NRS Luke 23
33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots to divide his clothing. 35 And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!" 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, 37 and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" 38 There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."
39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." 42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." 43 He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

Sisters and Brothers in Christ, may the peace of God keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Unless you count Elvis as the King of Rock and Aretha as the Queen of Soul, America does not have royalty. Although we have plenty of people who inherit wealth and power from their parents and grandparents, we have no separate class of people who rule and govern simply by virtue of their pedigree. When George Washington was elected our first President, he declined the title of "Your Excellency," and chose instead to be called simply, "Mr. President." Unlike our British cousins from across the pond, we call ourselves citizens rather than subjects, and we bristle at the very idea of an elite or ruling class.

As Americans, we don't take orders from kings or queens, but in some form or fashion, we all have to take orders, because we all have some kind of boss. Even if we're self-employed and call ourselves "Boss," we still have all sorts of people to tell us what to do. CEO's have to answer to shareholders; business owners have to be responsible to their customers; and no matter how high you climb or how much money you amass, we're all finally subject to death and taxes. About dukes and earls, counts and countesses, we know squat; but about bosses, we know plenty, including plenty that maybe we wished we'd never learned.

When I ask people about their bosses, they typically answer either that they have a good boss or that they have a bad boss. But when it comes to bosses, there are, of course, many shades of good and even more shades of bad. In his book of advice to recent graduates, titled "Oh, the Things I Know!" comedian Al Franken includes a catalog of bosses to be on the look out for, including but not limited to:
" The Pompous and Belittling Boss,
" The Insulting and Abusive Boss,
" The Credit-Stealing Boss, and that lowest of the low,
" The Sexually Harassing Boss.
To that list I would also add:
" The "I'm Always Right Because I Am the Boss" Boss,
" The "You Must Have Misheard Me Because That Would Be Wrong and I Am Never Wrong" Boss, and
" The "I Know You've Worked Here for Years but I Still Don't Know Your Name" Boss.

Now I trust that none of you have ever had any of these kinds of bosses. I really do hope that all your bosses are or have been good, reasonable, kind-hearted people, well, like me. And when that situation exists, some people, you know, get very close to their bosses, chatting over the water cooler, hanging out together, maybe even going on family vacations together. But I'm sure you also know that in even the closest of working relationships, there's always a line between the employer and the employee, between the manager and the managed, between the one who gives the orders and the one who takes them. Many times people can work around that line, minimize the line, even forget there is a line, but the line can't ever be entirely erased so long as there is a difference in the power of the two parties. So long as I can fire you, but you can't fire me; so long as I can tell you what to do, but you can't tell me; so long as I'm in control here and you're not, then there is always that line that sometimes you don't even know is there until you cross it. But when you do cross it, even accidentally, that's when you get one those unforgettable lessons on who the boss really is.

Today we hail Jesus as Christ the King, which is another way of saying that we hail Jesus as our Boss, and not just one among several. As the King of Kings, Jesus is the Boss of Bosses, which means that his authority over our lives, as over the whole universe, is ultimate. In the unity of the Holy Trinity, the Risen Son rules from the right hand of the Father. In the words of today's First Lesson, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers - all things have been created through him and for him" (Colossians 1: 15-16). In the whole New Testament you will not find a more exalted, majestic image of Christ the King, our Lord, our Sovereign, our [capital 'B'] Boss.

As bosses go, you cannot, of course, get better than Jesus. He doesn't abuse or belittle, he doesn't insult or harass, and he always gives credit where credit is due. He's forgiving, compassionate, and he's not going to rake you over the coals for the occasional personal call at work. He's never short, brusque, or cranky. He never asks us to do anything that he wouldn't or hasn't done himself. He never commands us to anything that isn't for our good and for the good of all around us. And he knows our names. But Jesus goes beyond just being the best of bosses.

When Christ the King ascended his cross, making an instrument of torture his throne and his court a pair of thieves, Jesus obliterated the line that forever separates the Boss from the bossed. As St. Paul wrote in the Letter to the Philippians, the very Son of God, Lord of Lords and King of Kings, Jesus "emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, … he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death-- even death on a cross" (2:7,8). And by that death Jesus freed us from all the powers and principalities, all the forces seen and unseen that boss us around and beat us down. So that as Jesus rose from the dead, we might rise with him to a new life, a life in which we are no longer subject to what St. Paul called "the elemental spirits of the universe" (Colossians 2:8), the reckless, often violent whims of blind chance and random fortune. But as freed by Jesus, who surrendered his power for our empowerment, we are no longer slaves, no longer subjects to a distant, unapproachable king, but instead, we are "children of the promise, like Isaac" of old (Galatians 4:28), free, sovereign lords of all, subject to none.

I don't expect our church calendar to rename this Sunday Christ the Boss, anymore than I expect a rash of new churches named for the Boss of Bosses. But the next time you hear anyone talking about the Boss, I'm hoping you to think Jesus, and not Bruce Springsteen.

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.