A Powerful Reversal
November 24, 2024 Christ the King/Commitment Sunday
Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church
Luke 4:1-13 and Luke 23:32-43
“A Powerful Reversal”
Douglas T. King
“Every tree was in full flower. Every fruit was ripe, every food was in yield profusely; every fragrance was pleasant. And the four rivers were flowing past with gentle movement, and with every kind of garden producing every kind of good food. And the tree of life is in that place, under which the Lord takes a rest when the Lord takes a walk in paradise…” (Culpepper, p. 458) This is a description of paradise from the Second Book of Enoch, an ancient religious text that is part of the Jewish apocalyptic tradition. It is attributed to the biblical figure Enoch, who was said to have been taken up to heaven and shown divine revelations.
The word for “paradise” in the original Greek means garden. In our text from the Gospel of Luke this morning we hear Jesus, in the midst of being crucified, making a promise to one of the criminals by his side. “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Prior to this, we hear of Jesus being mocked. The soldiers offer him sour wine and derisively say to him, “If you are the King of the Jews save yourself!” They completed their mockery of him with a sign over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” There is irony and power in Jesus’ statement to the criminal, inviting him into the garden of paradise.
William P. Brown notes, “…The kings of the ancient Orient…took pride in their horticultural skills…Any king worth his salt had to excel in handling the sword in one hand and the garden spade in the other. The cultivation of land for human settlement was of particular importance to kings, for it advanced the claim of the monarchy against raw nature as well as symbolically furthered the king’s claim over foreign territories. Indeed, both Egyptian and Mesopotamian rulers frequently boasted of having cultivated certain botanical species from the foreign lands they conquered, claiming these transplants flourished better in their own gardens than in their native environments. Such gardens were literally victory gardens. (Brown, p. 32)
Gardens were symbols of domination and power in the ancient Near East. They demonstrated a ruler’s ability to take from enemies and control the levers of nature. They were a point of boasting and pride. Gardens were an opportunity to shout out to the world, “I am King! I can dominate and control everything!”
And here we have Jesus. As he is being led to his death, his only words are those of reconciliation. “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” What kind of victory garden could he possibly be offering?
Of course, you and I know he is no ordinary king of the ancient near east, or any kind of king throughout history. Jesus does not achieve his purposes by dominating with brute force. He leads us to the destination by surrendering himself. Jesus’ power is in his willingness not to exert control over others but to offer himself to all others. And thus, welcome us into right relationship with God.
He reverses the polarity on the nature of power. We tend to think of power as having the force to get others to do what we demand that they do. Power allows us to take what we want to achieve our ends. Jesus reveals the power that is found in being willing to sacrifice oneself. This form of power is used not to take, but to give. This form of power gifts us with boundless grace.
Today is Christ the King Sunday. This liturgical day was created in 1925 by Pope Pius the Twelfth and has been adopted by a number of Christian traditions. This is the final day of our liturgical calendar as next week we move into Advent. On this day we are called to remember who truly reigns; to whom we owe our ultimate fealty. We recognize this day not by reading of Jesus Christ on some heavenly throne, but by reading of Jesus on the cross. We see Jesus Christ as a ruler whose power is demonstrated not by what he takes but by what he gives.
Today is also the day when we dedicate our stewardship pledges and name our commitment of discipleship. We are often defined by what we have, not by what we give. We are often defined by the power we have over others, not the sacrifices we make for others. This is a day when we as a community remind ourselves that how the world defines us is not how we define ourselves in Christian community. In Christian community we define ourselves not by what we have but by what we give of ourselves.
Long before Jesus is on the cross he had to struggle with how he would define himself as a savior. In our first reading we heard of Jesus grappling with his choices in the wilderness. He is tempted to use his power to feed himself with bread. He is tempted to use his power to have political might. He is tempted to use his power to protect himself from all harm. Jesus chooses not to use his power to provide for himself; to wield political authority over others; to inoculate himself from the vulnerabilities of mortality. Jesus chooses to be defined not by what he takes from the world but by what he gives to the world.
On Christ the King Sunday we complete our liturgical year and we are gifted with a provocative portrait of who Jesus Christ was and continues to be; a sovereign who demonstrates power and authority by what he is willing to give away, everything, including his very life.
This day as we also dedicate our time, talent, and treasure before our God it is a compelling testimony demonstrating who we are. Today we are not defined by the power we have over others but in our demonstration of our obedient fealty to another, to our God. Today we are not defined as individuals apart from others but as members in the long line of the faithful who for generations have come forward to serve. Today we are not defined by what we possess but by what we have pledged to share with others for the greater glory of God. Today we are given an opportunity to celebrate not what we have individually, but the paradise, the great garden of God, that has been gifted to us to share.
May we come forward in generosity and in joy, giving of ourselves, and in doing so, may we be some small reflection of our sovereign, our savior, Jesus Christ.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Brown, William P., Interpretation: Ecclesiastes, Westminster
John Knox Press, Louisville, 2000.
Culpepper, R. Alan, The New Interpreter’s Bible: Vol. IX,
Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1995.
Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church
Luke 4:1-13 and Luke 23:32-43
“A Powerful Reversal”
Douglas T. King
“Every tree was in full flower. Every fruit was ripe, every food was in yield profusely; every fragrance was pleasant. And the four rivers were flowing past with gentle movement, and with every kind of garden producing every kind of good food. And the tree of life is in that place, under which the Lord takes a rest when the Lord takes a walk in paradise…” (Culpepper, p. 458) This is a description of paradise from the Second Book of Enoch, an ancient religious text that is part of the Jewish apocalyptic tradition. It is attributed to the biblical figure Enoch, who was said to have been taken up to heaven and shown divine revelations.
The word for “paradise” in the original Greek means garden. In our text from the Gospel of Luke this morning we hear Jesus, in the midst of being crucified, making a promise to one of the criminals by his side. “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Prior to this, we hear of Jesus being mocked. The soldiers offer him sour wine and derisively say to him, “If you are the King of the Jews save yourself!” They completed their mockery of him with a sign over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” There is irony and power in Jesus’ statement to the criminal, inviting him into the garden of paradise.
William P. Brown notes, “…The kings of the ancient Orient…took pride in their horticultural skills…Any king worth his salt had to excel in handling the sword in one hand and the garden spade in the other. The cultivation of land for human settlement was of particular importance to kings, for it advanced the claim of the monarchy against raw nature as well as symbolically furthered the king’s claim over foreign territories. Indeed, both Egyptian and Mesopotamian rulers frequently boasted of having cultivated certain botanical species from the foreign lands they conquered, claiming these transplants flourished better in their own gardens than in their native environments. Such gardens were literally victory gardens. (Brown, p. 32)
Gardens were symbols of domination and power in the ancient Near East. They demonstrated a ruler’s ability to take from enemies and control the levers of nature. They were a point of boasting and pride. Gardens were an opportunity to shout out to the world, “I am King! I can dominate and control everything!”
And here we have Jesus. As he is being led to his death, his only words are those of reconciliation. “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” What kind of victory garden could he possibly be offering?
Of course, you and I know he is no ordinary king of the ancient near east, or any kind of king throughout history. Jesus does not achieve his purposes by dominating with brute force. He leads us to the destination by surrendering himself. Jesus’ power is in his willingness not to exert control over others but to offer himself to all others. And thus, welcome us into right relationship with God.
He reverses the polarity on the nature of power. We tend to think of power as having the force to get others to do what we demand that they do. Power allows us to take what we want to achieve our ends. Jesus reveals the power that is found in being willing to sacrifice oneself. This form of power is used not to take, but to give. This form of power gifts us with boundless grace.
Today is Christ the King Sunday. This liturgical day was created in 1925 by Pope Pius the Twelfth and has been adopted by a number of Christian traditions. This is the final day of our liturgical calendar as next week we move into Advent. On this day we are called to remember who truly reigns; to whom we owe our ultimate fealty. We recognize this day not by reading of Jesus Christ on some heavenly throne, but by reading of Jesus on the cross. We see Jesus Christ as a ruler whose power is demonstrated not by what he takes but by what he gives.
Today is also the day when we dedicate our stewardship pledges and name our commitment of discipleship. We are often defined by what we have, not by what we give. We are often defined by the power we have over others, not the sacrifices we make for others. This is a day when we as a community remind ourselves that how the world defines us is not how we define ourselves in Christian community. In Christian community we define ourselves not by what we have but by what we give of ourselves.
Long before Jesus is on the cross he had to struggle with how he would define himself as a savior. In our first reading we heard of Jesus grappling with his choices in the wilderness. He is tempted to use his power to feed himself with bread. He is tempted to use his power to have political might. He is tempted to use his power to protect himself from all harm. Jesus chooses not to use his power to provide for himself; to wield political authority over others; to inoculate himself from the vulnerabilities of mortality. Jesus chooses to be defined not by what he takes from the world but by what he gives to the world.
On Christ the King Sunday we complete our liturgical year and we are gifted with a provocative portrait of who Jesus Christ was and continues to be; a sovereign who demonstrates power and authority by what he is willing to give away, everything, including his very life.
This day as we also dedicate our time, talent, and treasure before our God it is a compelling testimony demonstrating who we are. Today we are not defined by the power we have over others but in our demonstration of our obedient fealty to another, to our God. Today we are not defined as individuals apart from others but as members in the long line of the faithful who for generations have come forward to serve. Today we are not defined by what we possess but by what we have pledged to share with others for the greater glory of God. Today we are given an opportunity to celebrate not what we have individually, but the paradise, the great garden of God, that has been gifted to us to share.
May we come forward in generosity and in joy, giving of ourselves, and in doing so, may we be some small reflection of our sovereign, our savior, Jesus Christ.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Brown, William P., Interpretation: Ecclesiastes, Westminster
John Knox Press, Louisville, 2000.
Culpepper, R. Alan, The New Interpreter’s Bible: Vol. IX,
Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1995.
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