25/11/07 (Christ the King)
Colossians 1:11-20
Luke 23:33-43
The two readings for today could hardly be more contrasting. The Colossians passage shows the divinity and majesty of Christ; the Luke passage shows his vulnerability and 'disgrace'. They need to be together. It is the crucified Christ who holds all things in heaven and on earth together, and it is one by whom and for whom all things were created who hangs there on the cross. The one who contains all the fullness of God is the one who suffered and died that shameful death. That tortured, dying man is the one who reigns over all, then and now - the King not just of the Jews but of every race. This is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.
If only we could understand a bit more of the height and of the depth of Jesus! We tend to diminish both, and see less of his majesty and less of his lowliness. The truth is that it is impossible to exaggerate how great he is, or how low he came for us.
The height and the depth are our salvation. If Jesus were not as high as God, he could not bring us up to God. If Jesus were not lower than the lowest, there would be some people out of reach of salvation. But Jesus is fully God, and because of that we know that he can reconcile us to God. And Jesus went to the depths of degradation in his crucifixion, and because of that we know that none of us are too sinful to be made right with God - not even the dying criminal, who admitted he deserved to be crucified, who knew he could do nothing to make amends, but who nevertheless dared ask Jesus for mercy.
The height and the depth come together in one word: Love. Jesus is King of Kings by nature and by right. He came to earth and to crucifixion for love alone. As St Paul said, he is 'the Son of God who loved me and gave his life for me.' We need to grasp the amazing nature of that love, and to see that it is focussed not just on the world but on each of us as individuals. God loves me! So much that he came down from the highest heights to the greatest depths of pain and shame, of death and hell, to open the gate of heaven for me! Do I deserve that love? Never in a million years!
We dare not take that love for granted. Jesus is the King of Kings, and he made that supreme sacrifice just so that he could raise us up with him to enjoy the greatest privileges as beloved citizens of his kingdom. But we have to respond. Such a future does not come automatically. We cannot go on our own sweet way as if what Jesus has done is only a rather pleasant gesture. We must do the decent thing: to respond with gratitude and trust and commitment to him as our Lord and master, our King and our God - and to allow ourselves to be filled with his love and to be his agents in the world he came to save.
Questions:
1) 'If Jesus is God and died for me, nothing can be too much for me to do for him.' Do you agree? If not, why not?
2) How do you respond both to Jesus' majesty and to his cross?
3) What would help the church to reflect Jesus' majesty and his love a bit better?