The good Biblical kings, from David to Jesus, are the ones who lead the troops out and make sure they come safely home. When the Letter to the Hebrews calls Jesus the "pioneer and perfecter of our faith" it's describing how he both shows the way forward as "the first man through the breach" and how he makes sure that those who are with him are kept whole to the end: finished, perfected, finalized, sealed. The gospel today reveals this with Jesus and the Good Thief: the battle-captain opens the path but also assures that he will see his sole defender on that awful day through to the other side.
This was the homily for the Feast of Christ the King, on November 23rd. It stands on its own, but it does connect back to two homilies this summer, the major one here, and its corollary here, though you don't need to listen to those first. All three play on the legend of Orpheus' failure, the Harrowing of Hell (image below), and Christ as pioneer and perfecter of our Faith.
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