A Power That Does Not Oppress
Julián Carrón - Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe. It is a precious opportunity to grasp, ever more deeply, what Christ means in our lives. The readings help us by offering a method to penetrate the existential value of this feast. From the first reading, we learn the method by which we can recognize who is king.
When Saul died, a new king had to be elected. "All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said to him, 'Behold, we are your bone and flesh.'" We might ask: Why did all the tribes move as one? What drove them? It was the recognition of the one in whom they saw God acting. How did they recognize him? By seeing him at work: "Even before Saul reigned over us, you led Israel and brought them back. The Lord said to you, 'You shall shepherd my people Israel, and you shall be the leader of Israel.'" For them, the choice was easy, because the Lord had preceded them with His initiative regarding David. They simply yielded to what their eyes saw. "So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king of Israel."
It would have been so easy to recognize Jesus as King, as Lord, if those who had witnessed all His works—before and during His earthly life—had followed the evidence of their own eyes. Instead, as we know, this was not the case; they preferred the release of Barabbas to the condemnation of Jesus. But not even His condemnation and crucifixion ended the match. As we heard in the Gospel: "[After they had crucified Jesus,] the people stood watching; but the leaders scoffed at Jesus, saying, 'He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.'" Everything they had seen was not enough for them to recognize Him as "the Christ of God, the Chosen One."
And they were not alone. "The soldiers also mocked him, coming up to him and offering him vinegar and saying, 'If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.'" Despite everything, "above him was a sign that read, 'This is the king of the Jews,'" which Pilate had placed on the cross as a sign for all. For this reason, not even the two criminals are spared the decision before that crucifixion. One of them joins the chorus: "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" The other, however, rebukes him, saying, "Do you not fear God, you who are condemned to the same punishment?"
What enabled this criminal to recognize Jesus? He opens himself to another possibility, precisely because of what he already knew about Him: "We [are condemned], rightly, because we receive what we deserve for our actions; he, on the other hand, has done nothing wrong." And he dares to make a request that is bold for a condemned man: "Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom."
In the final instant of his life, this criminal did not waste the last chance he had. All his crimes and errors did not prevent him from recognizing Jesus as King, whatever image he had conceived of His kingship. What emotion must have flooded his whole being, even while hanging on the cross, when he heard Jesus say: "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise."
This is the possibility that has opened up in history for all of us, whatever our moral condition. No unworthiness can prevent us from repeating the request of that criminal: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." By awakening this desire to participate in His Kingdom, Jesus reveals the true nature of His royal power. It is not a dominion that imposes itself or subjugates us by force. His power is an attraction: "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself" (Jn 12:32), Jesus said when announcing His death. Even a criminal could recognize this.
How can we recognize who our King is? Only by His attraction, which wins us over. To recognize it, all we need is the correspondence of our own hearts, whatever our moral condition. Any other attempt at power that seeks to subjugate us—or that is not an attraction—will be unmasked by the detector God has placed in our hearts to recognize it. Only we can consent to submit to a power that does not correspond to us. Only we can accept or rebel against any attempt at this power. The power of Jesus will always be an attraction. Never an abuse. No one can be confused.
Those who follow His lead, as St. Paul says in the second reading, will be able to experience, today, in this moment, the freedom He has brought to each of us: "He has freed us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of his love, through whom we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins." St. Paul shows us the signs to verify the nature of the "head of the body, of the Church": in Him dwells all the fullness each of us awaits, all the peace He has won for us "by the blood of His cross." Those who yearn to share in this fullness, which the heart desires, need only yield to His attraction.
34th Sunday in Ordinary Time Jesus Christ, King of the Universe – Year C Notes from the homily by Fr. Julián Carrón November 23, 2025
(First Reading: 2 Sam 5:1-3; Psalm 121 (122); Second Reading: Col 1:12-20; Gospel: Lk 23:35-43)
