Christ the King – Solemnity of Christ the King – Sermon by Father Levine

Fr. Joseph Levine; Holy Family Catholic Church and Missions, Burns, Oregon; November 23, 2025

When Jesus was entering Jericho, on his way to Jerusalem to be crucified, two blind men cried out, Have mercy on us, Son of David. (Mt 20:30,31) Jesus gave them their sight, and they followed Jesus up to Jerusalem. Following the example of the blind men, we want to beg the mercy of Jesus Christ, that we might understand and submit ourselves to his kingdom.

When the angel Gabriel came to the Virgin Mary, he announced to her the fulfillment of the promise made long before to David.

Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end. (Lk 1:30-33)

When Jesus entered the world, the kingdom of David had long before come to an end; there was a king in Judea, but his name was Herod, and he was not of the line of David. Yet, from his entrance into the world, Jesus was destined to inherit the throne of David, which meant that he would restore the Davidic kingdom, raising it from the dead and making it henceforth indestructible – of his kingdom there will be no end.

The Psalmist proclaimed God’s promise to David: Once for all I have sworn by my holiness: I will not lie to David. His line shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me. Like the moon it shall be established for ever; it shall stand firm while the heavens endure. (Ps 89[88]:35-37)

In our first reading today, we heard about how David was first established on the throne of Israel.

He was one of the people, sharing their bone and flesh. Jesus Christ, descended from David, is one of us, sharing our bone and flesh, like us in all things but sin. David led the people in battle; Jesus Christ led the way for us in the battle of his temptation and his crucifixion. David received from God, who said to him, You shall shepherd my people Israel and shall be commander of Israel, the authority to rule; Jesus Christ, after his death and resurrection, said to the Apostles, All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. (Mt 28:18) David was anointed as king over Israel and made an agreement or “covenant” with them; he would be their king, and they would be his people. Jesus Christ was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and power (cf. Acts 10:38), and he established the new and eternal covenant in his own Blood; he is our King and our God, and we are his people, purchased with his Blood. (cf. Acts 20:28; 1 Cor 6:20; Eph 1:7; 1 Pe 1:19; Rev 5:9)

In today’s Gospel, Jesus hangs upon the Cross, and the Good Thief begs him, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus enters into the kingdom, destined for him not only from his entrance into the world, but from the foundation of the world, only through his death and resurrection. The Good Thief enters into the life of the kingdom by professing his faith in Jesus Christ crucified, believing that the Cross is not the end, but that the Crucified One has the power to give life in his kingdom. So, he merited to hear the words: Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.

The throne of David is made eternal and universal – from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation (Rev 5:9) – by being raised up with Christ from the dead, raised up with him to heaven, and set with him at the right hand of the Father.

Who is this son of David who exalts the throne of David to the right hand of the Father?

He is the beloved Son of God, the image of the invisible God, in whom and for whom all things, including the angelic hosts, were created, who holds together and sustains all things in existence. It is this same Son of God who became man, the son of David, so as to be the firstborn of the dead and the head and king over the Church, reconciling through the Blood of his Cross all things, whether in heaven or on earth.

From the beginning, as God, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, he rules all things, and none can resist his will. (cf. Jud 16:17; Rm 9:19) Those who rebel against him, in the end, only serve his purpose; he allows evil only that he might bring from it a greater good. The same Son of God, made man, rules over free men through his Church. For the Father … has delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.

Seated at the right hand of the Father, Christ rules, but his rule has enemies. St. Paul tells us, He must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1 Cor 15:25-26) In other words, his reign will be contested by men until he returns in glory, to judge the living and the dead.

The enemies of his kingdom belong to the power of darkness, they are not free men but slaves of sin. As Christ himself declared: If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free … Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. (Jn 8:31,34)

The Gospel today shows us the difference between those who submit to Christ’s kingdom and those who rebel against Christ’s kingdom. The rebels are led by the rulers of this world, even if they are clothed as priests, who say to Christ crucified, He saved others, let him save himself, if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God. The soldiers assigned to crucify him echo the rulers; even one of the criminals sharing his punishment echoes the rulers; even the passersby echo the rulers. (Mk 15:29)

The soldiers represent those who simply go along and do what they are told, in the service of this world; those who are crucified on either side of Christ, represent, on the one hand, those who suffer in this world and rebel against their suffering, and, on the other hand, those who in their suffering recognize the innocence of Christ Crucified; the passersby are those who are simply indifferent, pursue their worldly occupations, their interests, their goals and are not concerned to give any more than a passing thought to Jesus and with that dismiss him.

The world, as the enemy of Christ’s rule, is human society organized without and even against God. The world, as the enemy of Christ, is human society organized solely to attain goals that will pass with this world, organized without reference to eternity.

That is why the world rebels against the Cross, for from the perspective of this passing world, the Cross makes no sense, suffering has no meaning, it is nothing more than an obstacle to be avoided and a roadblock on the way to achievement.

The world favors abortion because, to the world, the life of a child who is unwanted has no value, the life of child with severe defects has no value, the life of a child who would impede the ambitions of an adult, has no value. The world favors euthanasia because, to the world, the life of someone who is capable of nothing but suffering, has no value, is a mere burden on others, because suffering has no meaning and purpose.

Anyone who wants to belong to Christ’s kingdom must follow the path of the Good Thief, for we all have something in common with him: we suffer and we are not innocent. To follow the path of the Good Thief means recognizing that we are not innocent, recognizing that we need to have our sins forgiven, recognizing and believing that Christ, the Son of God, suffered and died to free us from our sins, recognizing and believing that to benefit from his redemption, our guilty suffering must be joined, through repentance, to his innocent suffering.

This will not gain us anything in this passing world, but it will give meaning to our suffering, and it will join us to the inheritance of the saints in the light, with the holy angels who behold the face of God (cf. Mt 18:10), with the blessed Seraphim and Cherubim, with the Thrones and Dominions, with the Principalities and Powers, with all the heavenly choirs, with whom we have been reconciled by the Blood of Christ, with whom we join in worship and exultant praise, even now in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.