Scripture reflection for the Solemnity of Christ the King:
2 Samuel 5:1-3
Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5
Colossians 1:12-20
Luke 23:35-43
And just like that, we find ourselves once again back at Calvary.
For much of this year, we’ve followed Jesus as he has journeyed toward Jerusalem. We’ve heard prophecies and parables, met strangers and saints, and absorbed timeless teachings that are engraved in our hearts. We’ve learned about Samaritans and barn builders, mustard seeds and beggars.
And then this Sunday, confronting the stark reality of the cross, we hear a crucified criminal make one last request: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
We realize with a shock that the criminal may not just speaking for himself. He could be speaking for each of us, as we pray for our place in paradise, asking for mercy and looking with hope toward the king who wears a crown of thorns.
It’s a sobering way to close a liturgical year, yet it’s also rich with anticipation and purpose. This week, we remember Christ’s death; next week, we begin Advent and the preparation for his birth. A new cycle begins. The great story of our salvation goes on.
But when we hear the words of the man next to Jesus at Calvary, do we realize where we have been and what we have learned? In a powerful and urgent way, the kingdom Jesus commands isn’t all that distant. It’s one we have been hearing about all year.
Just think about it.
Christ’s kingdom is a place where the question “Who is my neighbor?” is answered with one word: “Everyone.”
It is a place where tax collectors are holy, the powerful are locked out of paradise, and where the poor are saved.
It is where the humble are exalted, where servants are wise, where the rich are foolish, and where sometimes the most important thing a person can do is just sit at the feet of the Lord and listen.
Looking for Christ’s kingdom? There it is.
Traditionally, we think of this Sunday’s feast as the great capstone of the liturgical year, and a triumphant affirmation of Christ’s twin role as monarch and savior. Whatever powers may dominate this world, and whatever rulers may try to exert their influence on our lives, we are reminded that only one head of state truly matters: the king on the cross.
But maybe there’s another aspect we need to hold onto.
Maybe we need this Sunday to take it all in and realize what it all has meant. This Sunday is for remembering where Christ the King has taken us, and it’s for looking ahead to where he wants us to go. It’s a good time to reflect on all those Sunday readings that have taken Jesus to Jerusalem, and reconsider what he has taught, who he has met, and how those chapters from Luke’s Gospel have left a mark on our lives and our souls.
It’s a time to retrace our steps, and the steps of Jesus, and appreciate how vast and overwhelming Christ’s kingdom really is.
Significantly, we are also nearing the end of the Holy Year – it officially comes to a close on the feast of the Epiphany, Jan. 6. This is an opportune moment to realize that, like Jesus, we have all been on a journey, too, as “Pilgrims of Hope.” As we prepare to conclude that pilgrimage, we look back with thanksgiving – and look ahead with faith, with trust and, yes, with hope.
And we do it with an anguished gaze toward our King, bruised and bloodied but gazing back at us with profound, merciful love.
“Jesus, remember me…” We hear the words and can’t help but whisper them ourselves and hope we can somehow make ourselves worthy of that transcendent, beautiful, grace-filled kingdom.
Deacon Greg Kandra is an award-winning author and journalist, and creator of the blog “The Deacon’s Bench.”
