Kingdom or Kin_dom

If you are like me you may have slipped up a few times when mentioning Charles recently: I’ll say Prince and then correct myself. It has taken me a bit of time to get out of the habit after such a long time. I wonder if he is still pinching himself with his new responsibilities. But it might beggar the question What type of place exists with this King: a kingdom or kin_dom?

How is Christ the King?

When we consider Christ the King on Sunday 20th Nov (Luke 23:33-43) do we seek Christ as an earthly monarch, mirroring the positive attributes of the Kings we know, with our understanding of Christ? Or do we see Jesus as one whom all monarchs of the world should pay heed to? I am not sure that some leaders of this world would wish to even acknowledge Jesus let alone pay homage.

Which leaders might? Could we add suggestions in the comments below?

Perhaps we are reminded that we ourselves should allow Jesus to reign in us. So not possibly as a King but using the Kingdom phraseology book. All this is remarkably dated language, don’t you think?

Jesus, as a King, offers free paradise tickets to the criminals

Our new Prime Minister has sought integrity to be his watchword, and then found that the Government might regret using such a statement as every negative headline clashes with this. It is as if the global headwinds of the previous Prime Ministers (please keep up) stalk us and them at every turn.

In our passage from Luke, even the soldiers surrounding the Cross seem to mock him, attributing the title of King as if to ridicule the watchers-on. What type of place do the soldiers exist within: a kingdom or a kin_dom?

The actions of a King?

Jesus is seemingly acting as an overthrown King. He has criminals at either side of him. But rather than going for the fake news headlines, “my case was rigged”, “they all had it in for me“, he turns to asking for forgiveness for them. It should be mentioned that this line isn’t in the earliest manuscripts and might have been added by the author(s) of this Gospel. His captors continue the mocking but – unrecorded – not of the Empire protesters.

Where they also seeking freedom from Roman rule, just like so many people today who are wishing not to be despised, rejected by their national authorities? I’m thinking of the women in Iran and Afghanistan, the transgender community in the UK – they merely wish to flourish as individuals. Do we seek a kingdom or a kin_dom?

The first criminal appears to want their freedom and hopes that Jesus will secure it for all of them, whereas the second criminal recognises that they were guilty as charged but believes that Jesus is innocent. I understand that jail in Roman days meant frequent visitors as they had to feed you, so they might have received news of Jesus through family and supporters.

The Cross

They are on their own cross. Traditionally, the Cross would have been one stake which held the whole body up. The Romans added the cross beam, not as a nice artistic touch, but to slow down the death, making it even more painful and lengthy. The closer they nail your hands to your head, the faster you’re going to die. The further they put them out they stretch it out (more time to live)*1. The criminals are offered vinegar – not myrrh, so no anesthetic . Not really the treatment for a King.

So the Criminals ask that Jesus should save himself, there is anger and vengeance from the soldiers. But with Jesus there is asking for forgiveness, there is listening to the suffering of the criminals and hope for the future – all whilst on the Cross.

As we have recently seen at Remembrance, we might pray for those who fought on our side and not our opponents, we might read our Gospels and like the Pharisees, say that we are not like those people: but Jesus offers free paradise tickets to the criminals. So who goes to paradise with Jesus?

Is this the Kingdom or Kin_dom?

Perhaps ‘the king’ conjures in our minds that earthly monarch whereas the King here is one who is so very different. I prefer not to use Kingdom due to these perceptions of grandeur. I prefer Kin_dom. Where God’s love extends to us all, where we are all kin, regardless of what we have done in the past. We are all loved.

*1 Amazing Facts About The Shroud Of Turin | Dr. Gary R. Habermas – Indonesian Subtitles. Sep 1, 2021