The Solemnity of our Lord, Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

November 23, 2025

The power of Jesus gives us hope.

Luke 23:35-43

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.” Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine they called out, “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” Above him there was an inscription that read, “This is the King of the Jews.” Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL

From Living Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits

Today, the last Sunday of the Church year, we celebrate as usual the Feast of Christ the King. It is one of the most beautiful and meaningful feasts of the year. The concept of king and kingdom is at the very heart of Jesus’ message to us. He came to inaugurate among us the Kingdom of God. By this we understand that complex of people and communities which have totally accepted and assimilated the vision of life under God which Jesus proclaimed. It is a vision not only for a minority sect among the peoples of the world but a call that is valid for all, a message which contains the deepest hopes and longings of peoples everywhere. To take on board this message is to enter a life of fullness, of deep happiness and satisfaction. It is not necessarily a life without pain or suffering. In fact, pain and suffering may be integral to the very development of the Kingdom vision in our lives. It is a life which essentially involves other people, who on the one hand are agents of my personal growth and who on the other depend on me to be the agents of their growth. Behind all this is the figure of Jesus Christ, our King. In himself he embodies the whole vision of the Kingdom by the way he lived, spoke, worked, taught, healed, liberated and finally sacrificed his life in love for us. In today’s Scripture readings we are given two extraordinarily contrasting images of our King. They are complementary and we cannot have one without the other. In the reading from the Letter to the Colossians we have a description of the Son as emanating from the Father with all the power and dignity of God. The letter tells us that we have been “taken out of the power of darkness” and for us has been created “a place in the kingdom of the Son…and in him, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins”. To enter the Kingdom is to experience being brought from darkness into light and we gain our freedom through the forgiveness of our sins. To be free and in sin are mutually exclusive. Who is this Son? “He is the image of the unseen God and the first-born of all creation” in whom and through whom all things in the heavens and on earth were brought into being. “Before anything was created, he existed, and he holds all things in unity.” This is the special gift that the Son is for us. Through his taking on himself our human nature, we have been given access to the very being of God himself. We have access to the way God thinks, the way God loves. Being made in his image, we are called also to reflect in our lives the way God thinks and loves. And so the Son is called Pontifex (Bridge-builder) and ‘Mediator’ – for in his humanity as Jesus, he is the visible link between God and ourselves. In the man Jesus we have an intimate access to God and yet God remains transcendent and, in many respects, unknowable and unattainable. In Jesus we see God – to use Paul’s phrase – as “in a glass darkly”. When Jesus speaks and acts, it is both a man and God who speaks and acts but the fullness of God cannot be accessed through the human body of Jesus. So it is that all the prayers of the Church go through Jesus to the Father. Jesus is the Way; the Father is the End, the Ultimate Goal. But the letter goes further for it says that “now the Church is his body, he is its head”. The body of the risen and glorified Jesus is not now a human body, but the whole Christian community taken together. It is now our calling and responsibility to be the mediating agent between God and the world. It is for us to proclaim the Kingdom both in word and in the way we live together. “By this will all know that you are my followers, that you have love for one another.” Together with Jesus as the Head of our Body, we have a special mission to be pontifex and mediator between God and the world. In the Gospel, we are transported to an altogether different scene, a scene that can scarcely be reconciled with the image of the Second Reading. Jesus, our King, is hanging nailed to a cross between two other executed criminals. On the headboard is the sign, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews’. On each side are his two ‘courtiers’, a pair of murderous gangsters. Apart from the terrible physical pain he experiences, Jesus has been stripped of all dignity as he hangs there naked before a mocking world. This is the final ‘emptying’ described in the Letter to the Philippians (2:7). Is this truly the “first-born of creation, the image of the unseen God” described in the Second Reading? Is this the same One through whom “Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers” were brought into being? No wonder that Paul says the Cross of Jesus is a scandal, a stumbling block to the Jews and nonsense to the pagans. For our part, can we see and understand that this moment of utter degradation is in truth the most glorious moment in the lifof Jesus? The moment when he gave the “uttermost proof of his love”. Below the cross, the religious leaders, who engineered his execution, now mock the Teacher and Wonderworker who drew huge crowds. “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” The soldiers, too, only knowing by hearsay that he claims to be a ‘king’ join in the jeering as does one of the criminals beside him. “If you are who people say you claim to be, get yourself out of this mess and us as well.” But it is the other criminal who shows deeper insight. He fully acknowledges his own guilt, but sees that Jesus is totally innocent of any wrongdoing. And he turns to Jesus, addressing him with a strange intimacy, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” It is an acknowledgement of Jesus’ Kingship. Once again, Jesus sees not the stereotype nor even the vicious past of this man but only the repentant individual before him here and now. That is enough: “I promise you, today you will be with me in paradise.” What an extraordinary thing to say! There is no delay, no testing of the genuineness of the man’s repentance. Today with Jesus he enters into eternal glory, into the very fullness of the Kingdom – even before any of Jesus’ other disciples, before his own Mother! Here is the wonder of our King and what it means to be part of his Kingdom. It is beautifully described in the Preface to the Eucharistic Prayer in today’s Mass:

As King he claims dominion over all creation,
that he may present to you, his almighty Father,
an eternal and universal kingdom;
a kingdom of truth and life,
a kingdom of holiness and grace,
a kingdom of justice, love and peace.

Our King has been chosen for us by God, but it is for each one of us to profess our allegiance to him. We do this, not just saying it in so many words, but by taking on board the fullness of his life and teaching which we find in the Gospel and in the New Testament. And, as members of his Body, we too in some strange way share in that Kingship. Today we are called to work together to expand the reality of his Kingdom in our families, in our society and in the world generally. Lord Jesus, your Kingdom come!

First Impressions by Jude Siciliano, OP

Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
November 23, 2025
2 Samuel 5: 1-3; Psalm 122; Colossians 1: 12-20; Luke 23: 35-43

Today’s first reading recalls the moment when the twelve tribes of Israel gathered at Hebron to recognize David as their king and pledge allegiance to him. Centuries later, in Jesus’ time, the Jews lived under King Herod and the Roman Empire. They were in a miserable, seemingly hopeless state and longed for the past glory of their united kingdom under David – the “Shepherd King.” David had his faults, but the people were one with him. As the tribes said to him, “Here we are, your bone and your flesh.” Despite his all-too-human weaknesses, God used David to unite the twelve tribes into a single, powerful nation. Under Herod and Roman occupation, the suffering people not only looked back to that golden age, but also forward to a messianic, David-like king who would deliver them. They believed God would again raise up a ruler to free them from oppression. But where was this long-awaited king? And how would they recognize him when he came? In the gospel, the answer is shocking he hangs on a cross. Pilate, in mockery, had placed above him the inscription, “This is the King of the Jews.” How did this king end up in such a crushing place of defeat? Earlier in Luke, we read that Jesus “firmly resolved to proceed to Jerusalem” (9:51). From that moment, we have been traveling with him and his disciples toward the Holy City. Along the way – the “Journey Narrative” that runs from 9:51 to 19:28 – Luke reminds us again and again that Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem. During that journey, Jesus performs miracles, teaches about prayer and the cost of discipleship, sends his followers on mission, meets resistance from religious leaders, predicts his passion, warns of coming trials, and exhorts perseverance in faith until the Son of Man returns. Still, when they finally reach Jerusalem and everything he foretold comes true – his arrest and crucifixion – the disciples are devastated. Shocked and disillusioned, they scatter. In Luke’s account of the crucifixion, those who remain are few: onlookers, mocking soldiers, sneering religious leaders, and, at a distance, “his friends and the women who had followed him from Galilee” (23:49). Beside him hang two condemned criminals. It is a lonely throne and a powerless crown for this so-called “King of the Jews.” Yet, ironically, it is one of those criminals who has the faith to ask, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Kings and queens – those with real authority – exercise “top-down” power over their subjects, much like the control we exert over things, animals, or subordinates. I once witnessed this kind of power at a Marine base in South Carolina: when a drill sergeant barked, “Attention!” his recruits instantly stiffened, eyes fixed straight ahead. Some imagine Jesus’ kingship in that way – as the ability to command instant obedience or crush opposition at will. But on the cross, where is that power? Why doesn’t he use it to descend, destroy his enemies, and establish his reign? Instead, to see our King, we must look upon the terrible sight of the cross, where he is pinned and powerless. What kind of kingship is this? From the cross, Jesus reveals a different kind of power. St. Paul tells us in Philippians that Jesus “emptied himself,” setting aside divine privilege and humbling himself, even to death on a cross. His power is not the power of force, but of self-giving love. He invites us into union with him – a relationship that appears weak yet is stronger than any earthly rule. In that union, we share in his power: the power to heal, to forgive, and to serve as agents of reconciliation. Through our relationship with Christ, we become strong – not by dominating others, but by sharing his life and love with them. In accepting the cross, Jesus entered into solidarity with the lowest in society. Who could be lower than a condemned criminal? The crucified Christ shows that he gives himself to all, especially the least and the lost – not by imposing himself, but by offering himself in apparent defeat. Earthly rulers, and at times even religious authorities, assert power to achieve their own ends. Jesus, by contrast, exercises power through service – laying down his life for us. We are free to accept or reject his rule. He will not compel us. He seeks not subservient subjects, but friends: “I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends…” (John 15:15). Those who accept his reign live as brothers and sisters in his kingdom, already present among us. Yet the world daily tempts us to follow other rulers – greed, violence, indifference, cruelty, aggression. Accepting Jesus’ kingship, then, is not a one-time act; it must be renewed each day through deliberate choices. Living under his reign can sometimes feel discouraging, since his kingdom often appears incomplete or fragile in our world. A glance at the day’s headlines confirms that! There is still much to do to make Jesus’ “peaceable kingdom” visible – not only in the world around us and within the Christian community, but within each of our hearts.

Quotable

“We cannot forget that … the dignity of every human person must be respected today, not tomorrow, and the extreme poverty … should constantly weigh upon our consciences.” —Pope Leo, “Dilexi te”

Justice Bulletin Board by Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh, NC

He [God the Father] delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. --Colossians 1: 13

The idea of a kingdom is an interesting concept to ponder. Look around at the kingdoms active in our world and one typically sees great power and wealth; some are headed by people who want the best for their people, and some are surrounded by corruption and self-interest. The late Pope Francis, in a November 20, 2016, homily, wrote of Jesus’ kingdom, “the grandeur of his kingdom is not power as defined by this world, but the love of God, a love capable of encountering and healing all things.” Someone once wrote that Jesus had more of a “kingdom” than a kingdom in mind, where everyone is meant to be loving siblings to others. What a world that would be! It requires that followers of Jesus’ Way would honor God through compassionate encounters with everyone, even those who may seem very different, from the very poor to perceived enemies. This is reaffirmed in Pope Leo’s new apostolic exhortation, Dilexi Te, “I have loved you.” He writes, “Jesus’ teaching on the primacy of love for God is clearly complemented by his insistence that one cannot love God without extending one’s love to the poor. Love for our neighbor is tangible proof of the authenticity of our love for God, as the Apostle John attests: ‘No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. . .God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them’ (1 Jn 4:12,16). The two loves are distinct yet inseparable. Even in cases where there is no explicit reference to God, the Lord himself teaches that every act of love for one’s neighbor is in some way a reflection of divine charity: ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me’ (Mt 25:40)”(26). This is a grassroots kingdom. Pope Francis reflected that, “The future of humanity does not lie solely in the hands of great leaders, the great powers and the elites. It is fundamentally in the hands of people and in their ability to organize. It is in their hands, which can guide with humility and conviction...” The vision is a “kingdom” and it is in our hands to make it present now.

Accepting Jesus as Our King by Brian Gleeson, CP

Some years ago an American soldier was travelling on a bus in Sweden. He boasted to the man sitting next to him: “America is the most democratic country in the world. Ordinary citizens can go to the White House and discuss things with the President.” “That’s nothing,” said the other passenger, “in Sweden the King and the people travel on the same bus.”  When the man got off the bus, the other passengers said to the American: “You have just met our King, Gustav Adolf VI.” There is some similarity between that type of King and Jesus Christ, our King. During his time on earth Jesus ran away when the crowd tried to make him their kind of king. And this is just what we would expect from someone who told his disciples not to be lord and master over others. This is just what we would expect from someone who put a child in the  centre of the circle as a model of vulnerability and openness to others. This is just what we would expect of a king who showed his authority by washing his followers’ feet, and who was never so powerful as when he hung powerless on the cross, and yet as we have just heard, was able to promise paradise to a repentant thief. As it was for Jesus, so for us his followers! We are never so influential as when we do what Jesus did – never bossing others around, not trying to be someone special or someone different, but welcoming every other person as someone like ourselves, someone with needs and longings like ours, someone who bleeds and hurts like we do. In short, we are never so influential as when we welcome every other person into our lives as another self. On that basis, let me draw your attention to this definition of a friend which I found on the door of the fridge in a priest’s house: “A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and still accepts you the way that you are now.” That’s the kind of person that Jesus wants us to be, that’s the kind of person who truly belongs to his kingdom, whether they know it or not. More than any other leader in our lives, he is our Leader, one whom we honour and love, and one to whom we readily and gladly bend the knee and bow the head. Was it not to bring in that new world that he called ‘the kingdom of God’ the very reason that he came among us? Isn’t that too why he stays with us? Did he not come down to earth to change our hearts, to rid us of all evil and all sin? Did he not come among us to bring an end to all hostility, all wars and all terror? Did he not come to bring us and everyone else justice, joy, peace, health and wellbeing? His kingship, then, is not like that of other kings and rulers. It is not about wealth and power. It is not about domination and control. It is not about military might, conquests, and national security. It is not about palaces, splendour and magnificence. His kingship is about truth and honesty. It’s about goodness and generosity. It’s about service and self-sacrifice. It’s about justice and love. It is about mercy and care. Mercy and care for all people, but especially for those who are poor, broken-hearted, neglected or ignored! So, do you and I really qualify as subjects of his kingdom? Do we belong to him or not? Do we call him ‘Our Lord’, and if we do, do we really mean it and live it? Today our liturgical year is coming to an end. Next Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent, and the start of the Year A Cycle of Readings. Today, Jesus our King is inviting us to bring this year of the Church to an end by choosing him once again and forever as our Lord and Saviour, and recommitting ourselves to living his teachings, values, and example. With the help of his amazing grace, are you and I ready and willing to renew our commitment to him during the rest of our prayer-time together today? Are we? Surely we are! Let’s try to make that commitment, then, make it from the heart, make it for real, and make it for keeps!

PREPARATION FOR THE SESSION

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you. ( 1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. ( 1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

OPENING PRAYER

Lord, we lean on your example to show us what real power means. You are king of all that is good, compassionate and just. You died on the cross the way you did to show us how to trust in the Father’s goodness, even in the darkest moments of our lives. You showed us that love is more powerful that hate, that mercy is more powerful than vengeance. You showed us that dignity is not a matter of where and how we suffer, but a matter of the grace and openness to the suffering other others. Help us to understand what real power means.

COMPANIONS FOR THE JOURNEY

From a homily preached to CC@S in 2010:

Jesus, Remember Me When You Come Into Your Kingdom

Two processions entered Jerusalem on a spring day in the year 30. It was the beginning of the week of Passover, the most sacred week of the Jewish year. On the West side of the city, the main entrance, so to speak, entered Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Idumea, Judea and Samaria. Imagine a cavalry on horses, foot soldiers, leather armor, helmets, weapons, banners, golden eagles mounted on poles, sun glinting on metal and gold. Imagine the sounds: the marching of feet, the creaking of leather, the clinking of bridles, the beating of drums. Then think of the swirling of dust from the entourage. The eyes of the silent onlookers, some curious, some awed, some resentful.”( 1.) Though unfamiliar to most people today, the imperial procession was well known in the Jewish homeland in the first century. It was the standard practice of the Roman governors of Judea to be in Jerusalem for the major Jewish festivals, not out of respect, but simply to be in the city in case there was trouble from the increased population. On the other side of town, the east side, there was another processional. There was a modestly clothed man named Jesus riding on a donkey coming down from the Mount of Olives. Jesus was from the peasant village of Nazareth. His followers were also peasants as were most of the people in the country and surrounding the city. It included people who were outcasts and lame, women and Samaritans. He was the son of a laborer, perhaps a carpenter. His message was about another kind of kingdom, the kingdom of God. They stood by him and alongside the entrance. Many people simply spread their cloaks and shawls before him on his path while others quickly plucked branches from some trees to lay before him and still others waved palms. What kind of king is this, what kind of kingdom? First of all, the Kingdom of God is not a place, or a political structure, but a realm in which only God is adored, a realm in which peace, justice and love are the reigning principles, a realm in which power is shared, not the possession of a few. Were the onlookers that day really looking for a king whose reign would be radically different? Are we? Since the 13th Sunday, when Luke told us that Jesus “firmly resolved to proceed to Jerusalem.” we have been traveling with Jesus to the Holy City. Along the way, he feeds the hungry, heals the hurting, loves and serves the poor, the broken, the marginalized. And when he enters Jerusalem –a dusty little man on a dusty little borrowed donkey, the fun begins. Beaten, mocked, scourged and hung on a crossbeam like a common criminal, he is not the king anybody was expecting. It’s a lonely throne and powerless crown for this “King of the Jews.” Ironically, it is one of the criminals executed alongside Jesus who has the faith to ask Jesus to remember him when Jesus enters his kingly power. Jesus, the king, is showing us another kind of power from the cross. Jesus’ power is not exerted by force, but by inviting us to become one with him. He is offering himself to us in a relationship that is strong, even when it appears weak. In that relationship we share in his power--a power to heal and forgive; a power to be his servants in his ministry of reconciliation. In our relationship with Jesus we become strong, not assuming power and rule over people, but by sharing his life in our relationship with others. Pilate entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday with soldiers and a chariot and led by force. Jesus entered on a donkey and led by service. One was the executioner and one was executed. One is forgotten in history. One is worshiped and loved and changed the world. For whatever people want to say about Jesus, the historical reality about Jesus is that he represented not only a new way of believing, but a new way of being. He deliberately countered the aristocratic and pharisaic domination system. Jesus spoke and lived for the oppressed and became the greatest leader by being the greatest servant. And now it is our turn. When we pray May your kingdom come, we sometimes hope God will change the world around us without our having to change at all. But when we pray may your kingdom come we have to be willing to let our kingdom go. Oh, we can point to historical institutions like governments and even the Church who have abused power and coveted the trappings of monarchy. But that is a cop out. Real change has always begun with individuals. Think Jesus, yes, but think also of Ghandi, of Buddha, of Mother Teresa and many others who changed their priorities and changed the world forever. It starts in our daily choices: Do we seek power and prestige? Is our goal in life to be “somebody” to be important or successful or relevant? Do we seek wealth and control? Or do we seek to put our gifts to work for the good of those who cannot help themselves? Do we seek to work to save a ravaged planet? Do we seek to dominate, intimidate or exclude those closest to us—our family members, friends and co-workers? Do we Judge and distain others or are we seekers of care and compassion? May your kingdom come. Talk is cheap. Are we truly seekers of God’s kingdom of love and peace or are we mouthing empty phrases? Two processions entered Jerusalem on that long ago day. The same question, the same alternative, faces those of us who would be faithful to Jesus today. Which procession are we in?
(1.) Borg, Marcus and Crossan, Dominic: What the Gospels Really Teach About the Last Days

LIVING THE GOOD NEWS

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow.

Reflection Questions:
Christ freely gives forgiveness to those who ask: What holds you back from asking?
Is there someone from whom you are holding back forgiveness?

Has Jesus been a shepherd for you in times of turmoil and trouble?
How can Jesus be a shepherd for a troubled world and deeply disturbed world?

Like a revisiting of the earlier temptations in the desert at the beginning of his career, Jesus once again hears the seductive hiss of a final temptation---to use his power to free himself from the cross. Have you ever had a particular temptation that would not seem to go away?
What was it?

Have I ever been tempted to use what power I possess for my own personal purposes or needs?

The grace for Jesus was the thief’s voice on the other side of his cross, reminding him of his mission and his promise to his father to stay faithful to that mission… Has anyone in your life been that steadying voice that recalls you to fidelity to your obligations and promises?

How successful have those voices of grace been in returning you to an even keel?

Powerlessness is horrible—there are things in life we cannot control, and we just HATE that. Has there been anything in your life that has mirrored this powerlessness?

What is the difference between coercive power and suasive power?
What is God’s power like?

Anne Lamott said there are three ways in which we wish we had power, and they are impossible to obtain: the power to change the truth, the power to change the past, and power to change another. Do you agree?
What DO we have the power to change?

We find Christ today dying on the cross. What kind of power is that?
How will he attract people from such a powerless place?

Luke tells us that, “the people stood there watching….” What is your reaction to this scene?

Do I ever surrender power to those who don’t deserve it?

The king isn’t ruling from a throne, but from a cross, a place of defeat and abandonment. Do I want to accept his rule in my life?

From “First Impressions” 2025, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:
Can you name two or three powers that lay claim to the hearts of people in the world? What powers compete with Jesus’ rule within our church? Within ourselves?

CLOSING PRAYER

Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offerprayers for anyone you wish to pray for.

Lord, we are selfish, unkind and mean-spirited at times. We have failed so often and often failed spectacularly. But you understand and forgive, extending to us the Father’s care. Aways the father’s care.

WEEKLY MEMORIZATION

Taken from the gospel for today’s session….Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Meditations:

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions

Read Psalm 147 and consider the questions which follow:

Psalm 147

Praise the Lord.
How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp.
He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.
He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.
His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
Extol the Lord, Jerusalem; praise your God, Zion.
He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you.
He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.
He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.
He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.
He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws.

A psalm reflects the psalmist’s theology and the psalmist’s idea of how they want the world to work. Sometimes, psalms about God’s power reflect all too closely the ideal of power prevalent at the time—powerful rulers who reward those who curry favor with them, who punish those who disobey the rules. Order is maintained through intimidation and sheer force. It is coercive power. In reading the psalm, how would you describe this psalm writer’s notion of God’s power? Does this comport with your idea of God’s power? Do you think power must include destruction or create fear among others? What about suasive power—the kind of power that draws in others and empowers them, encourages them, and, yes, reminds them when they are messing up? What kind of power did Jesus eschew while he was on the cross? What kind of power did Jesus embrace while he was on the cross? What does the tell you about the proper use of kingly power? Or the proper use of God’s power?

A meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action (Adapted from Justice Notes: “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province)

We are a people who admire power. We are quick to react if we think we are being infringed upon in any way. Our country began with a rebellion against a British king’s power. We wanted our national and individual liberties and would accept no king or queen over us. We boast of being the most powerful nation in the world and we have the economic, military and political might to prove it. This feast challenges us to reflect on the power each of us has and how we use it. Are we first world citizens who are economically comfortable, educated, articulate, etc.? There are many ways we have and use power; many ways we have influence over individuals and as members of communities and organizations. Where do you see abuse of power or a power vacuum? The Gospel is not only about our own individual goodness or charity. It is about our responsibility to help change social structures and national policies to make them more compassionate. We must ask the Gospel questions and struggle to change the answers: Does our nation feed the hungry? Or do we cut support programs in order to fund an ever increasing military budget? Does our nation welcome strangers? Or are our immigration limits and laws making it more and more difficult for those seeking a better life to find one here in our country? Does our nation clothe the naked? Or do we support the sweatshops, which make the lives of the poor a misery while making cheap clothing more available for those who already have an abundance? Does our nation care for the sick? Or are health care plans and medical care available only to those who can afford it? Does our nation visit Christ in prison? Or as the nation with the highest percentage of its population behind bars do we ask why these brothers and sisters of Jesus come mostly from minority groups and extreme poverty? What can I do? Read the Gospel from the perspective of the poor. Be Informed. Get involved in advocating for “The Kingdom of God.”

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination

I read Kings 12:1-9. I imagine that I am the young Rehoboam who has just inherited the throne from my father Solomon, a very powerful man. When I am asked to lighten the yoke of slavery and taxation that my father put on the people, why do I respond the way that I do? Insecurity? Fear of my brother Jereboam’s power? The heady feeling of being in control so much? Sheer bad temper? Why do I listen to my contemporaries instead of the elders? Where does my show of power lead me? In what ways am I tempted by my own desire for power and control? Have there ever been times in my life when I have taken advantage of those less powerful, less intelligent, less ambitious or less loveable? I speak to God about these instances. What personal changes would I like God’s help with?

POETIC REFLECTIONS

This poem, written by Thomas a Kempis in the fifteenth century, shows us the difference between our notions of power and the power God favors:

Oh, love, how deep, how broad, how high,
Beyond all thought and fantasy,
That God, the Son of God, should take
Our mortal form for mortal’s sake!

He sent no angel to our race,
Of higher or of lower place,
But wore the robe of human frame,
And to this world himself he came.

For us baptized, for us he bore
His holy fast and hungered sore;
For us temptation sharp he knew;
For us the tempter overthrew.

For us he prayed; for us he taught,
For us his daily works he wrought,
By words and signs and actions thus
Still seeking not himself, but us.

For us by wickedness betrayed,
For us, in crown of thorns arrayed,
He bore the shameful cross and death;
For us he gave his dying breath.

For us he rose from death again;
For us he went on high to reign;
For us he sent his Spirit here
To guide, to strengthen, and to cheer.

All glory to our Lord and God
For love so deep, so high, so broad;
The Trinity whom we adore
Forever and forevermore.

How does the following poem by the late Stanford Professor and poet Denise Levertov reflect on the way we humans have misinterpreted the words in Genesis and believed that the earth was ours to plunder and abuse, as opposed to being a gift we were to preserve and return to God in better condition than we found it?

Tragic Error
“The earth is the Lord’s, we gabbed,
and the fullness thereof–
while we looted and pillaged, claiming indemnity:
the fullness thereof
given over to us, to our use–
while we preened ourselves, sure of our power, 
willful or ignorant, through the centuries.
Miswritten, misread, that charge:
subdue was the false, the misplaced word in the story.
Surely we were to have been 
earth’s mind, mirror, reflective source.
Surely our task
was to have been
to love the earth,
to dress and keep it like Eden’s garden.
That would have been our dominion:
to be those cells of earth’s body that could
perceive and imagine, could bring the planet
into the haven it is to be known,
(as the eye blesses the hand, perceiving
it form and the work it can do).”