Proper 29 :: Jeremiah 23: 1 – 6 / Psalm 46 / Colossians 1: 11 - 20 / Luke 23: 33 – 43
This is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
on November 20, 2022 by Fr. Gene Tucker.
“THE END OF THE KINGDOM, OR JUST THE BEGINNING?”
(Homily
text: Luke 23: 33 – 43)
At
first glance, the choice of our appointed Gospel reading for this Sunday might
seem to be a bit strange: After all, as this Church Year draws to a close with
this Sunday, which is called “Christ the King Sunday”, shouldn’t we be reading
and hearing some of Jesus’ statements about His eventual return in glory,
things that we might read in John’s Gospel account, for example, statements
like, “…if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take
you to myself, that where I am, you may be also.” (John 14:3) Instead, our
appointed reading is the account of the conversation between Jesus and the two
thieves that were crucified with Him on Good Friday.
On
the surface, this choice doesn’t seem to make much sense, not until we read far
enough to hear Jesus say to the thief who repented, “Today, you will be with me
in Paradise[1].”
Ah.
What the Lord is saying, in essence, might be this: “This isn’t the end of
things, though it may look like it now. There’s more to the life of the kingdom
that will follow, and you will be part of it.” I think that’s a fair way to
recast what the Lord said.
From
a purely human point-of-view, there isn’t much hope for any of these three
victims, hanging on crosses. They will all be dead within a short time. Their
lives will cease to exist. There won’t be any kingdom, not by this reckoning.
The
events of Easter Sunday morning change all that. The Lord’s rising from the
tomb, with his physical body completely intact, is God’s declaration of victory
over that great and final enemy, death. The Lord now shows us that He has power
over all things, and the power to take to Himself anyone who comes to Him in
faith, as that thief on the cross did on Good Friday.
The
kingdom that began with the Lord’s coming to us as a baby, born in Bethlehem,
ushered in the first chapter in the accounts of the coming of the kingdom. It
breaks into our human condition quietly. It grows, one person at a time, as
each one, individually, comes to faith in what God is doing in the sending of
His Son.
Now,
the kingdom’s second chapter begins to unfold, as the Lord is nailed to a cross
on Good Friday. No doubt His enemies, who conspired with Pontius Pilate to have
Him eliminated, thought that first chapter was over and done with. Not so.
Jesus rises from the dead, ushering in the second chapter in the coming of the
kingdom. Now, this kingdom will spread over all the earth, and its citizens
will be people of varying ethnicities and racial groups. This kingdom will no
longer be bound to the confines of the Holy Land, nor will its citizens be those
of Jewish birth.
In
time, this kingdom’s concluding chapter will come to be, as the Lord returns in
power and great glory, and everyone on earth when this event takes place will
see it and will understand its meaning and importance.
For
that day, we watch, hope and pray. For that day, we prepare by faithful living
and faithful witnessing to God’s power to bring the kingdom into being, one
person, one heart, one mind, at a time.
AMEN.[2]
[1] It might be a good idea to understand how the word “Paradise” is used in
Scripture. In II Corinthians 12:4, St. Paul (probably speaking of himself)
describes being caught up into the third heaven, into God’s presence, in
Paradise. Then, in Revelation 2:7, Paradise is described in terms that are
reminiscent of the description of the Garden of Eden, with its Tree of Life
(see Genesis 2:9). So Paradise seems to be a place of refreshment and
blessedness where God dwells.
[2] It’s no accident, I believe, that the themes that have been described here, the Lord’s first coming as a babe, born in Bethlehem, and His eventual Second Coming in power and great glory, form the two major themes of the coming season of Advent.
