Christ the King, Nov.

21st, 2010
(2 Samuel 5:1-3; Colossians 1:12-20; Lk. 23:35-43)

The story of David’s selection as king is traced to the Lord who had said “You
shall shepherd my people Israel; you shall be commander in Israel.” The choice of
David is thus regarded as fulfilling some previous nod by God for David to be king.
The scene here makes it look like a smooth and easy decision.
But David’s rise to power was far more complicated than that. 2 Sam 3
describes it as a long, drawn-out war between the House Saul and the House of
David. Reading 2 Sam 3-4 is necessary preparation for discovering how King David
came to power. The path is strewn with dead bodies and women enough to make
most people blush, were we not living in the world we do, where shock at how
people come to power hardly yields a yawn. Biblical King David has few rivals
from the modern world who could compare with his record of violence and deceit
before he came to power.
The assassination of Ishbosheth, a son of Saul who succeeded Saul
temporarily as king, left “the throne” vacant. When the assassins brought the head
of Ishbosheth to David at Hebron, David reacts with horror by having the assassins
themselves killed for such a dastardly deed. After cutting off their hands and feet
David hung them up by the water source in Hebron as a show of power over those
who would mess with him. With that, the warring parties from all the tribes of Israel
come together to anoint “David king of Israel.”
The kingship of Jesus is born in the shedding of blood too...his own. The
scene of Jesus on the cross in dialogue with the two criminals is unique to Luke.
The rest of the scene is built on Mark’s rendering of the crucifixion. In the scene
Jesus is taunted by “rulers”, by “soldiers” and by one of the “criminals.” Each in
some way refers to “being saved” and argues that Jesus ought to save himself. The
irony is that salvation comes precisely in losing the self, as Jesus has made known
throughout his ministry. Saving the self comes by losing the self.
Another aspect of the scene is that the salvation given by this King is active
even after death. When the criminal asks to be remembered when Jesus comes into
his kingdom, Jesus assures him “Today you will be with me in paradise.” The
nature of the kingdom of Jesus is radically different than that under David, Israel’s
great king. David’s was one of this worldly power. The kingdom of Jesus, though
active in this world, disdains what this world has to offer in favor of much more.
 And this brings us to Paul’s letter to the Colossians in which Paul uses a hymn
already in existence which reflects on the nature of the kingdom of Jesus. It is a
kingdom which brings about redemption and the forgiveness of sins which no
earthly kingdom can do. Moreover, it is the inheritance of those deemed fit to share
in it by the Father.
The hymn reflects quite a developed concept of the nature of Jesus as “image
of the invisible God, firstborn of all creation...head of the Church...before all things
and in him all things hold together...firstborn from the dead...reconciling all
things ...”Scholars disagree on the origin of the hymn, some thinking it may have
been an early baptismal hymn. Whatever its origins, it shows how reflections on the
nature of Jesus soared in the first ten to twenty years after his death and
resurrection. “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Fr. Lawrence L. Hummer