The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, invite us to contemplate the contrast between the rulers and way of the world and Jesus' leadership and Kingdom.
In the reading from the Second Book of Samuel, David is anointed King of all Israel.
Psalm 122 is a song of Praise and Prayer for Jerusalem.
* [Psalm 122] A song of Zion, sung by pilgrims obeying the law to visit Jerusalem three times on a journey. The singer anticipates joining the procession into the city (Ps 122:1–3). Jerusalem is a place of encounter, where the people praise God (Ps 122:4) and hear the divine justice mediated by the king (Ps 122:5). The very buildings bespeak God’s power (cf. Ps 48:13–15). May the grace of this place transform the people’s lives (Ps 122:6–9)! (Psalms, PSALM 122, n.d.)
The reading from the Letter to the Colossians is a hymn to the Supremacy of Christ.
* [1:15–20] As the poetic arrangement indicates, these lines are probably an early Christian hymn, known to the Colossians and taken up into the letter from liturgical use (cf. Phil 2:6–11; 1 Tm 3:16). They present Christ as the mediator of creation (Col 1:15–18a) and of redemption (Col 1:18b–20). There is a parallelism between firstborn of all creation (Col 1:15) and firstborn from the dead (Col 1:18). While many of the phrases were at home in Greek philosophical use and even in gnosticism, the basic ideas also reflect Old Testament themes about Wisdom found in Prv 8:22–31; Wis 7:22–8:1; and Sir 1:4. See also notes on what is possibly a hymn in Jn 1:1–18. (Colossians, CHAPTER 1, n.d.)
The Gospel of Luke recalls the Crucifixion of the King of the Jews.
* [23:39–43] This episode is recounted only in this gospel. The penitent sinner receives salvation through the crucified Jesus. Jesus’ words to the penitent thief reveal Luke’s understanding that the destiny of the Christian is “to be with Jesus.” (Luke, CHAPTER 23, n.d.)
Eileen Wirth comments that today’s gospel teaches us that Jesus wants us to stay connected with suffering people no matter what their mental or physical condition.
Because of the mistake I made with my old friend, I usually find 45 minutes a week to visit the husband of one of my closest late friends. I nod when he meanders and talks about people I don’t know because I know how much he looks forward to my visits. He loves talking to someone who adored his wife and can reassure him that she loved him too.
I know my friend in heaven is smiling when I head into her house where we had such good times.
If our dying King could accompany a thief to the end, we can accompany the people we know who need us. (Wirth, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “My kingdom is not of the world,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Listen, everyone, Jews and Gentiles, circumcised and uncircumcised. Listen, all kings of the earth. I am no hindrance to your rule in this world, for 'my kingdom is not of this world.' Banish the groundless fear that filled Herod the Great on hearing that Christ was born. More cruel in his fear than in his anger, he put many children to death (Matthew 2:3,16), so that Christ would also die. But 'my kingdom is not of this world,' says Christ. What further reassurance do you seek? Come to the kingdom that is not of this world. Do not be enraged by fear, but come by faith. In a prophecy Christ also said, 'He,' that is, God the Father, 'has made me king on Zion his holy mountain' (Psalm 2:6). But that Zion and that mountain are not of this world.
"What in fact is Christ's kingdom? It is simply those who believe in him, those to whom he said, 'You are not of this world, even as I am not of this world.' He willed, nevertheless, that they should be in the world, which is why he prayed to the Father, 'I ask you not to take them out of the world but to protect them from the evil one' (John 17:15-16). So here also he did not say, 'My kingdom is not' in this world but 'is not of this world.' And when he went on to prove this by declaring, 'If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have fought to save me from being handed over to the Jews,' he concluded by saying not 'my kingdom is not here' but 'my kingdom is not from here.'
"Indeed, his kingdom is here until the end of time, and until the harvest it will contain weeds. The harvest is the end of the world, when the reapers, who are the angels, will come and gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin (Matthew 13:48-41). And this could not happen if his kingdom were not here. But even so, it is not from here, for it is in exile in the world. Christ says to his kingdom, 'You are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world' (John 15:19). They were indeed of the world when they belonged to the prince of this world, before they became his kingdom. Though created by the true God, everyone born of the corrupt and accursed stock of Adam is of the world. [But] everyone who is reborn in Christ becomes the kingdom that is no longer of the world. For God has snatched us from the powers of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son (Colossians 1:13). This is that kingdom of which he said, 'My kingdom is not of this world; my kingly power does not come from here." (excerpt from TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 115.2) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 23:35-43 comments that the vision of a selfish, entitled ruler may be what the unbelieving criminal in today’s Gospel thought a king was all about. That may explain why he mocked Jesus as being powerless. The other criminal, however, grasped where Jesus’ power truly lay. He saw that Jesus was a humble Savior. And what he saw moved him to confess his sin with humility and faith and to receive the promise of “Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
This is how Jesus exercises his power—by changing human hearts and minds, not by using brute force. He may have seemed the least kingly and the most powerless while on the cross, but that’s when he did the most powerful thing possible: he changed the course of human history. And today, he wants to continue his work by changing our hearts a little bit at a time.
So come and honor Jesus your King today. Come and bow down to him and let him reign in your heart through love!
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Meditation on Luke 23:35-43, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler explains the path that brought David to be King of all Israel. The Letter to the Colossians resonates with Greek understanding of the Presence of God and the superiority of spiritual entities. Friar Jude reminds us of the realized eschatology in Luke that the “good thief” experiences as being one with Jesus on the Cross.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, reminds us that when we receive everything as a gift, we can live gratefully, allowing the energies of life and love to flow through us to the benefit of the whole.
It is important that we ask, seek, and knock to keep ourselves in right relationship with Life Itself. Life is a gift, totally given to us without cost, every day of it, and every part of it. A daily and chosen attitude of gratitude will keep our hands open to expect that life, allow that life, and receive that life at ever-deeper levels of satisfaction—but never to think we deserve it. Those who live with such open and humble hands receive life’s “gifts, full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over into their lap” (Luke 6:38). In my experience, if we are not radically grateful every day, resentment always takes over. Moreover, to ask for “our daily bread” is to recognize that it is already being given. Not to ask is to take our own efforts, needs, and goals—and our selves—far too seriously. Consider if that is not true in your own life. (Rohr, n.d.)
We ponder the image of a crucified King who presents fullness of life in humility, service, and gratitude.
References
Colossians, CHAPTER 1. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved November 20, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/colossians/1?12
Luke, CHAPTER 23. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved November 20, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/23?35
Meditation on Luke 23:35-43. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved November 20, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/11/20/537353/
Psalms, PSALM 122. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved November 20, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/122?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved November 20, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/an-attitude-of-gratitude-2022-11-20/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture ... Retrieved November 20, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=nov20
Wirth, E. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved November 20, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/112022.html
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