“O wonderful cross, upon whose branches hung the treasure and redemption of captive men, through you the world is redeemed by the blood of the Lord.” – Liturgy of the Hours

Luke 23:33-43: When they reached the place called The Skull, they crucified him there and the two criminals also, one on the right, the other on the left. Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.’ Then they cast lots to share out his clothing. The people stayed there watching him. As for the leaders, they jeered at him. ‘He saved others,’ they said ‘let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.’ The soldiers mocked him too, and when they approached to offer vinegar they said, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.’ Above him, there was an inscription: ‘This is the King of the Jews.’ One of the criminals hanging there abused him. ‘Are you not the Christ?’ he said. ‘Save yourself and us as well.’ But the other spoke up and rebuked him. ‘Have you no fear of God at all?’ he said. ‘You got the same sentence as he did, but in our case, we deserved it: we are paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus,’ he said, ‘remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ ‘Indeed, I promise you,’ he replied ‘today you will be with me in paradise.’

Christ the Lord  We are gazing at the pivotal moment of human history: Jesus Christ being crucified on the hill of Calvary. In the Church’s liturgy, this passage is read on the Solemnity of Christ the King at the end of liturgical year C. It’s as if the Church directs our gaze to this pitiful man, wounded, dying, and rejected, and says to us: “Behold your King.” A King enthroned upon a cross? Yes. Christ reigns from the cross. What is a King but the one responsible for bringing peace and prosperity, justice and order to a people? On the cross, Christ does just that for us. The human family had fallen from grace when our first parents gave in to temptation and rebelled against God. Thereafter the proliferation of sin demolished the order, the peace, and the joy of God’s original design for creation. Jesus Christ came to earth to put things right, to “undo the work of the Devil” (1 John 3:8). His obedience “unto death, and death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8) reversed the disobedience of Adam and Eve and closed the breach opened by man’s rebellion against God, making possible once again intimate friendship between them, the friendship which alone can produce true peace and order in the heart of men and human societies.

One of the thieves detected this somehow. He watched as Christ carried his cross to Calvary. He saw the Lord nailed to the wood and lifted up from the earth. And through it all, he saw how differently Jesus suffered. There was pain and humiliation, but no fear, no panic, no hatred. The Lord bore it all with purpose, determination, and serenity; he bore it like the King he truly is. And the good thief recognized this. Hope kindled in his heart, even at that darkest hour. He looked into Christ’s eyes and made an act of faith, a promise of loyalty, and he did not go unrewarded.

Indeed, Christ the King does reign from the cross, the perfect expression of his unconditional yes to the Father, the yes that conquered sin, death, and the devil, the yes of unconditional forgiveness that opened for us the gates of Heaven: “Father, forgive them… Today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Christ the Teacher At Calvary, Christ teaches us what he meant when he proclaimed “Mine is not a Kingdom of this world” (John 18:36) and “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Jesus faithfully obeyed the Father’s will. In this fallen world, such obedience led him to experience physical torture, abandonment by his friends, mockery and misunderstanding from his peers, humiliation, sorrow, and death.

When we decide to follow Christ, we can expect much of the same. Only through death to ourselves, to our selfishness and vanity, can the new life of Christ take root in us: “If then we have died with Christ, we believe we will also live with him” (Romans 6:8). Each time we see a crucifix, not only do we see our King enthroned, but we see the path we must follow to enter his Kingdom.

Christ the Friend Jesus: The people watched and stared at me hanging and dying on the Cross; do you see them? I saw them so clearly. The rulers sneered at me; the soldiers mocked me; one of the thieves abused me… You were there too, along with all of those who have called themselves Christians. Every time my followers fail to come to their neighbor’s aid, they join Calvary’s passive spectators; when they disdain the teachings of the Church, they join the sneering rulers and mocking soldiers; when they give up their faith or let it smolder because they prefer the passing kingdoms of this world, they join the abusive thief.

I saw your face looking up at me as I hung upon the cross. At first, you laughed and mocked; you were distracted and careless, just like the others. Then you saw that I was looking at you, waiting for you, hoping in you, and your expression changed. A flash of recognition flitted across your eyes. I knew that you had glimpsed my love and that you were sorry. And even then, in my agony, I smiled. As soon as you repent, as soon as you come to me in your need and ask me to be your King, I take you by the hand and rejoice in leading you to Paradise.

Christ in My Life If you reign from a cross, why do I still look for earthly glory and pleasure? Am I not your follower? I only have a short time to work for you here on earth, Lord. Help me to spend it well. Help me to love and rejoice in you and to help as many others as possible to do the same. With the Kingdom of your heart, reign in my heart…

Please purify my heart, Lord. I still desire fruitfulness and fulfillment without self-mastery and self-sacrifice. How many times I make the sign of the cross! And yet I still run from so many of the crosses that you send me. Teach me to embrace my cross. Teach me to trust in your truth, to do what is right, to put you first, my neighbor second, and myself third…

My sins crucified you, Lord. When I sin, I banish you from my world, just as the Pharisees tried to banish you from theirs. I hate sin, Lord. Even as I say it, I know that I will be tempted, but you know that my heart is yours. I am still full of selfishness, which holds me back from loving you, but I trust in you. You can renew me…

PS: This is just one of 303 units of Fr. John’s fantastic book The Better Part. To learn more about The Better Part or to purchase in print, Kindle or iPhone editions, click here. Also, please help us get these resources to people who do not have the funds or ability to acquire them by clicking here.

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Art for this post on Luke 23:33-43: Cover of The Better Part used with permission. Calvary, David Teniers the Elder (formerly attributed to David Teniers the Younger), second quarter of 17th century, PD-US author’s life plus 100 years or less, Wikimedia Commons.