Crib to Cross and Tomb to Throne (transcript of sermon 22nd November 2022 St Oswald's Rugby)

 Sermon – Tuesday Morning Worship 22^nd November 2022

 Luke 23: 33-43

You may be puzzling over why as all the preparations for Christmass gather pace are we reading the story of Jesus’s crucifixion.

The simple answer is that next Sunday is Advent Sunday and the New Liturgical year begins and a new set of Lectionary Readings.

This year, Year C, we have had Luke as our principal Gospel. On Sunday Year A begins with Matthew as the principal Gospel.

One of the disciplines that I follow and would commend to you is to read something like Tom Wright’s ‘Everyone’ series – each day you can read a section of the Gospel followed by Tom’s commentary.

Thus, as we end year C and Luke’s Gospel we come to the climatic moment of the crucifixion.

And focussing on the Cross is not a bad preparation for Christmass.

Because without the Cross there would be no Christmass.

If ever I have an opportunity to set up a Nativity or Crib Scene, I always place a simple cross in there, set at the back.

This serves to remind us that the Child in the Crib became the Christ on the Cross.

I said the crucifixion was the climatic moment which it is in large part but would have come to naught without the resurrection.

Around the time of Jesus there were at least fourteen other Messianic movements.

All of these were brutally crushed by the Romans, their adherents fled, or were killed or sold into slavery or crept back into society and kept their heads down.

Perhaps the most famous was the Bar-Kochba revolt of 132 – 136 CE.

 Remember the Temple was destroyed during an earlier revolt, in 70CE.

Kochba who as a self-styled Messiah took up arms against Rome and for three years ruled from Jerusalem as a Messianic type of figure.

Exactly the kind of thing some thought Jesus might do or perhaps should be doing.

The Bar-Kochba revolt was put down, Jerusalem destroyed, and all Jews banished from living in their homeland of Judea.

Jerusalem was renamed and became a Roman city.

So, you have to ask yourself why there isn’t a worldwide movement dedicated to Bar Kochba or any other self-proclaimed Messiah during this period.

The answer is that Jesus was miraculously raised from death.

The part of Luke’s Gospel we don’t get to read here but do read during the Easter Season.

And it’s Luke who gives us the wonderful Emmaus Road story.

Remember how Jesus opens up the Scriptures and shows how he was the Messiah, but not as was commonly expected.

Thousands upon thousands of young Jewish men were crucified as these revolts were crushed.

Yet of all those young men we know the name of only one of them.

And in a few weeks, we will be celebrating the birth of Yeshua bar Jospeh, aka Jesus.

And many will celebrate and have fun and have parties and eat too much and perhaps drink too much and make all sorts of promises to be kind and to keep in touch – and all of that.

Then baby Jesus, along with Santa and the lights and trimmings will be put away for another year.

And we then wonder why we don’t keep in touch, why we then fall out and have arguments, why we are not as kind and loving as we know we ought to be.

It is because we do not allow Jesus to grow up.

It is because we neglect to study the Scriptures.

It is because we are forgetful about becoming an active member of a Church, a Community of Faithful 21^st century follows of Messiah Jesus.

It because we have forgotten what was written above Jesus’ head as he suffered, bled, and died. ‘Jesus King of the Jews.’

On Sunday last the Church celebrated The Feast of Christ the King. Our Gospel reading today is the Gospel reading set for this Feast Day. And it is here we read about this sign written in the three common languages at the time – ‘Jesus King of the Jews.’

And we have come to know that Jesus was King not only of the Jews but over all the created order and over every power and authority.

But that claim makes demands of us – and so, I tell you what, let’s keep him as baby and say that Christmass is for children and make it all twee, comfortable. After all who does not like babies.

Well Herod wasn’t that pleased to hear about a new king that had been born – and he took some brutal steps to try and eradicate this baby.

So here a question for us to ponder over.

Are we going to allow baby Jesus to grow up and to remind others that is just what he did do, and maybe invite them to explore just what Jesus did when he grew up.

Or will we join in all the fun and games and then put Jesus back as a baby – in effect stomping and stunting his growth – keeping Jesus as a perpetual baby which we can handle and manage and put away if he starts making demands of us.

Where do you sit with this this morning?

Be careful on your choice – when one of those being crucified with Jesus rebuked the other and asked Jesus to remember him when he (Jesus) came into his kingdom, Jesus responds by saying that they will be together later that day in paradise. As for the other criminal…