Here in Steubenville one of
my co-workers has a clever bumper sticker that reads: “I’m a Monarchist. And I Vote.”
The day after the surprising
election of 2016, then-President Obama took the high road by reminding us, “We’re
not Democrats first, we're not Republicans first, we are Americans first. We're
patriots first.” In the political
sphere, that’s true. But there is a
first that comes before that first. We
are Christians first, ‘monarchists’ who are loyal to Jesus Christ the King. And better Americans for being so.
The Church year comes to an
end this Sunday with the Solemnity of Christ the King, one of my favorite feast
days. The Readings focus heavily on the
theme of the kingdom of Christ, which was typified or foreshadowed by the
Kingdom of David in the Old Testament.
In those days, all the tribes of Israel
came to David in Hebron and said:
"Here we are, your bone and your flesh.
In days past, when Saul was our king,
it was you who led the Israelites out
and brought them back.
And the LORD said to you,
'You shall shepherd my people Israel
and shall be commander of Israel.'"
When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron,
King David made an agreement (Heb. “covenant”!)
with them there before the LORD,
and they anointed him king of Israel.
came to David in Hebron and said:
"Here we are, your bone and your flesh.
In days past, when Saul was our king,
it was you who led the Israelites out
and brought them back.
And the LORD said to you,
'You shall shepherd my people Israel
and shall be commander of Israel.'"
When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron,
King David made an agreement (Heb. “covenant”!)
with them there before the LORD,
and they anointed him king of Israel.
Here is recorded one of the
pivotal points in the history of salvation, indeed, a pivotal point in the
history of human civilization. David had
been Saul’s son-in-law and commander of the army. Upon Saul’s death, David was made king of the
sprawling southern tribe of Judah, but the northern tribes remained loyal to
Saul’s son Ish-ba’al (a.k.a. Ishbosheth).
Ish-ba’al was assassinated by his own men, however, making David the
last viable successor to Saul. The
northern ten tribes then came to David and make him their king.
We want to observe several
features of this text and the historical events it narrates. First we note the phrase the Israelites use
to approach David: “Here we are, your bone and flesh.” Literally: “Look here! Your bone and your
flesh we are.”
These words recall the
statement of Adam to Eve in Genesis 2: “Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh,
she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.”
The parallel is not
accidental, nor is it without significance.
Many scholars agree that the phrase “Bone of my bone and flesh of my
flesh” (or variants thereof) was a performative
utterance used in covenant making rituals.
It was not so much a recognition of a physical relationship as a declaration that from now on a kinship relationship exists between
the two parties. Adam is declaring Eve to be his family. In other words, he is taking her as his wife
at the end of Genesis 2. That is why the
text immediately goes on to discuss the practice of marriage in human society
thereafter.
Based on the echo of Genesis
2 in 2 Samuel 5, we can say that there is a nuptial aspect to the covenant that
is formed between David and the people of Israel. The people of Israel present themselves as
David’s “bone and flesh”, that is, as Eve to his Adam, as Bride to his
Groom. Notice that they do not “claim”
David as their bone and flesh, but “offer” themselves as his bone and flesh. Thus,
they adopt the bridal role, desiring to be
claimed by David as their bridegroom-king.
This introduces a subtle nuptial dynamic in the relationship between David
and the people of Israel that will continue through Scripture (cf. 2 Sam 17:3),
influencing the reading of the Song of Songs, and culminating with the frequent
bridegroom images that are applied to Jesus Christ, the successor of David, in
the Gospels, the Book of Revelation, and other parts of the New Testament.
We should also note that the
people of Israel make a covenant with
David that he should be their king. This
is the only kingdom in the Bible or in the ancient Near East (at least of which
we are aware) that was formed on the basis of a covenant. This is not an
inconsequential fact! This reality of a
kingdom established on the basis of a covenant resonates through Scripture, and
finds expression during the drama of the Last Supper, where Jesus says to the
apostles:
Luke
22:28 “You are those who have continued with me in my trials; 29and
I covenant (Gk: diatithemi) to you, as my Father covenanted (Gk: diatithemi)
to me, a kingdom, 30that you may eat and drink at my table in my
kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
In the Septuagint and the New
Testament, the Greek verb diatithemi
typically means “to make a covenant.”
Most English translations of Luke 22, however, do not so render it in v.
29, probably because translators cannot make sense of the idea of “covenanting
a kingdom.” However, in light of the
reality of the Davidic Kingdom, which was established on the basis of a
covenant, the passage becomes intelligible: Jesus is establishing on the
shoulders of the Apostles the Kingdom of David, which is also the Kingdom of
God, because the two have become united in the person of Christ, Son of David
and Son of God.
So we see that it is both
powerful and appropriate to recall, on the Feast of Christ the King, the
covenantal establishment of the Kingdom of David, to which Jesus of Nazareth is
the heir and successor. We recall also
that David was promised by God kingship not merely over Israel but over all the
nations as well:
Ps 2:6 “I have set my king on Zion, my holy
hill.”
7 I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to
me, “You are my son, today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your
heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash
them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Ps. 89:20 I have found David, my servant; with my holy
oil I have anointed him …
25 I will set his hand on the sea and his right
hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘Thou art my Father, my God,
and the Rock of my salvation.’
27 And I will make him the first-born, the highest
of the kings of the earth.
Is. 11:10 In that day the root of Jesse
shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations seek,
and his dwellings shall be glorious. …12 He will raise an ensign
for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel ….
Raymond Brown once called the
Kingdom of David the closest analogy to the Church in the Old Testament. I
think he is correct. But it’s stronger
than an analogy: it’s a type, a pre-figurement, almost a sacrament. The Church really is the restoration of
David’s Kingdom, now become a spiritual empire that claims subjects from among
all the nations of the earth.
R.
(cf. 1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
This beautiful psalm reflects
the golden age of Israel under the reign of Solomon, David’s successor. The Temple, the “House of the LORD,” has been
built in Jerusalem, and all twelve tribes of the Kingdom of Israel are able to
go up to the royal city to worship and seek justice from the princes of the
House of David.
The Church is the Heavenly
Jerusalem (see Heb 12:22-24), so we may understand this psalm to speak of the
joy of entering the Church and being a part of the Church. We “give thanks to the name of the LORD”
every time we offer the Eucharistic (lit. “Thanksgiving”) Sacrifice in the
midst of the New Jerusalem. The
“judgment seats” for the House of David refer to thrones for judging cases set
up for royal princes and viceroys. Jesus
alludes to this verse of the psalm when speaking to the Apostles at the Last
Supper:
Luke 22:28 “You are those who
have continued with me in my trials; 29and
I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, 30that you may eat and drink at my
table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
The Apostles “enthronement”
over the twelve tribes of Israel is manifested already in the Book of Acts,
when they sit in judgment over the early Church. Now the successors of the Apostles sit on
their kathedras judging all the
“tribes” of the New Israel: the tribes
of New York, Los Angeles, Peoria, Fort Wayne-South Bend, Corpus Christi, etc.
The ancient authority structures of the Kingdom of David are restored and
transformed in the Church.
Brothers and sisters:
Let us give thanks to the Father,
who has made you fit to share
in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.
He delivered us from the power of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He 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.
Let us give thanks to the Father,
who has made you fit to share
in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.
He delivered us from the power of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He 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.
This text of Paul emphasizes
the cosmic nature of Jesus’ kingship.
Christ is at the beginning of creation, and he is the principle of
creation. All visible authorities
(presidents, generals, dictators) and invisible authorities (angelic and
demonic hosts) owe their existence to him and only rule with his
permission.
The implication of this
teaching is that Christianity is the universal religion. If Christ is the one through whom all things
were created, then his claims rest on all human beings. There is no compatibility of this teaching of
Paul with religious relativism.
In this passage, Jesus the
Davidic King is shown to be king of all creation. This juxtaposition of the Davidic covenant
with the covenant of creation can be found already in the Old Testament. Striking examples include Psalm 89, which
praises God for his covenant faithfulness both to David and to all the
creation. Another is Jeremiah 33, which
emphasizes the parallelism of the covenants with creation and with David:
Jer. 33:20 “Thus says the LORD: If you can break my
covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night
will not come at their appointed time,
21 then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he
shall not have a son to reign on his throne …
This cosmic kingship of
Christ is a good topic for reflection for those of us in the United States, as
we prepare for another vicious and unedifying presidential election cycle. Whatever
the result, the outcome is going to be neither as rosy as some hoped nor as
dark as some feared. Regardless, our
hope is not now nor will it ever be in the American political system, nor in
that of any nation. We can be absolutely
loyal to our country—in fact, true piety demands it—but we don’t “believe in
America,” we “believe in God the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ, his only
Son, our Lord.” Fixing immigration and
health care will not usher the final age of peace, nor will it satisfy the
deepest desires of the human heart. We
seek more than a “great America,” we seek eternal life in communion with the
Holy Trinity and with all the saints.
Nothing less will do. Nothing
less will satisfy.
The rulers sneered at Jesus and said,
"He saved others, let him save himself
if he is the chosen one, the Christ 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 Christ?
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."
"He saved others, let him save himself
if he is the chosen one, the Christ 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 Christ?
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."
At first this Gospel reading
seems like a sharp contrast with the previous Readings, which emphasized the
glory and power of the Son of David.
Here we see the Son of David mocked, reviled, humiliated, and killed.
Yet there is paradoxical
truth here. The cross is Jesus’
throne. His kingship is expressed in his
death. He reigns from the cross. His is a kingdom of “redemption, the
forgiveness of sins,” and sins cannot be forgiven unless he pays the price for
them with his own blood. So here the
king pays for the offenses of his subjects, in order “to make peace by the
blood of his cross” (Col. 1:20).
As Jesus said to Pilate, his
kingdom is not of this world. In is in the world, but not of this world. The repentant thief held out hope that Jesus
might still be the Messiah, might still pull off a miracle from the cross and
begin his supernatural reign. What has
he got to lose? He throws in his lot
with this Rabbi from Nazareth: “Remember me when you come into your
kingdom. Remember that I spoke up for
you when you were reviled and in your hour of death.”
Earlier in the Gospel Jesus
promised a reward even for those who “offered a cup of cold water” to the least
of his brethren. The repentant thief has
done what he could—he had no water, but he offers solidarity to Jesus in the
midst of cruel abuse. And he gains a
reward beyond what he probably imagined: “Today you will be with me in
paradise.”
This Gospel reminds us, as we
celebrate Jesus’ Kingship, that his Kingship and Kingdom in this world are perpetually
persecuted and in suffering. Did he not
tell us, “Whoever would come after me must deny himself, take up his cross
daily, and follow me?” Jesus’ throne is
his cross. Likewise our thrones are
crosses, too. We only rule from the
cross in this life. It is only through
the loving embrace of suffering that our power and authority as viceroys of
Christ will be made real and effective in this world. As St. Paul famously says at the climax of
his letter to the Romans, we are “heirs of God and
fellow heirs with Christ, provided we
suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom
8:17).
This is as important a truth to remember in times of apparent
political eclipse for the Church, as in times of apparent political
success. The Gospel cannot be imposed,
and government policies—while they can help or hamper the efforts of the
Church—will never bring about true conversion of heart. The Gospel always remains a challenging call:
“if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily,
and follow me.” There is no way to sugarcoat this challenge by embedding it in
a cool rock song or a slickly-produced drama.
Eventually, every person must decide whether they are going to lead their
life by following their own desires, or surrender their lives to Jesus Christ,
the King of the Universe, the suffering King who will judge at the last
day. What is your choice?
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