23 November 2025

23 November 2025 - Feast of Christ the Universal King

Transcript

Reading:  

2 Samuel 5:1

Write:  

Here we are, your bone and your flesh.

Reflect:   

It all sounds so civilized. But the reality of history is very different. The nation of Israel was divided between Saul and David. Even after Saul was killed, the warfare continued. David was declared king, but in a divided kingdom. He ruled for seven and a half years in Hebron, then thirty-three years in Jerusalem. Those first seven and a half years were filled with strife and fighting amongst themselves. There were those who wanted a descendant of Saul to be the king. And they chose to fight against David. It seems clear through the eyesight of history that David had every right to claim the kingship. In fact, the line above that I quoted from our first reading was the nation coming together behind David. The fighting with Saul’s family was over.

It is true that history is almost always written by the victor. But in this case, history was written by God. Throughout the book of second Samuel we hear of the amazing work that God did through David. Oh, yes, he had failures. One was the tragic move he made to gain Bathsheba. Another was to act in pride and to count how many subjects he had.

I mention these because I think it is important to see that there were… faults in this chosen leader of God’s People. But he was always willing to humble himself, especially when confronted with his own mistakes. David became a righteous and holy priest-king according to the order of Melchizedek who was king in Salem at the time of Abraham (that city became Jerusalem). There is a whole lot more that could be said about David.

Apply:   

But let us jump to Jesus. His warfare was very different than that of David. Yet, in the letter to the Hebrews, he is called a priest according to the order of Melchizedek – which means he is alsoa priest-king. I have a sneaking suspicion that more people in Jesus’ own day recognized him as this priest-king than just his immediate circle of disciples. Take for instance the man born blind, sitting on the side of the road who said “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me!” How would he have known he is a son of David? The only answer to this that I can see is that there were people who understood who… Jesus… really… was. You turn to the gospel story today with the good thief – Saint Dismas. (Yes, tradition has named him and the unrepentant thief is named Gestas.) But Dismas saw through the foolishness of trying to condemn Jesus. Let me repeat that: he saw through the foolishness of trying to condemn Jesus! – – – He could see him as the king.

So why did I spend so much time speaking about David? His was a bloody life! God even told him he could not build the temple because he had too much blood on his hands. Yet, he was the king whose heart was set of the Lord. He was much approved of by God, despite his mistakes. He became the example of the priest-king that was not brought to fulfillment until Jesus.

This is brought powerfully home in Paul’s letter to the Colossians that we read this weekend:

He [Jesus] is before all things,
 and in him all things hold together.
 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.
 For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
 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.

As the priest-king, Jesus is the fulfillment of everything we need. He has conquered thrones and dominions and principalities and powers. God the Father delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. Saint Dismas was the first to receive that transfer.

Now I want to focus on something different, but connected. In Joel, chapter 4, we hear of a reversal of what is very often quoted from Isaiah. Joel says: “Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning knives into spears; let the weakling boast, ‘I am a warrior!’”

This is not small change! Joel is rallying the nation of Israel to stand up against those who would choose to destroy it. Well, our King – Jesus, the Universal King – is calling us also to be ready. But the armor of God is not just simply a sword or a spear, and certainly not a gun. St. Paul gives us the weapons for spiritual warfare in his letter to the Ephesians:

For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. 

So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

One little side note to this armor of God: there is nothing for your back! Why? Because we are supposed to have each other’s backs. We are supposed to stand with one another – for Jesus. Also, we are never supposed to retreat.

So, here on this great feast day of Jesus the Universal King, we need to remember that we are in the Church Militant – we are in a fight for our own souls. Now some of you may be thinking, “oh, that’s just father, you know he is a veteran, he is bound to speak that way sometimes.” Please, do not dismiss this. We have a very real enemy who wants to destroy us and drag us to hell. But Jesus cut all that to pieces when from the cross he said, “today you will be with me in paradise.”

Pray/Praise:   

Let us pray. Lord Jesus, Universal King, Commander of the Army of God, you call us out of our complacency to be ready to do the work of holiness for the sake of your kingdom. As we enter the end of this liturgical year this weekend, help us to be ready to make a great Advent and to be ready to do the work that you call us to do. In Confirmation you made us your soldiers. Make us ready – today – to be people of prayer and holiness in a world that does not understand, or want, what you offer.

As we head into Thanksgiving this week, remind us of your call that we may truly give thanks that you have called us each by name and given us the ability to inform the world of who you are. Amen.

+++++