Funerals and Baptism

Today's sermon was a first for me: I sang!  If you know me well, you know this is a huge moment.*  But when I first read today's gospel (Luke 23:33-43) I thought of the song "Jesus Remember Me", a song often sung at funerals.  Then I thought about how funerals contrast to baptism as we were having a baptism today.  So this song framed my sermon.  If you aren't familiar with this song, here is a recording. 


*Side story: about a week before I left for seminary the following conversation happened between me and my mom
mom: Bec, do you sing?
me: nope
mom: Do you chant?
me: nope
mom: do we need to get you lessons?


Enjoy the sermon:




Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. ELW 616

The first time I really sung this hymn was when I worked as a chaplain at a nursing home and we would sing this at the monthly memorial service as we remembered residents who had died. Since then I have sung this hymn at a few funerals.

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom

So why am I bring up this song, that is sung at funerals when we should be celebrating? It is the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Wyatt will be baptized today and yet we are singing a song sung at funeral.

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom

And why is the gospel today about Jesus on the cross? It is only 5 weeks until Christmas. We are having an advent festival after worship today. Shouldn’t we be thinking about Jesus in a manger? Saying prayers to “Dear 8 pound, 6 ounce new born infant Jesus, don’t ever know a word yet, just a little infant, so cuddly, but still omnipotent.” And yet here we are instead with a gospel about Jesus dying on the cross.

And Jesus is not just being put to death on the cross; he is being mocked and ridiculed. His clothes were being gambled away; he is given sour wine; the leaders, soldiers and even one of the criminals who was being crucified along side him mocked him saying that if he was the Messiah, the King of the Jews, he would be able to take himself down from the cross.

It is almost Christmas and yet we are being reminded of Good Friday. Well that is because today is Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of the church year, and it is a day that we remember that Christ is the King but he is not a king in ways that we expect. Christ is the King who was born in a stable and his first adorers were shepherds, mere peasants. Christ is the King who ate with tax collectors, prostitutes and other known sinners. Christ is the King whose throne was a cross. Christ is the King who died a gruesome death as a mere criminal. Christ is the King whose only crown was one of thorns. Christ is the King whose kingdom is not a physical realm.

And yet we ask Christ, this non-traditional king, to have mercy on us.

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom

Jesus is King. Christ is King. Christ is our King because he is unexpected, because he is a mere human and yet fully God. Christ is the King who was born for all of us. Christ is the King who angels proclaimed with the words “to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” Christ is the King who listens to us, our troubles, our hopes, our prayers, our sorrows, our joys. Christ is the King who took is place on the cross so that we do not have to die such a death. Christ is the King who died as a criminal because he took our sins upon him. Christ is the King who was given a crown of thorns because so many could not, would not accept him for who he is and were and are unwilling to see his holiness. Christ is the King whose kingdom is here but not yet, whose kingdom is in all of us, in our hearts and minds.

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom

And so we pray, we beg, that Jesus remembers us when he comes into his kingdom, a kingdom that is greater than any kingdom here on earth. A kingdom that is not yet here but is also already part of who we are. A kingdom that is not like anything that we can expect.

So yes here we are, on a joyful day, the week before Thanksgiving, only a few weeks before Christmas, praying to a God who died on a cross. And here we are on a day when we celebrate Wyatt being a child of God and yet singing a song most associated with funerals and Good Friday.

And that is because today as we celebrate Wyatt’s baptism we are reminded that we too are children of God, baptized into a life with Jesus. And as Wyatt will soon be baptized into Christ the King’s life, he will also be baptized into Christ the King’s death. Wyatt’s sins will be washed away, his old self will be drown in the waters of baptism. For those of us who are baptized, our old selves have been drown, our sins have been washed away.

And yet Christ the King’s reign is here but not yet. Wyatt will still sin, he will still dishonor his parents, he will lie, he will cheat, covet and probably even steal (regardless of how well Christine and John raise him) because we all still sin. We still fall short of the glory of God. We still need Christ the King to save us from sin and death. We still need Christ the King to die on the cross for us. We still need Christ the King to come to us as an unexpected king, in unexpected places, a manger, a cross, a bowl of water, bread and wine. And Christ the King has come for us.