Christ the King, Thirty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C 2022

Title

The King Who Gives His Life

Outline

I recently finished Hilaire Belloc’s book on the Crusades

One major reason the Crusades failed was the lack of a unified command

One reason the Crusader state lasted as long as it did was that it did develop kingship and had effective kings in office

Human beings resist kingly leadership for we want a leader in our image following our policies for the good of our group, while God’s presents us with a king who calls us to follow him in the way of self-giving love.

David shows both sides of this issue

The Israelites acknowledged him as one of them (“We are your bone and your flesh.”) but only after their policy of following the House of Saul had failed.

They acknowledge that he had fought their battles, but remember this only when there is no other option.

They realize that God had said, “You shall shepherd my people Israel; you shall be ruler over Israel.” But this is acknowledged only after there was no other choice

They did not want a Judahite king despite his being Israel, and this rivalry will show up in later Israelite history and the lack of divinely appointed leadership will destroy the nation.

Now Jesus was indeed bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, but he was rejected as king

He had not done things the way the Jewish leaders wished, so they demonstrated his apparent helplessness and denounced him, “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God.”

Ironically, he was at that time saving a Jew, but not in the way the leaders wished or could see - and he was saving the wrong Jew: “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

The Roman titulus (“This is the King of the Jews.”) was correct, but it was hung on the cross to insult the Jewish leaders, not because Pilate understood Jesus’ rule was being established in the battle of the cross.

We gain salvation when we acknowledge Jesus as king

The failure to do this is what makes the evangelical formulaic way of “getting saved” problematic - it does not mention kingship and is often more about us.

Instead, we need to remind ourselves that salvation is deliverance from one rule and submission to ultimate rule: “He 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.”

So salvation is a cry for mercy and submission without the precondition of mercy: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

We acknowledge with Paul that Jesus is God who has become one of us. That is not universal among those who claim Christian identity.

We acknowledge that Jesus is creator and sustainer - of everything, seen and unseen, what we know and what we do not know.

We acknowledge that God chose “through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross.” - the cross was his victory, making horizontal and vertical peace.

This is why Dante was correct when he saw Christendom, i.e. the joining of the Church to worldly power, the way of the cross to the way of force and violence, as a disaster. He was correct then and remains correct today. We live by conversion, not coercion; we live by love not by law; we live by divine patronage not human cooption.

We acknowledge that he is living and so leads the way to life, “the firstborn of the dead.”

We acknowledge that God therefore established that “in all things [Jesus] himself might be preeminent.” Humans - and all other beings - bow before him.

We acknowledge that therefore “He is the head of the body, the church.” His is bone of our bones and we become bone of his bones, one with him. We cannot create our type of Church but submit to his being our head in his Church. That is the principle of unity. Cut a part of the body off from the head and it does not do so well.

And living that commitment makes us loyal followers of Jesus, following him in the way of the cross, the way of love, unified with him now because we expect ultimate unity under his rule in the resurrection.

Christ is king - come let us adore him

Readings

Catholic Daily Readings 11-20-2022: Christ the King, Thirty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

FIRST READING

2 Samuel 5:1–3

1 All the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron, and they said: “Look! We are your bone and your flesh. 2 In days past, when Saul was still our king, you were the one who led Israel out in all its battles and brought it back. And the LORD said to you: You shall shepherd my people Israel; you shall be ruler over Israel.” 3 Then all the elders of Israel came to the king in Hebron, and at Hebron King David made a covenant with them in the presence of the LORD; and they anointed David king over Israel.

RESPONSE

Psalm 122:1

1 A song of ascents. Of David.

I rejoiced when they said to me,

“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

Catholic Daily Readings 11-20-2022: Christ the King, Thirty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

PSALM

Psalm 122:1–5

1 A song of ascents. Of David.

I rejoiced when they said to me,

“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

2 And now our feet are standing

within your gates, Jerusalem.

3 Jerusalem, built as a city,

walled round about.

4 There the tribes go up,

the tribes of the LORD,

As it was decreed for Israel,

to give thanks to the name of the LORD.

5 There are the thrones of justice,

the thrones of the house of David.

Catholic Daily Readings 11-20-2022: Christ the King, Thirty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

SECOND READING

Colossians 1:12–20

12 giving thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light. 13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15 He is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn of all creation.

16 For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,

the visible and the invisible,

whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;

all things were created through him and for him.

17 He is before all things,

and in him all things hold together.

18 He is the head of the body, the church.

He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,

that in all things he himself might be preeminent.

19 For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,

20 and through him to reconcile all things for him,

making peace by the blood of his cross

[through him], whether those on earth or those in heaven.

Catholic Daily Readings 11-20-2022: Christ the King, Thirty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Mark 11:9–10

9 Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out:

“Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!

Hosanna in the highest!”

GOSPEL

Luke 23:35–43

35 The people stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God.” 36 Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine 37 they called out, “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” 38 Above him there was an inscription that read, “This is the King of the Jews.”

39 Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” 40 The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? 41 And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Notes

Catholic Daily Readings 11-20-2022: Christ the King, Thirty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2022 | ORDINARY TIME

CHRIST THE KING

THIRTY-FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

YEAR C | ROMAN MISSAL | LECTIONARY

First Reading 2 Samuel 5:1–3

Response Psalm 122:1

Psalm Psalm 122:1–5

Second Reading Colossians 1:12–20

Gospel Acclamation Mark 11:9–10

Gospel Luke 23:35–43

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