This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

When Queen Elizabeth II died,
videos of her coronation were played.
It was a great celebration
with great majesty, pageantry and glory.
In a few months,
when Charles III is crowned king,
there will be much splendor and rejoicing.

This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Today,
the Gospel of Luke portrays for us
a vision of the coronation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
King of the Universe.
There is no pomp and circumstance,
no triumphant music,
no regal outfits,
no crown of precious metal and priceless gems,
no throne on which kings and queens have sat before him.

This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

The crown, that day, was made of thorns,
the royal procession was the road to Calvary,
and the throne a cross for those deserving capital punishment.
He wore no regal robes.
In fact, his robes were taken from him
and he was stripped naked.
The crowds did not cheer,
rather, they jeered at him.
The only sign that there was a king present
was a sign nailed there in sarcasm,
“Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”

This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Unlike David at Hebron,
the elders of Israel did not gather around him.
They did not see him as shepherd of God’s people
or commander of Israel.
In fact, it was the elders who conspired against him,
who led him to Pontius Pilate for condemnation,
and who led the cries of “Crucify him, crucify him!”
And no one cried out,
“Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord!”

This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

On that day,
It hardly seemed to be a feast of victory for our God.
If anything, it looked as if God has lost everything.
But one man did recognize what was happening,
an insurrectionist who had been charged,
found guilty,
and sentenced to death.
The last person on earth anyone would have thought
could recognize the presence of God
in such a place.
He was the only one who recognized Jesus as a king that day,
who understood what was actually happening.
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom,” he said,
and that day, he was with Christ in Paradise.

This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Today, we celebrate that day as the coronation of our true King,
Jesus Christ, King of the Universe,
because we know what Paul knew when he wrote to the Colossians.
We know that “He delivered us from the power of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
We know in our hearts that
“He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.”
We know what no one but the insurrectionist crucified with him knew.
We know that this is indeed
the feast of victory for our God
and for us.

This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!