A sort of ending

As the liturgical year comes to a close so does this blog.....

Here is my sermon of yesterday:

REMEMBER ME
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” Luke 23.42

Yesterday we remembered an early English king whose adherence to his Christian faith led to his martyrdom. He was Edmund, king and martyr, now commemorated in the city and cathedral of St Edmundsbury. He refused to renounce his faith in Christ when the invading Danes defeated his army. They tied him to a tree, shot him with arrows, and finally beheaded him. England is still ruled by a Christian monarch. Both Edmund and Elizabeth’s rule is under God. They are servants of Christ, the immortal and universal King.

Today’s Feast of Christ the King is a wonderful way to end the Church’s liturgical year. We have worshipped Jesus as the Babe of Bethlehem, as the Man of Galilee, the Saviour of Calvary, and as the Risen Lord. At His Ascension He returned to Heaven. At the right hand of the Father He reigns over a Kingdom that shall have no end. Hallelujah! Amen!

A month ago, when I last preached here, we saw the prayer of the humble tax collector in the Temple as a model for our prayer as we approach God - ‘Lord, be merciful to me a sinner’. Today we find the prayer of the penitent thief on Calvary a model as we approach Christ, the Eternal and Universal King – ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom’. When we look upon the Crucified we do not see a common criminal being executed but a crowned King on his throne. We fling ourselves at His feet, as unworthy subjects, and trust His promise that we too will be with Him in Paradise – today, tomorrow, and for ever. Some crucifixes represent all this as ‘Christus Victor’, robed and wearing a crown rather than naked with thorn wreath, as in the chapel at Parcevall Hall, the Bradford Diocesan Retreat House, where I presided, preached, and prayed frequently in days gone by.

There is a legend about the penitent thief that he wasn’t meeting our Lord for the first time on Calvary. Their first meeting was when Mary and Joseph fled from Bethlehem to Egypt with the infant Jesus and they are attacked by brigands. One young brigand could not bear to lay hands on the beautiful baby and pleaded with his fellow brigands to let the Holy Family go free. When they agreed he addressed the child: ‘O most blessed of children, if ever there come a time for having mercy on me, remember me and forget not this hour’. The sequel is in today’s gospel.
The word ‘Paradise’ is a Persian word meaning ‘a walled garden’. When a Persian King wished do a subject a special honour he would invite him to walk with him in his walled garden. To be in paradise is to be in close and intimate company with the King.

As our eucharist proceeds we shall use the special preface for today’s prayer of consecration which includes these words ‘Father, you have anointed Christ the Lord, your only Son, to be our great high priest and king of all creation… with all the heavenly host we proclaim your glory and join in their unending hymn of praise:’ Then we shall be invited to ‘draw near with faith and take this holy sacrament’. May I suggest we think of the petition of the penitent thief as we come saying in our hearts ‘Jesus, remember me in your kingdom’. Let us see Him Crucified and call Him King. Let us receive Him in Communion and go out to love and serve Him.