Scripture Reflection, November 23, 2025, Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

2 Samuel 5:1-3 Colossians 1:12-20 Luke 23:35-43

One of my kids was a real night owl. Bedtime was always a struggle. I recall the day she announced defiantly, "When I'm a grown-up I can stay up as late as I want! “ Ha! Little did she realize that being an adult means you go to bed when your responsibilities are taken care of and sometimes, by then, you’re exhausted! But who of us has not wanted now and then to be “in control”, to have the power to do whatever we want, to be captain of our own ship, to be “king”? Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King and our scriptures give us a study in power. What does it mean to be powerful? What does it mean to be powerless?

In the words of our second reading Jesus could not be more powerful. He is "the image of the invisible God … All things were created through him and for him”…. “ And then there's the gospel from Luke. Jesus, bloodied, naked, subject to public ridicule, dying on a cross as a criminal. And "failing “ his final test… "If you are a king, save yourself. “

It is only through the eyes of faith that Jesus’ kingship is visible. It is the criminal who prays, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom,” who sees a king and re-defines power.

Power can be seductive. The unbridled freedom to do whatever we want, to have whatever we want is the way some would define power. It is a definition of power that places oneself at the center of one's own universe, subject to no higher authority. Certainly, this is not power as exercised by Jesus who taught his followers to pray to his Abba, “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.”

None of us has absolute power, but we are not powerless. We have a voice. We have a vote. We have time and energy to give. How do we use the power, limited though it might be, to make God's kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven? Do we treat others with the dignity they deserve as children of God regardless of how the world sees them? Do we deem the need of others in our own country and around the world for food, clothing, shelter and medical care as important as our own… And reflect that in our vote, action and conversation?

By our baptism we share the kingship of Jesus. May we exercise it as he did.

by: Pat Schnee, OPA