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Already we hear Christmas songs here and there. Stores have Christmas trees and decorations.
Last week, we also had Christmas decorations. So we are in the mood of Christmas.
But the passage we read today is far from the Christmas mood. This is the passage you will read during Lent, not during Christmas season.
Yes, this passage belongs to the Lenten season. But the lectionary chose this passage because it is Christ the King Sunday today. According to the lectionary, today is the last Sunday, and the new year begins from next Sunday, the first week of Advent.
In today’s passage, what was the message Luke tried to get across?
I see the kingship in this passage. The kingship is the main subject.
When you hear the word, “king”, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
It is the power. The power to rule. The power to reign. The power to control.
Without the power, the king is not a true king. Power is the essential element of the kingship.
In today’s story, Luke was talking about the kingship, but strangely in the story, you don’t see the power of Jesus.
That was why soldiers mocked Jesus. They couldn’t imagine a powerless king. So, they put the crown of thorns and put the purple robe on him, and they said this.
If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself! (Luke 23:37)
“If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
This phrase echoed throughout the whole passage. Soldiers said it. Bystanders said it. And one of two criminals who hung on the cross with Jesus said it.
People at the scene scoffed at Jesus. Soldiers mocked him. One of the criminals derided him.
Their voices echoed through the place called Skull. The Skull, Golgotha, and Calvary – they all refer to the same place. In Aramaic, it is Golgotha. In Latin, it is Calvary.
If you are the King, save yourself. This is the unchangeable truth. They shouted.
They couldn’t reconcile the image of a king and a helpless man hanging on the cross.
To save others, you should first have the power to save yourself. That was a firm belief people held.
Even Now! They believe that you have to have the power to save yourself to save others.
Their belief was enacted in their heroes like Superman, Superwoman, Spiderman, and so on. They all had the power to save the world.
They wanted Jesus to show his power.
Followers of Jesus wished Jesus had shown the power at the last moment. The bystanders were also curious whether Jesus would display that power.
The cross was the testing ground of the power. They were waiting for a spectacular miracle at the last moment.
Jesus did a wonderful miracle before. Would he just die helplessly?
Simon talked a lot about the Blue Jays. At the end, we just needed one base hit or one deep fly ball.
I thought they would reenact what they did in 1993. Philadelphia 6 and Blue Jays 5. The bottom of ninth inning. And Joe Carter hit 3 run homer.
But this time, they didn’t.
Also, Jesus didn’t. Jesus simply died with no power to show.
Yes, Jesus didn’t show the power. But what did Jesus show on the cross instead?
FAITHFULNESS!
Yes, that was what Jesus showed. Jesus did not give what the power-hungry world wanted. Jesus did not give what they expected.
Faith and faithfulness are not the same thing.
Faithfulness is faith in action. Faithfulness is enduring with faith. Faithfulness is persevering without losing hope.
Jesus showed that, and that is what we need.
You don’t always experience good things in life. We don’t always have power to take care of ourselves. Our future can be very uncertain. Our circumstances change rapidly.
But we have faith that God will never abandon us. We have faith that we will ultimately win. That’s why we live faithfully.
We don’t compromise on injustice. We don’t compromise our values to fit in this world. We hold on to the truth Jesus taught us. Even though we may be surrounded by hopeless situations, we will be faithful.
Salvation is possible not when you have power. Salvation is possible when you are faithful.
Jesus saved us not by his power. Jesus saved us by his faithfulness.
What did Jesus’ faithfulness do?
Jesus’ faithfulness released God’s power. That is the resurrection. Your faithfulness will release God’s power.
When you hit the rock bottom of your life, what will save you is not the power.
Hitting the rock bottom means you have to power to deal with your situation. You won’t have any power there.
When you are at the end of life’s journey, the only thing left for you is not power but your faithfulness. What will save you is your faithfulness. God will lift you up.
Faithfulness is power too but different from the raw power. It is the power to walk through storms, fires, and wild water.
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. (Isaiah 43:1, 2)
It is the power to overcome all kinds of circumstances.
Nothing will destroy you. Nothing will overwhelm you. You will go through trials, but in the end, God will lift you up.
Paul described Jesus’ faithfulness in this way.
…though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8)
That was Jesus’ faithfulness.
What did God do?
Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)
My friends, be faithful, and you will not be disappointed.
Be faithful, you will see the power of salvation. Be faithful, your life will be strong like a rock.
Another criminal who was with Jesus on the cross entered into the paradise through his faithfulness.
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