae: “In him, (Jesus Christ) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of the cross.”  [Colossians 1:19-20].  The fullness of God dwelt in Jesus Christ – God was pleased to dwell in Jesus Christ.  And, through Jesus Christ, God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things – God was pleased to suffer, even to suffer the horrendous death on the cross.  God was pleased to suffer so that each of us, regardless of our sinfulness and perceived lack of self-worth, would be assured of God’s love and of our redemption, even the thief hanging beside Christ on the cross.   God was pleased to suffer so that each of us is redeemed and “transferred into the kingdom of his beloved Son,” our savior Jesus Christ.  [Colossians 1:13b] There, in his kingdom our souls find true peace.

Most of us have sat by the bedside of a critically ill or terminally ill loved one – child, or spouse, or parent, or sibling, or friend.  All we can offer is our presence, maybe a cool cloth to wipe a feverish brow, or an extra blanket, or a foot rub.  We want so much to bring whatever small amount of comfort we can offer.  Even to the point of physical and emotional exhaustion, out of pure love, we are pleased, even honored, to make this simple sacrifice.  Through Jesus Christ, God, in his perfect love, was pleased to suffer so that we might be reconciled to him.  God was pleased and is pleased to suffer for you – a child of his creation.

Thus, today we celebrate.  God has triumphed over the physical pain and humiliation – even the earthly death, that we all fear.  Christ Victorious – Christ the King smiles down upon us; even as we, ourselves, have participated in his crucifixion, in his mockery; even as we continue to divert our eyes from the path to which he calls us to follow him – the path that brings the peace beyond our human understanding.

The great irony of the cross – peace through the blood of his cross; Christ victorious over all our fears – victorious over death.  God is pleased to suffer for our redemption; through his one perfect sacrifice, we are gathered into his kingdom – transferred from the power of darkness.

There, in these loving arms with nail-scarred hands, we are at peace; and, we are the vessel of God’s peace, we are the presence of the peace of Christ in the world.

God is pleased to dwell in us.  In praise and thanksgiving, with our time, talent, and tithe, we are pleased and honored to return to God a portion of his blessings as we, too, are gathered into his kingdom.