A homily for The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, November 23, 2025
2 Samuel 5:1-3, Colossians 1:12-20, Luke 23:35-43
In first-century Jerusalem, Jesus of Nazareth …
… Jesus, the descendant of David who was born in a Bethlehem stable …
… Jesus, the Son of God and son of Mary …
was a terrible king.
Horrible.
Incredibly bad.
At least, that’s what a lot of Israelites believed.
This shaggy lunatic was wandering around from village to village, telling people to love their enemies and turn the other cheek if someone hits them.
No, thank you; our cheeks are just fine the way they are.
No, thank you; we hate our enemies. We kill them or we make them our slaves.
And what kind of king says, “Follow me,” without whipping out his sword — or at least his slingshot — and leading his people into battle against those filthy Roman invaders?
The right kind of king.
The best kind of king.
A king like nobody had ever seen before, and not since.
A divine king. A divinely, perfectly good and loving king.
A king who came to serve and not be served.
A king who came down from Heaven to fulfill everything that God’s prophets like Isaiah and law-givers like Moses had promised the Chosen People.
For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.
He shall judge between the nations and set terms for many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.
We honor him as Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.
Not everyone did. Not everyone does.
Not everyone follows his Great Commandments, which simplify and amplify all of God’s laws:
Love God with your whole heart, your whole mind, your whole body, and your whole soul.
Love your neighbor as yourself. Love one another as I have loved you.
Some people think that’s just too radical.
But we know it’s not.
All anyone needs to do is look, really look, at how Jesus lived and died during his brief stay on Earth.
Humbly. Lovingly. Peacefully. Righteously.
Not exactly regally. Not the way people were used to seeing their kings and palaces.
Jesus was born in a barn surrounded by filthy farm animals and greeted by smelly shepherds, yet he and his family were paid homage by glistening angels and wealthy elites who traveled from distant lands and from Heaven itself.
Young Jesus played by the rules of Jewish religion and culture, learning his Scriptures, learning a trade, and obeying his parents. There was that time when he was about 12 when he hung out in the Temple in Jerusalem, scaring Mary and Joseph half to death. Even then, Jesus had an inkling of his divine mission.
When he set off on that mission, around age 30, he didn’t ride in a golden chariot. He wasn’t carried in a sedan chair by a half-dozen slaves.
He walked, wearing thin sandals and surviving through the kindness of strangers.
His simple but profound words and his tender care and healing gave people hope and a belief in the goodness of humankind. His words and actions made it clear that loving kindness is the essence of the life that God has given to everyone: to everyone now alive, to everyone who ever lived and to everyone who ever will live.
The words and actions of Jesus made it clear that every countless gift from God is meant to be shared. To be paid forward.
No, not everybody got it. Not everybody gets it. Sharing instead of snatching riches for themselves?
Nope, still too radical.
So Jesus gave us the Eucharist just before he sacrificed his body and his blood via the cruelest forms of torture and execution. A radical Sacrament to be shared in his memory whenever two or more are gathered in his name.
Throughout history, throughout human memory, we have honored leaders for their little acts of generosity. Good King This or Good Queen That gave their people firewood or wheat or maybe even s’mores, and the people were grateful.
None of them sacrificed every drop of their blood, gave their every last gasping breath to restore the highway to Heaven the way that Jesus did.
If those kings were good, then it’s almost unimaginable how great Jesus is.
And because his reign is forever, Jesus continues to shower us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the uplifting grace of God Almighty.
A perfect example for us. A perfect example of how to live and how to give.
A divinely perfect, loving king.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.
