Sunday – Feast of Christ, the King of the Universe  11/23/25

Gospel – Luke 23:25-43

King Me!

Orthodox Church of Annunciation, Nazareth

One of my favorite childhood memories are all the times I got to play games with my Dad.  With all the hours he put into the store, free time was a bit of a luxury.  But he somehow always found a way!  Whether it was softball games on Sunday afternoon or evening games at the kitchen table, I always looked forward to the challenge – rummy, Chinese checkers and checkers.  Through it all, I always felt I had a good chance to beat him but sadly that was a rare occurrence, especially with checkers!  I would get to the point where victory seemed assured and then he would yell out those 2 dreadful words – KING ME!!!  That was it – I was doomed!  I didn’t just lose; I was demolished, swept away on the battlefield with just a faint hope to fight another day. 

KING ME!  Even today it reminds me of all my favorite epic movies where the King rides into battle, wielding a sword, vanquishing his enemies in one fell swoop!  That was my idea of a King – someone who leads his army against the forces of evil, who literally fights for justice with a crown on his head and a sword in his hand!

We celebrate today the Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ. King of the Universe. It marks the end of Ordinary Time in the Church.  Next Sunday we will celebrate the First Sunday of Advent and a new liturgical year!  The Feast was established by Pope Pius X in 1925, just after WWI while the world was still recovering and healing from the devastation.   

Jesus is King!  Certainly not the image I had of what a king is like.  In fact, certainly not the image of kings we see in Scripture!

David – committing adultery and executing his own son

Solomon – having dozens of wive and allowing idolatry to grow in the country

Saul – consumed by paranoia and jealousy of David, ending up falling on his sword in battle.

Herod the Great – massacring the Holy Innocents in Bethlehem

Herod Antipas - distracted by Salome and beheading John the Baptist for speaking the truth!

Not a great track record for kings!

Which takes us to today’s Gospel, a rather unusual choice for the reading – there are no crowns, no armies, no thrones or attendants.  What we have is Jesus on the cross – in suffering and pain, on the point of death.  And yet this is the moment He identifies Himself as a King, as THE KING!  And in the midst of His agony, He reaches out to the good thief and promises him that this day he will be with Jesus in His Kingdom!

Whenever I lost to my dad, and it was often, I remember he never gloated, he never pumped his fist in the air, happy to be a winner.  Instead, he took the time to check on me, make sure I was ok and then offer some helpful advice on how to improve my game.  He guided me, coached me, encouraged me!  And he did it all with love and compassion.  He helped me to see the mistakes I made and learn from them, grow from them! 

Jesus is a King like no other. A king who rules not with a sword but with love and compassion, with wisdom and grace.  He is a king who brings peace and healing, compassion and forgiveness!  A king who welcomes us into His Kingdom if we only come to Him with repentance and faith, with hope and with love!

That is what Our King calls us today to do – to follow His example, to serve Him by serving others, to attend to the needs of the least among us, to those who are suffering and in pain, in the hope that He will welcome us all into the Kingdom.  And like the good thief, Jesus reminds us that, even in the darkest moments of our lives, He is right there beside us just as He will be with us in His Kingdom!

 

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