33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. [[34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”]] And they cast lots to divide his clothing. 35 And the people stood by watching, but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
Luke 23:33-43
39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.” 43 He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
My sermon from Christ the King Sunday (November 23, 2025) on Luke 23:33-43.
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So when I was in high school, my chemistry teacher shared with us a bit of wisdom that became a kind of in-joke for me and my friends. We were, at the time, talking about hydrogen bonding which – if I’m honest – I can no longer fully explain. It’s – I think – what happens when a hydrogen atom sort of inserts itself between another pair of atoms, forming a connection that is a big part of who we get to be in the world. This bond explains why water – which is necessary for life – is sort of strange with its unexpectedly high boiling point as well as having its solid form (aka ice) being less dense than when it’s a liquid. But hydrogen bonding really shines when it comes to the building blocks of life since it allows proteins and DNA to be a certain kind of shape needed for our life to be lived. Hydrogen bonding was something we went over all the time in class and we often struggled seeing it when it showed up. And so my teacher told us whenever we were stuck on a question, the answer was usually going to be hydrogen bonding. This became a kind of mantra for my friends and I for the rest of the school year. If we didn’t have the answer for a question in chemistry or any other class, we’d simply say it’s hydrogen bonding. There’s a bit of comfort, joy, and hope that comes with having some answer whenever we’re faced with a question we can’t solve. And in our reading today from the gospel according to Luke, Jesus gives us a word that gets to be our answer too.
Now as I said during my children’s sermon, today is the last Sunday of this church’s year and our lectionary – the three year cycle of readings we use in worship – picked this moment on the Cross as the capstone for everything that came before. After arriving in the city of Jerusalem to celebrate the religious festival Passover, those with power did their best to end the story of the One who had become a thorn in their side. Jesus was betrayed, arrested, tried, and sent to be crucified which was a punishment reserved for those who were convicted of undermining Roman control and rule. And while we often act as if the Jesus movement was primarily spiritual, his followers and those around him would disagree. Jesus’ commitment to the poor, the marginalized, and those we see as undeserving – was viewed as a threat to an Empire who believed they would be the ones who ruled the world. They were the ones blessed by the Divine to bond others to their will. The Empire would tolerate religious and ethnic groups arguing amongst themselves about who they wanted to be but if any group acted as if something other than the Empire was on top, they would soon face the full military, political, and economic might of Rome. This context, I think, helps to put into perspective the behavior of those around Jesus on that fateful day 2000 years ago. Everyone assumed – and acted – as if Rome was a winner and being a winner is what we want to too. If Jesus was who he said he was, folks believed he’d overcome Rome the same way Rome overcame everyone else. And if Jesus was letting these outsiders end His story, he couldn’t be as good or as powerful or as holy as others claimed him to be. Some around Jesus appreciated what he said and did but his willingness to empty himself of power to show what God’s love will always do was a step too far for those who knew how fragile life could be. Choosing to be vulnerable when he had the option to be anything but wasn’t something we, in his place, would do. We, instead, would rather be the king, queen and ruler of our own lives rather than admit how life often reminds us of how human we truly are instead.
And so in the midst of it all, Jesus did something different. He refused to let those trying to end his story change who he was going to be. Even during this very difficult moment, he embodied what a true king should do. Jesus offered mercy and forgiveness to those who sought him harm and listened to the one who was convicted of the same kind of crimes as he was. When one of the criminals asked Jesus to exert his power in very overt and visible ways, the other simply asked Jesus to be remembered when Jesus arrived in a kingdom he assumed was still far away. And it was at that moment when Jesus responded with a word that was a bit shocking, mysterious, and strange. He told the one who was, like him, suspended between life and death that – today – he would be with Jesus in paradise. And yet we know they weren’t in paradise at that moment and Jesus’ resurrection and ascension were still on their way. Whenever we find ourselves – or our loved ones – suspended between life and death, we want “today” to really be “today. We want this heartbreak to not be the capstone of who we knew them to be. The word “today,” then, becomes our hope, our longing, and our prayer. Yet Jesus throughout the gospel according to Luke proclaimed a today that is much more mysterious, immediate, and powerful. We first notice it way back in chapter 2 when angels announced to shepherds in the hills outside of Bethlehem that a new kind of king had entered into the world. Then, when Jesus grew up and preached his first recorded sermon, he shared that a word from God about good news being delivered to the poor, captives released, and the year of the Lord’s favor was fulfilled today. The community, in response, nearly drove Jesus off a cliff since he also said God’s grace is often given to those we refuse to be graceful too. And later on when Pharisees warned Jesus a king appointed by Rome wished him harm, Jesus promised he would keep bringing good news today even though the Cross was on its way. As his ministry continued, a wealthy tax collector named Zaccheaus went to see Jesus who then told Zaccheaus he would – today – welcome Jesus into his home. And when Jesus got there, Zacchaeus gave away half of what we had and promised to restore to others 4x whatever he had taken from them. Then, the evening before today’s reading, Peter saw Jesus’ words – “before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times” would come true even though Peter promised he would never leave Jesus’ side. The word today throughout Luke was always more than an immediate promise for something coming around the bend. It was, instead, an acknowledgement that Jesus’ presence had already transformed this moment into something brand new. He is – right now – with us – and by being with, that is the capstone to who we will always be. The promises Jesus made to us through baptism and faith is a bond that becomes our answer even when our lives feel suspended by what we have done and what has been done to us. This answer won’t make life easy, peaceful, or completely comfortable but it is the hope that will carry us through every one of our days. And while we will often be tempted by what we think power, money, and strength might give us, Jesus’ mercy and forgiveness will bring you into the next chapter God has written for you. The bond we have in Jesus is a bond that shows what true power looks like in our world. And when we are lost, nervous, worried, and unsure of what’s next, Jesus is the answer for what our life – today and tomorrow – will always be.
Amen.