Sermon: Christ the King, Luke 23:33-43
November 23, 2025
Faith-La Fe Lutheran Church
Pastor Jonathan Linman
Today is Christ the King Sunday. This gives us occasion to think about kings. Normally, we don’t dwell on kings much in the United States. Maybe we occasionally pay attention to other countries and their monarchies, especially England where not long ago they celebrated the coronation of King Charles III. Royalty fascinates us, but usually from afar.
In the US, we thought we put all this king stuff behind us 249 years ago with the Declaration of Independence. But here we are in 2025 witnessing a “No Kings” movement complete with marches and protests across the country in reaction to actions of the current occupant of the White House.
In the first 100 days of his presidency, our 47th president has already signed 143 executive orders, more than any other president had signed in their first 100 days. He is assuming control of the power of the purse, constitutionally located in Congress, not in the executive branch. Movements behind him support the notion of a unitary executive or an imperial presidency. Then there are the symbolic things, like the overly-gilded renovations to the White House – which we thought was the “people’s house.” And those plans to build a ballroom with a larger footprint than the White House itself. All of this is more suggestive of kings and monarchs than presidents.
In light of what’s going on currently in our country, it’s interesting to note the historic origins of Christ the King Sunday in the church’s liturgical calendar. Christ the King Sunday was begun in 1925 under Pope Pius XI in response to growing nationalism and secularism thus reminding the faithful that their ultimate allegiance is to Christ the King, not to any earthly kings or worldly powers. In the 1920’s political ideologies were emergent that claimed supremacy, including fascist movements in Europe. Christ the King as a liturgical observance was meant to counter these claims and movements.
If history doesn’t repeat itself, it certainly rhymes. We again are feeling the weight of would-be kings who want to dominate and subjugate others. This is true not just in Washington, DC, but in other countries with their strongman leaders. It’s a tendency in business – with the ascendancy of billionaires and all-powerful CEOs. And people and movements on both the right and the left sides of the political spectrum are prone to wanting to rule by enforcing their viewpoints on others. All of this divides and conquers among us and diminishes our quality of life as individuals and as a nation. And all of this suggests, too, that there are any number of people who would be king….
Thus, the prophetic words of judgment from Jeremiah in today’s first reading ring out with resonance to our contemporary ears: “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says the Lord.
And then the prophet, continuing to proclaim the word of the Lord, promises the coming of a different kind of leader: “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety.” (Jeremiah 23:5-6a)
Friends, we believe that this righteous Branch, this different kind of leader, is none other than Jesus Christ himself, whom we confess as both Lord and King.
Indeed, Jesus Christ, his teachings, his actions, his way of being and leading, stand in sharp contrast to the ways of kings in both the historical record and popular imagination. This radical difference is revealed most clearly in the choice of the gospel reading for this day: a portion of the Passion narrative from Luke focusing on Jesus’ crucifixion.
The crucifixion passage shows forth the true nature of Christ’s kingship:
Christ’s throne is the cross, not an overly stuffed, gilded comfy chair.
Jesus wore no royal clothing. In fact, he wore nothing at all because they cast lots for his clothing
Far from showing obeisance and fealty, and the usual showering on a king flattering accolades, those around Jeus mocked him – “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
The soldiers offered him sour wine. But earthly kings, according to popular imagination, normally receive the very best vintage of wine, not the dregs from the bottom of the barrel reserved for the poor.
And yet from his cruciform throne, Christ the King offered a royal decree – an executive order, if you will: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
This is entirely different from what we expect of kings who usually seek retribution and revenge. And yet, Jesus’ kingship, which turns our human expectations upside down, is what makes all the difference in the world and for the world.
As the apostle writes in today’s second reading, “[God through Christ] has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13)
And on the throne of the cross, Christ dies, and a dead king is taken to the royal bed chamber of a tomb, from which three days later Jesus emerges as a cosmic Christ, another image of kingship, but one that transcends our views of kingship. The resurrected Christ is not just king of a nation or a particular people, but is king of all creation, king of the universe.
Because the resurrected Christ reigns over the whole cosmos, we acknowledge Christ as King, and we erupt in song like that of the ancient hymn which forms a focal point of today’s reading from Colossians as we confess our faith: “[Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:15-20)
No earthly king in history or today can make such claims. And in Christ is the antidote to all the abuses of earthly, would-be kings. Where earthly kings bring violence and warfare, Christ the King brings peace. Where earthly kings rule in arrogance, Christ the King reigns in humility. Where earthly kings seek to subjugate and dominate others, Christ the King leads not by force, but by attraction in serving others. And on and on the list of contrasts can go. But the qualities of Christ’s kingly reign make for healing, for wholeness, God’s shalom, holistic well-being for all people and for all of creation.
And Christ still reigns with us today. Remember what we heard in today’s gospel, the repentant criminal on the cross said to the Lord, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.” To which Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Today. Not pie in the sky in the sweet by and by. But today.
Today, we, too, have a taste of this paradise at the royal banquet of the Eucharist right here, right now. Christ our King hosts us at this table of grace, giving us the gift not of sour wine, but the best wine saved to last which is the gift of Christ’s very self, his real presence. Christ gives us the bread that does not go stale, the bread of his flesh that stays fresh for eternity.
Christ as King also reigns over us at our baptism, when we are adopted as God’s children, Christ’s loyal and royal subjects as disciples, his followers.
Christ our King reigns and holds court in the reading, preaching and study of his holy, scriptural Word and continues to pronounce us forgiven, even when we don’t have a clue about what we’re doing.
In faith – a faith inspired by his very resurrected life breathing in us via the Spirt – we pledge our allegiance to Jesus, confessing our faith in Christ as king not just in our words, but in our deeds, our cruciform loving care of our neighbors in need as we also seek God’s justice for them.
We confess and reveal Christ as King when we offer bags of essentials to our neighbors without homes.
We laud Christ as King when we fill bags and boxes with groceries for those who fear going to the grocery store because of the threat of deportation.
We show forth Christ as King when we volunteer, as many of us shall, for “Meatsgiving” at Mount of Olives Church where we will help to provide food for those experiencing food insecurity.
We pledge allegiance to Christ as King when we pray for each other and care for and look after each other, especially those most vulnerable among us who live alone.
We pay our vows to Christ the King through our financial giving which supports our congregation’s mission, but also that of the wider church, synodically, nationally, and internationally, as the love of Christ rules through our church’s generosity in supporting those in need all over the world and right here at home.
And on the list could go of how we honor and serve Christ the King by honoring and serving others in loving deeds.
So it is that we proclaim to our current-day world our version of “No Kings.” In our case, it’s no king but Jesus, who came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for all people and creation.
Blessing, honor, dominion, praise, worship and adoration be to Christ, our loving King, now and always, from ages unto ages. Amen.
