After the First World War in Europe, many people were thinking about rebuilding their lives. They were looking for leaders to guide them. They were looking for human saviors. And there were many who wanted to lead the people. People like Hitler, Mussolini, and the like. And many people thought of them as the new messiah. There were many golden calves to worship. There were socialism, communism, capitalism, etc. In 1925, Pope Pius XI made a new day on the church calendar: the Last Sunday after Pentecost is now known as �gChrist the King.�h The message of this Sunday would be that God in Christ is over and against those political forces moving in the world at that time. Christ is the true King, not Hitler or some other human savior. Christ is our King in our lives. To celebrate Christ as your King, is a way to realize this and to make him a real part of your life. This church festival became popular in many churches, including the Lutheran church.

Today also there are many golden calves. What do these contemporary golden calves look like? There is the economy, soccer, hate, fear, greed, ambition, success, games, the internet, food, health, fun. Anything that leads us away from Christ, anything that would take all our time and attention is like the golden calf that led the Israelites to sin in the desert: because that is where they lead, to the wilderness of sin and death.

So, Christ is our King. What is our King like? We pray �gThy Kingdom come,�h but where is that kingdom, what does it look like? The Bible is very clear about what our King does not look like. Jesus told Pontius Pilate, �gMy kingdom is not of this world.�h So we do not look for the usual crown and throne and royal palace. We do not look for armies and civil servants and taxes. We do not look for fancy clothes, shiny cars, or other signs of worldly glory. �gMy kingdom is not of this world,�h he said, but at the same time, as we will see, it is also very much of this world, because we are his servants and we are in this world.

In the Gospel story, the coronation of Jesus is at his crucifixion. The inscription over Jesus read �gThis is the King of the Jews.�h Maybe Pontius Pilate thought it a joke, but it was true. It was also because Jesus was the King of the Jews that he was being crucified. And that is important for our salvation. In not saving himself he saved us. That is the kind of sacrificial, self-giving king we have! This is the King who came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for our sin. Rather than shouting "Banzai! Long life the King!" people mocked Jesus. His crown was made of thorns. First they dressed him in royal purple, then they took that away and even gambled for his remaining clothes. His right-hand man was a robber. But of course, we Christians know that we, his servants, are also sinners who deserve the cross in the eyes of God's justice.

Then the one robber made his great confession of faith. �gDo you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.�h And he said, �gJesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.�h

Paradise means heaven and eternal life. But Jesus chose the word "paradise" because it is a very fitting word in this context. The word "Paradise" is not a Biblical Greek or Hebrew word, but rather a Persian word meaning "a walled garden." It was the private garden of the king of Persia. It was a very special place where the king would take only honored guests. It was a very special honor to be to be able to enter the garden and to walk there with the king. Here in Okinawa, the Ryukyu King had such a garden. It is the Shikinaen Park near Shuri Castle. Today the public can visit it, but previously only the King and his guests could enter it. The Ryukyu king would entertain foreign dignitaries from China there. It was very beautiful and peaceful, a type of �gparadise�h. I am not sure, but maybe the closest thing we have in the USA would be Camp David. It is the private retreat of the president and it is an honor to be a guest there with the president. Such a park in the old days might be called a "paradise." It was to such a place that Jesus told the repentant thief on the cross that he would be. He would be an honored guest with Christ the King in Paradise. It was like the Garden of Eden.

When we think of Jesus as our King, we shouldn't think of only a royal figure far away sitting on an ivory throne. We should think of Jesus as being a member of his Kingdom. He will be with us not only in Paradise, but he is in our world today which sometimes we might think is more like Hell. When we suffer and feel like we are carrying our crosses, he is with us. When we are in our dying moments, he is with us.

Jesus said, "Today you will be with me in Paradise." But first, Jesus had to make a brief stop. He had to go to Hell. There he destroyed the power of the devil and sin which would have prevented us to go to Paradise. He did not take the repentant thief there with him. That was a job that only Jesus could do as our King and Savior.

When we pray "Thy Kingdom come,�h we are praying that Jesus would be our King. We pray that he would be the only true guide in our lives. It is a confession of faith that the things of this world are just golden calves that lead to destruction. The only Savior in this world is Jesus. We are like the repentant thief on the cross, we know that there is no salvation except in Jesus. Helpless on the cross he called out to Jesus, �gJesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.�h This is our prayer of faith, too. It is our daily prayer of trust in Christ our King.

Amen.