Today I came across a sermon which focused on Christ the King as it was Christ the King Sunday in the revised common lectionary this past week. I was never one to go gaga for the pericopal system but today I found it particularly apropos. You can read the full text of the sermon here but I want to focus in on one quote...
"On the cross we don’t see a legal transaction where Jesus pays our debt. We see God. The Word made flesh hangs from the cross. And let there be no mistake – this is Christ the King."
What a reminder. So often when I think about the crucifixion I focus on the result of the act. Sins paid for. Wrath poured out. The typical ideas and realities that are the result of that moment. But that is jumping the gun. It's moving past the reality of the situation. Hanging on that cross wasn't just a sacrifice that brought forgiveness it was God. Christ the king on his throne.
As we move into Advent it's so easy to jump the gun. We like Jesus as a baby but in the back of our minds we know where the story is going and it is so easy to miss the reality of the moment. That's why this Sunday's pericope and that sermon were so apropos to me, they made me focus on the situation, not the result.
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