November 20, 2022, The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (Year C)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Jesus as Christ the King. This concept of royalty is something which seems a bit foreign to us as it is a form of government which is rarely found in the world today. Kings and queens are basically figureheads kept in some countries as a part of tradition. Their few obligations include things such as appointing prime ministers, offering input on certain new laws, and receiving foreign dignitaries. Basically, their roles are kept alive as a form of respect and honor for a longstanding institution. Celebrating this feast during the course of the church year gives us a reason to study the use of the enigmatic title, “king,” for Jesus.
In the time before Jesus (1150–1025 BCE) Israel was ruled by a series of judges as a very ineffective form of government. These judges were unable to maintain peace with their pagan enemies and they often failed to keep the laws of the covenant established between God and Moses. So, the elders of the various tribes approached their last great judge, Samuel, and asked him to appoint a king over their nation. One who could either defeat or make peace with their enemies as well as establish a uniform type of government.
But Samuel was hesitant to appoint a king. He warned the people that a king would become a tyrant. He would appoint the men as soldiers and make them produce his weapons for war. He would use their daughters as perfumers, cooks, and bakers and he would take their best fields and vineyards. He would give the grape harvests to his officials and servants. He would take their best livestock and their slaves to do his work (1Sam. 8:14-17).
Samuel also told them that by choosing a human king they were usurping the Lord’s reign as king of Israel. Upset over the situation, Samuel spoke to God and told Him what the people were demanding. But God told Samuel not to worry, it was not Samuel, but God who they were rejecting as their king. So, God commanded Samuel, “Listen to them! Appoint a king to rule over them.” (1Sam. 8:22).
Therefore, according to God’s instructions, Samuel appointed Saul as the first king of Israel. But Saul turned out to be a failure as king, breaking the worship laws of the Lord, so God removed the monarchy from Saul’s family and established the young shepherd, David as king. Though not without fault, David was considered to be the greatest king in the history of Israel. He captured Jerusalem and established the city as the center of worship. He won victory over the many small nations around them and brought peace to Israel. And he established a uniform type of government over all of the Israelite tribes.
Most of all David had the desire to build a Temple, a “home” for the Lord in Jerusalem. Until then, the Israelites had considered God to be present in the Ark of the Covenant in a tent. But God denied needing a Temple, telling Samuel to tell David that he would reserve that task for David’s son. Instead, God promised a never-ending dynasty for David. He told David, “I will raise up your offspring after you, sprung from your loins, and I will establish his kingdom. He it is who shall build a house for my name, and I will establish his royal throne forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.” (2Sam. 7:12-14). Thus became the language for considering a king to be the Son of God.
It also became the prophecy that a son, or descendant, would come from David’s line who would guide Israel and lead them as a messiah, a savior from conflict who would grant them eternal peace among all of the nations. It is this promise to David which we hear about in the First Reading (2Sam. 5:1), “You shall shepherd my people Israel and shall be commander of Israel.” With every new king who came to the throne, the Israelites hoped he would be the messiah.
However, not one king in the succession fulfilled this role for Israel. Because of their many sins, God’s people were exiled to Babylon and subsequently became a vassal of the Greek Empire and then the Romans. Yet they continued to wait for the promised king. When Jesus was born, Herod the Great (74 to 4 B.C.) was the king of Judea ruling the territory with Roman approval. When the Magi approached King Herod looking for the newborn king of the Jews, the messiah, Herod had all the baby boys in the area killed hoping to eliminate this newborn messiah. But Joseph received in a dream, the message from God to flee with the Holy Family to Egypt to protect Jesus. Once the danger ceased, Joseph and Mary went to live with Jesus in Nazareth knowing their task was to raise and protect the child who would become the King of the Jews. For both Joseph and Mary had been assigned this task by an angel before the birth of Jesus. And as descendants of David, both Mary and Joseph gave Jesus the Davidic familial connection to fulfill this role.
As Jesus’ mission expanded, there were many instances where his identity as King of the Jews was revealed. As mentioned it was first used by the Magi who, like astrologers, read the signs of the stars to locate this promised messiah.
At his Baptism by John the Baptist, a voice came down from heaven declaring, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt. 3:17). At his transfiguration, the disciples, Peter, James, and John witnessed “a bright cloud overshadow them, and a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” (Mt. 17:5). And even from prison, John the Baptist sought proof from Jesus that he was the messiah. Jesus confirmed, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them” (Lk. 7:22). All tasks that a messiah hoped would do for his people.
Jesus, himself, proved his identity as the messiah with his preaching and healing. From the beginning of his Galilean ministry Jesus proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Christ being the messiah of that kingdom. Even the demons recognized Jesus as the Son of God when he cured two possessed men, the demons retorted, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? (Mt. 8:29). Finally, there were the many miracles Jesus had performed – healing the blind, the lame, and the lepers – and the times when he controlled the elements – walking on water, calming the storm, multiplying fish, and turning water into wine.
Of course, the greatest miracle of Jesus, Son of God, Christ the King, was his Resurrection from the dead and his disciples’ subsequent establishment of his Church spanning the world around. At every Mass we have the opportunity, the privilege, to personally meet Jesus through prayer, scripture, and in particular through the Eucharist, the very sacrifice of his Body and Blood which he instituted to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until his return in glory. Thus, we pray daily, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” a prayer of hope and gratitude to Jesus, Christ the King and Son of God.
