No Bulletproof Glass--November 27, 2025

No Bulletproof Glass--November 27, 2025

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. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing. 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!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” (Luke 23:33-38)

We have been taught to look for important people behind bulletproof glass or bodyguards. Conventional wisdom says they need to be protected, not only to a greater degree than other people's lives, but even with other people's lives.  Jesus, once again, turns the tables on conventional wisdom from the cross.

We heard these words, many of us, back this past Sunday in worship as part of the blessedly counterintuitive Gospel reading for "Christ the King" Sunday.  That's actually one of the things I love about the way the Revised Common Lectionary frames this final Sunday of the church's year.  On a day when we might expect "ra-ra" triumphalism or picture Jesus as some Celestial Conqueror zapping his enemies, because he's, you know, "king," we are brought instead to the story of Jesus' crucifixion at the hands of the powers of the day, who have decided to execute this itinerant rabbi because they deem him an enemy of the state and a threat to their power.  That by itself turns the usual ways we think of "important people" on its head.  Jesus has no bulletproof glass or security bunker to stay out of danger.

This is the scandal of the Gospel, which is also what makes it Good News: when the powers of the day call for Jesus' execution for seditious words and actions (talking about an alternative "kingdom" that is coming will always sound like a threat to the current regime), Jesus responds to them not with his own calls for violent retribution or revenge, but a request for mercy.  Even though the Empire thinks is in control, Jesus in fact is the one who remains calm and collected, praying, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." 

That turns our usual expectations upside-down, doesn't it? While we are used saying that the kings, the emperors, the presidents, and the prime ministers should be kept safe and out of harm's way, even to the point of Secret Service agents who would take a bullet for the "important person, Jesus turns the tables on that mindset.  He not only goes into trouble--all the way to death--but even there on a cross, seeks to protect others, including those who are responsible for putting him to death. While we are used to a culture in which powerful figures publicly wish for harm and defeat for their opponents, Jesus actively prays for forgiveness for those who are in the act of killing him.  It is a completely different understanding of power from what we are used to--and that's what makes Jesus so compelling.

When Christians say that Christ is "king," it is not in the sense of just replacing one self-absorbed tyrant with another one who happens to have a halo.  We mean that Jesus' way of being king completely undermines those old understandings of power.  Jesus never says, "I'm king, so my life is more important than yours," but rather, even to his dying breath says, "I'm king, so I will lay down my life for the sake of yours," even to people who have made themselves his enemies. That kind of servant-leadership will always upset the established empires of the day, because they cannot understand a use of power that doesn't seek its own interest.  Jesus' way will always seem subversive--and, yes, the powers of the day might even think it is seditious--precisely because it calls into question every king, kingdom, and regime that operates by "Me and My Group's Interests First" thinking.  This is the One to whom we pledge our allegiance--because he has even sought forgiveness for us when we were the ones with the hammer in our hands, complicit in Jesus' death.

There are a lot of things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, to be sure, no matter what else you have going on in your life or what else is going on in the world.  But today is a day to remember, too, alongside the abundance of food and the gift of shelter from the cold, the way Jesus, our King, turns kingship upside-down.  Even at our worst, Jesus is at his best.  And even when we would expect the one in power to be shielded from danger, Jesus keeps putting himself in harm's way for our sake and uses his authority to seek our forgiveness.

Lord Jesus, we give you thanks for your different way of being king.  Let your surprising reign transform all of our lives.