GOSPEL , Luke 23, 35-43 :
The people stayed there before the cross watching Jesus. 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.’
WORDS FOR LIFE, REIGNING ONLY FROM THE CROSS
It’s surprising to realise that the Lord only allowed himself to be proclaimed King when he was on the Cross.
After the multiplication of the loaves (Jn 6,15), Jesus realised the people would take him and make him King, so he fled to the hills by himself.
Now, on the Cross, we must ask ourselves why he allows himself to be called King.
The truth is that Jesus reigns from the Cross, drawing all the world to himself. In his crucifixion
