Jesus must have really been hated: mocked by his own people, taunted by the Romans scorned and laughed by the two criminals dying with him.

The inscription on the cross reads, “This is the King of the Jews”. It was surely intended by the Romans to be ironic. To them Jesus was just another Jewish religious troublemaker, who had to be dealt with quickly and brutally. To Luke and other early Christians that title was correct, since the kingship of Jesus was real.

Just how did the carpenter from Nazareth come to be regarded as a king? During Jesus’ public life, the title King of the Jews belonged to Herod, the puppet king set up by the Roman occupiers.

In the Gospel of Matthew and Luke we have two long lists of genealogies which trace ancestry back to David, regarded as the ideal king.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, one criminal (The tradition calls him: Dismas)  acknowledges that he was condemned  justly and he asks:” Jesus, remember me in your kingdom”. Jesus responds: “Today you will be with me in Paradise”.

The word “today” in Luke means salvation: “Today a savior is born for you” of the angels to the shepherds . “Today salvation has come into this house” of the publican Zaccheus And now here to the repentant thief.

In this short exchange of words Jesus reveals the king he really is. Tradition has Jesus speaking seven words from the Cross. To speak he had to support himself on the nail in his feet and catch his breath.

On the top of the Cross we can see a scroll with the words J N R J: Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews. It is also the scroll of our condemnation which has been nailed to the Cross and made of us a people redeemed by his love.

“When I shall be lifted up on the cross all draw everybody to me” said Jesus and looking at the Catholic Church scattered all over the world we can see for ourselves how these words have been fulfilled.

Next Sunday we shall begin the Advent Season when we shall be waiting for a babe.

We end the Liturgical year with the powerful image of a King and we begin the new liturgical season waiting for an infant.

We learn that God is so powerful to be powerless in the baby Jesus. The Three wise-men from the East made the same mistake: we look for Jesus in a royal palace whereas he was born outside the village, in the cold, a laid in a manger to sleep.

Let us learn to search and find Jesus where He wants to be found: in our mistakes and sins, in our neighbor.