A while back a friend shared a website with me that was a collection of the last words of famous people, and it was very interesting. Some of their final words were humble. For example, Leonard DaVinci said, “I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.” Some tried to be prophetic. Nostradamus, for instance said, “Tomorrow I will not be here.” He was right. And there were some who didn’t realize they were speaking their final words. The last words of the poet Dylan Thomas were, unsurprisingly, “I’ve had eighteen straight whiskies, I think that’s the record…” But there were many who knew it was the end, and were very deliberate about what they said. Harriet Tubman sang, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” with her family. President James Polk told his wife Sarah, “For all eternity, I love you.” Vince Lombardi turned to his wife and said, “Happy anniversary. I love you.” Final words mean something. Today, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe is the final Sunday of the church year, and the last day of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. The church year is about to pass away. It’s on its death bed, so to speak, and it beckons us closer whispering final words to us. So the readings today are especially significant. They are the last words of the church year. And the last words we’re given paint a picture, an image. An image of the invisible God, as St. Paul says; an image of Jesus. What is this final image on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe? An image of Jesus the mighty ruler dominating the Pharisees, overthrowing the Romans, conquering everyone? No. The image of kingship we’re given today is Jesus on the cross. A battered and broken Jesus who is sneered at by earthly rulers, who is jeered at by Roman soldiers. A king who wears a crown of thorns. These are the last words of the church year that is passing away. They’re deliberately chosen to tell us three important things about the kind of king we have in Jesus. First, Jesus is King of the Universe because he obeys the will of the Father. In the first reading we see David anointed king and given the task of shepherding the people. He was followed by Solomon, Solomon’s sons, and all the succeeding kings who led the chosen people after the kingdom was divided into north and south. Some were good kings and some were not so good. The prophets of the Old Testament always pointed out who the good kings were. They weren’t the kings who won military victories, they weren’t the kings who brought wealth to the people. They were the kings who tried to follow the will of God. Any military victories or prosperity they achieved were due to their faithfulness to the covenant. Our Lord Jesus, King of the Universe is the fulfillment of the covenant. He completely and utterly follows the will of his father. We see this clearly in the image of Jesus on the cross, the servant king, willing to follow the will of the Father to the ultimate end, to death for us. And now the dying church year takes another labored breath and beckons us closer to tell us more about Christ our king,