Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Jan 30 2025

The King of Hearts

Both the Jesus who stood before Pilate on his way to a brutal death and the Jesus who will come as the firstborn of the dead and ruler of all can seem too far away to make much of an impression on our lives. But holding these two images together can speak a profound truth, offering our lives meaning and value.

In John’s Gospel Jesus is the revelation of the Father, the Word of God, communicating who God is and what God wants to do for us: to bring us eternal life. The image of Christ the king was one way of communicating that in Jesus, the Creator of all and everything began to reign in a way that “does not belong to this world.”

The use of power in our world has been an endless story of one individual, family, group, or country using its strength, wealth, and talents to hold sway over as many as possible. To do so, any and all means of force and violence were often legitimate. But this is not the way of Christ or those who follow him.

“For this was I born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth” (John 18:37). What truth? That God so loved the world that the Father gave his only Son, “so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (3:16). That’s the foundation of this kingdom and its use of power. That’s the plan. Do you want in?

Consider/Discuss

Do you think of yourself as one who “belongs to the truth” to which Jesus testifies?
What are some ways you try to listen to his voice?

Responding to the Word

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you spoke and the world came into being. You spoke in the fullness of time and the Word became flesh. You continue to speak so all who listen may be born into your kin-dom through the power of your Holy Spirit. Help us to listen for and obey your voice.

Jan 30 2025

Scripture Study for

The depiction of the coming and arrival of the Son of Man is colored with both mythic and royal tones. The figure comes with the clouds, which are the most frequent accompaniment of a theophany or revelation of God. He comes riding the clouds as one would ride a chariot. He is presented before God in the manner of courtly decorum. The one who sits on the throne is called the “Ancient One.” This implies that God is the one who has endured and, presumably, will continue to endure. In other words, God is everlasting. The mysterious Son of Man is installed by God as ruler over the entire universe.

Jesus is first identified as the anointed one (the Christ) and then described as such. He is a witness who faithfully mediates to others the message that he has received from God. He is the firstborn, the one to whom belong both priority of place and sovereignty. He is the ruler of all the kings of the world. These epithets sketch a “high” Christology, one that emphasizes the more-than-human aspects of Jesus. The final statement reinforces this more-than-human character. Alpha and Omega connote totality, suggesting that Jesus comprises everything that is; he transcends the limits of time; he is the almighty, the ruler of all things.

For the Jewish people, King of the Jews was a messianic title. Pilate considered it a challenge to Roman political authority. The Roman asks about a political reality that may have a religious dimension, while Jesus speaks about a religious truth that certainly has political implications. By describing his kingdom through negative contrast, Jesus has indirectly admitted that he is a king. His answers show that both the Jewish leaders and the Roman officials had reason to be concerned about his claims. Though not of this world, his kingdom would indeed challenge both messianic expectations and the powers of this world.

Jan 29 2025

The King

It was thirty years ago. I was strong and quick. That’s why they chose me to guard Pilate. No one would harm the proconsul on my watch. Some write that the governor was alone with Jesus. Pilate was never alone with a prisoner. I stood in the back at attention. I was there. I heard. I saw.

“Are you the King of the Jews?” Pilate asked.

The rebel was strong. He carried his shoulders as one accustomed to lifting heavy burdens, to working with his hands. I watched those hands; they could do damage to Pilate’s throat if he chose. But I would kill him first.

“Your own nation has handed you over. What have you done?” Pilate was relaxed. He had spent many years judging men all over Judea. This man was not important. But the chief priests had asked that he be tried for sedition, for inciting people to rebel against Rome.

To Pilate, here was another small man pretending that he was somebody big.

“My kingdom does not belong to this world. My kingdom is not here,” the prisoner said.

Pilate was taken by surprise. “Then you are a king!” He looked past the man and glanced up at me.

The prisoner turned to look me in the eye. “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

My heart burned. I could hardly breathe. “This is the King,” I knew in that moment. “This is my King.”

Ever since that day, I have told the story of Jesus’s encounter with Pilate. So today, my Emperor Nero, I will not change my statement. Your lions can tear me apart. You can slay me with the sword. I will serve no king but the King, ruler of the kings of the earth. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. I will serve no other.

Consider/Discuss

The “unknown soldier” in this story was willing to give his life for his King. What does it mean to you to give your life for your King?
Looking back at the events of this liturgical year since the beginning of last Advent, in what ways have you seen the King of the Universe triumph? In what ways has it seemed that darkness and falsehood have prevailed? This day, we do what has to be done in spite of what the future may hold. How can we live today faithful to the King rather than dwell in fear?

Living and Praying with the Word

God of the living, you are our future. As we launch from this holy year to the next, we do not know what those days will bring, but you will be there. You will guide us. You will uphold us. We want to honor your kingship. We want to give our lives for you.

All you unknown martyrs of the faith, pray for us. We want to bear witness to Christ—the King—as you did. In courage and strength, we too will serve no other.

Jan 29 2025

Scripture Study for

The scene from Daniel draws on ancient motifs to depict the final triumph of God’s power over hostile, chaotic forces. The time of persecution comes to an end when God (“the Ancient of Days”) sets up thrones of judgment against those who have brought chaos to the earth (Daniel 7:1–12). At this time, a figure “like a Son of man,” that is, with human features, appears on a chariot of clouds. From God this figure receives dominion over the whole earth. As the Jewish tradition developed, this image came to be associated with an expected Messiah who would establish and rule over the kingdom of God on earth. It was in this sense that “the Son of Man” was understood by many in the first century.

The book of Revelation was intended to inspire faith in the final victory of God and the Anointed One—the Christ—over the forces of evil that had been persecuting Christians. Thus, the book begins with a vision of Christ as the victorious and supreme sovereign, whose power extends through space and time. Key themes of the book are sounded here. Jesus is the “faithful witness” who was obedient to God even to death. Resurrected, he is the first of many who will be raised. The work of Christ is a work of love, which seeks to free those whom he loves from all bondage, beginning with sin. As God’s Christ, he is forming a people to give glory to God. The final section, which draws on the vision in Daniel, connects Christ to Jewish messianic expectations.

Pontius Pilate and the Romans were concerned about Jesus and his actions only because they believed them to be connected with political insurrection against the Empire. Was Jesus claiming to be the king of the Jews in an attempt to establish a Jewish state? Pilate wants to know what Jesus’ intentions are. Jesus affirms he has a kingdom, albeit one not of this world, and so in a sense no threat to the Romans. But he is strangely reluctant to affirm explicitly that he is a king (perhaps because it is a title that can be misunderstood), focusing instead on the question of truth. Those who belong to the truth know who and what Jesus is. Pilate can call him whatever he wants.

Jan 16 2025

Dividing Day

Every so often when I am driving, I see that old bumper sticker calling us to commit random acts of kindness. Good advice in light of the story of the Last Judgment. Did you notice that the story makes no mention of many of the sins we usually worry about as the basis for the Last Judgment? This is not to say such things don’t matter. But the emphasis here has to do with getting out there and responding to people really in need, basic needs relating to hunger, thirst, being a stranger—an unwelcome immigrant? (that one is certainly ripped from today’s headlines!)— lacking clothes, needing health care (another relevant one), and being imprisoned.

While it is always interesting to watch other people being judged, it is not something most of us enjoy experiencing ourselves—especially when it comes to evaluating our moral lives. It is much easier to think of Jesus as the forgiving, compassionate, tender shepherd who is out there looking for us than as the one who comes in glory to judge and separate out the goats and the lambs. Who wants to be counted among the goats?

So, pick your area that will help you to be counted among the sheep. Food distribution, environmental concerns, immigration reform, clothing—include here those nets that can save lives threatened by various issues surrounding health care, or prison reform. Perhaps you thought this was one of those quaint stories Jesus tells that seem so long ago and far away. The last we hear from the Gospel of Matthew for this year invites your participation—now. The reason? When you do something for them, you do it for him.

Consider/Discuss

Have you had any experiences of being judged that proved helpful?
Can you bring together images of Jesus as both shepherd and judge?
Can you hear in today’s Gospel an invitation to a fuller life?

Responding to the Word

We pray with confidence to the Father to whom all things will be handed over by Christ, the new Adam, through whom we have become children of the king dom. We ask the Spirit to teach us to recognize the freedom that comes from sub jecting ourselves to God’s rule and serving, as Christ served, those most in need.