This Sunday is Christ the King or the Reign of Christ Sunday. The kingship or reign of Christ was offered as an alternative to ways of kings of this world. How do we understand this alternative way? This Sunday is also the last time we will hear from Luke’s Gospel for a couple of years – next week we start on Mathew. We might say that Luke has been trying to shape our understanding of the reign of Christ. The New Testament scholar NT Wright comments: ‘At the heart of Luke’s picture of the cross is the mocking of Jesus as king of the Jews…Jesus has stood on its head the meaning of kingship, the meaning of the kingdom itself. He has celebrated with the wrong people, offered peace and hope to the wrong people, and warned the wrong people of God’s coming judgment’ ( Luke for Everyone, p.284). This is the heart of the Gospel message. As we celebrate the reign of Christ we hold in mind Luke’s focus on the way of inclusion and forgiveness that Jesus offers. One of the people I ...