Homily: 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus
Christ, King of the Universe
Friends, as we celebrate this great feast of
Christ the King, I want to invite us to take a moment to think about how
someone becomes a king/queen. When we
do, I think that we will see that there is no more legitimate king in the
universe than Jesus Christ. If we can
acknowledge this, then we will become even more enthusiastic subjects of this
great king who will gladly invite others into his kingdom. So let’s start by looking at how one becomes
a king/queen.
In general, there are two basic ways that one
becomes a king/queen: by inheritance and by merit. Inheritance, of course, we know very well:
So-and-so is the son/daughter of King/Queen so-and-so and so will inherit the
throne when the king/queen dies. Just a
couple of months ago, we saw this happen in England when Queen Elizabeth II
died. After she died, there was no
contest or vote: rather, all of the United Kingdom simply acknowledged that her
son Charles was now their king. As you
can see, this way of becoming a king/queen is still very straightforward.
The way of merit to become king/queen is also rather
straightforward: more so, perhaps, than we might initially think. In this way, someone leads a grouping of
people through some great challenge (for example, overcoming and enemy,
fighting through a hardship, etc.) so as to establish that people as a people
of their own. The people then turn to
make that person the leader—the king/queen—of this newly established
people. This can also happen even if the
people already have a king/queen as another may prove him/herself even more
worthy than the current ruler. This
latter case is the example we see in our readings today.
In our first reading, we hear of the people
choosing David as their king. For many
years after entering the Promised Land, the Israelites did not have a king, but
rather managed their lives through recognized elders and the adjudication of
priests and prophets. At one point,
however, they became jealous of other nations that had kings and so they
demanded a king for their own. The
prophet Samuel was aghast at the idea, since he knew well that it was God who
had established this people and so that it was God who was already their
king. The people insisted, however, and,
by God’s prompting, Samuel anointed Saul—a great warrior—to be their first
king.
Saul displeased God, however, and so was cut
down in battle. His direct heir,
Jonathan, was also killed in battle.
That left the Israelites without a direct heir to succeed Saul. This is when they turned to David. David was an indirect heir to Saul, as he was
married to Saul’s daughter. Nonetheless,
as we heard in today's reading, it wasn’t because of this connection that they
asked David to be their king. Rather, it
was because of his merit. “You led the
Israelites out [in battle] and brought them back”, the leaders of the
Israelites declared, and so they agreed with David that he would be their
king. In other words, he proved his
ability to lead them and so they chose him to be their king.
This, of course, leads us right to Jesus. Jesus, as we see, is king both by inheritance
and by merit. By inheritance because he
is of the lineage of king David (you can read the beginning of Matthew’s gospel
to find the genealogy of how Jesus came from David’s line). Still more, Jesus is king because he is the
Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. This inheritance is a stronger one than the
first, since it was truly God the Father who was king of the Israelites all
along. Nonetheless, Jesus also earned
the kingship for himself by engaging in the battle against sin and death and
overcoming them.
In our Gospel reading today, we hear again the
familiar story of the criminal crucified with Jesus acknowledging him as king,
in spite of the others there who did nothing but mock him. This man did not recognize Jesus’ heritage,
but rather his merit. And, in
recognizing his merit, the criminal submitted himself to Jesus’ authority and
asked that he would be remembered in Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus not only promised to remember him, but
rather to give him a place in that kingdom.
Friends, Jesus is the true king of the universe
and we must acknowledge him as such, both because of his inheritance and
because of his merit. As Saint Paul
says, “[God the Father] 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.” Jesus is King
because he is the Son of the King, God the Father, who has given his Son the
kingdom and made us members of it.
He is not just a spiritual king, however, but
rather a human one, which can make it so much easier for us to acknowledge him
as our king. The Israelites, when they
came to David to anoint him king, said, “Here we are, your bone and your
flesh.” In a similar way, we can say the
same to Jesus: “Here we are, of the same bone and flesh that you, in your
divinity, took on to save us. And you
did save us! Now we implore you, rule
over us: for you know us and we see that you are worthy of the honor.” And we must acknowledge and honor him as king
if we hope, like the criminal crucified with him, to dwell in his eternal
kingdom.
And so, how do we do this? By humbling ourselves before him. As we saw in the Gospel reading, each of the
different “groups” surrounding Jesus at his crucifixion mocked him for not
being the king they thought he should be.
The rulers sneered, the soldiers jeered, and the one criminal reviled
him. Finally, the other criminal speaks
up. He speaks the truth about the
situation (which is a sign of humility).
Speaking to the other criminal, he says, “we have been condemned justly…
but this man has done nothing criminal.”
Then, he acknowledges Jesus as King and submits himself to him, pleading
for his favor when he comes into his kingdom.
After giving no response to the others in the scene, Jesus responds to
the one who humbly submitted himself to him and promises him a place in
paradise.
Friends, Jesus is our true and worthy King. By our baptism, we are united to him, and are
recipients of his promise to be welcomed into his kingdom (which he himself
calls “paradise”). By our humble service
of our King, we retain that promise until it is fulfilled. Let us not forget, however, that Jesus’
kingdom is open to everyone! Therefore, let us boldly acclaim him as king
in all that we think, say, and do, so that many others may become recipients of
his promise. In doing so, we will find
that our hearts and our community become more and more ready to acclaim him when
he comes again. Long live Christ the
King!
Given in Spanish at Saint
Paul Parish: Marion, IN – November 19th, 2022
Given in Spanish at Our
Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish: Carmel, IN – November 20th, 2022
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