Those of us who loved Queenie’s imperious question, “Who’s Queen?”, which she used to end every argument in Blackadder Series 2, knew that any further challenge to her authority would be settled by an executioner’s axe. The Roman emperors ran their great Empire with a very similar logic, exemplified by thousands of crosses demonstrating their power over any potential challengers. Their subjects, however, had enough insight to recognize that a display of brute force did not establish the emperor’s moral right to govern. In Luke’s gospel the death of Jesus is portrayed as a contest over moral leadership in Israel and throughout the world. In the manner of his dying, Jesus’ claim to be the rightful ruler sent by God is demonstrated, and then vindicated in his resurrection from the dead. So when we celebrate Christ the King Sunday, it is appropriate that the gospel reading should focus our attention on the crucifixion, rather than on images of his ultimate triumph. You can listen to what I have to say about the text here….
Howard Pilgrim