Not your average king. This king we claim. The king of the crucified. Hung on a cross next to common thieves.
Even in this kind of death there is invitation, there is welcome, there is the least and the last, there is God making room for the outcast and sinner.
No blaming, no yelling, no name calling.
Just Jesus inviting a thief into paradise.
No baptism, no training, no rules, just love.
Salvation for those who repent.
That’s the king we worship and celebrate.
Why?
Because most kings want other things: power, money, control.
This unlikely king wants to spread love, forgiveness, humility, mercy.
This despised king wants humanity to know the joy that comes from compassion.
This kind of king shakes us up or at least I pray it does.
I want to be shaken up, I want the fog of living -- not in the moment lifted, the veil gone, the truth sung out by a thousand voice choir.
This kind of king does just that
All I need do is let love in.
Alison Schultz+
Priest in Charge
