Paradise is possible

Christ the King

Jeremiah 23:1-6

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the LORD. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the LORD. The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The LORD is our righteousness.”

Colossians 1:11-20

May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers - all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn of the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Luke 23:33-43

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 now 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.” One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom,” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

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What is 'paradise'? When you hear Jesus tell the condemned about being together in paradise, what do you imagine? Do you visualize a great open field, or a bustling city? Maybe a great big Thanksgiving table where you are surrounded by loved ones, or a sunny day at a baseball game? What's your image of paradise? Where does it come from? What does it feel like? Is it different now than it once was? Does it depend on where you are, what you hope for?

What do you think paradise was for that other man on the cross? Perhaps a return to simpler times was not a thought he could comprehend, on account of growing up under the oppression of Rome. Always expecting to be chased or killed, to be erased and spat upon, living as a perpetual outcast, I'd imagine this particular man probably envisioned paradise far more differently than you or I. Probably he looked at paradise in more the way that a Syrian refugee might envision salvation. Or somebody who has survived so-called 'conversion therapy.' Or the way millions of Muslims imagine paradise, as simply living in peace without being attacked. Simply being allowed to breathe without harassment. Being able to provide for a family and feel connected to the surrounding community. 

When Jesus was killed by crucifixion, it was humanity’s attempt to throw him as far from paradise as we could. To leave him naked and exposed out in the elements, separated from the ground he had walked on and the people he had walked with. To make him easy to point out, easy to shame, easy to target as a scapegoat for all of our anger and every problem we’ve ever had. Rome didn’t need to take responsibility for the poverty they brought upon Israel as long as they took those who spoke up against oppression and made examples of them by crucifixion. 

Crucifixion is a slow death, but not as slow as many other ways we have of killing each other. Crucifixion is slow in order to be humiliating, to control those who are seen as ‘different,’ seen as a threat to the current powers. We in this day and age use other tools for the same purpose: tools like cat calling, job and housing discrimination, stop and frisk, lynching, and internment camps. These tools teach people they are less than people, they teach people to keep their heads down and their mouths shut, they teach people to be afraid of their own selves and suspicious of one another. So when you grow up under constant threat of these weapons of cultural control, the image and hope of 'paradise' can be as simple as making it home alive at the end of the day. Being able to walk down the street without being haunted by anxiety. Going to bed at night free of regret. So the image of Paradise can also be an image of justice, of a return to balance, of finally, fully, knowing your own self as sacred, as holy, and whole.

The criminal hanging on that cross beside Jesus, the one who actually used his name instead of throwing names and jeers, he knew that he was being punished for an actual crime, even though that punishment was most likely far more severe than he deserved. Rome was, as one commentary put it, far more invested in vengeance than in reconciliation. Actually, the commentator described our current justice system that way, but in many respects it can be hard to tell the difference sometimes, especially once you’ve been beaten with the short end of the stick. So the criminal who knew his crimes also knew that Jesus had not done anything wrong, but was still being crucified. His very existence, then, must have somehow been a threat to the authorities. How could a person be so dangerous that he could threaten the Romans and the religious leaders without even committing a crime?

Friends, this is the one we call Christ the King. The one we call God With Us, God Incarnate, God of the ages, merciful, mighty, creator, redeemer. He lived in such freedom that he inspired that freedom in those who came to him, even to the point of offering hope to someone hanging on a cross in the position of ultimate shame and humiliation. Crucifixion was to break the spirit not only of the person being publicly killed, but of anyone who entertained the thought of emulating that one. Yet here he was, being mocked and ridiculed, still offering hope and comfort to a fellow condemned person.

King of the condemned, he is. Lord of the outcast. Ruler of the thrown away and despised. Lover of the hated. Hope of the despairing. God with us is not here to condemn Muslims or women who have had abortions or veterans with PTSD, but to condemn condemnation itself. God is not come to destroy Mexicans or refugees or even the competition, but to destroy the powers of destruction that try to tear us apart. God is not going to avoid our pain or dress it up and put it on display for pity’s sake, not going to take a quick field trip to make us feel better about ourselves, but will hang next to us, will sit in our condemnation with us, will walk out of it with us, wearing our scars for a crown. Because that is what a king worthy of worship does. That is the kind of Paradise to which God calls us, where each and every person is valued and protected and loved. Where Jeremiah’s words ring true: “I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the LORD. The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The LORD is our righteousness.”

This image from Jeremiah illustrates the Kingdom of Jesus which we confess in our creed will have no end. None shall be afraid. None shall be missing. Not one. Not one Muslim, nor one Jew, nor one woman, nor one child. And that, my friends, is paradise.