Readings: Dan 7:13-14; Rev 1:5-8; Jn 18:33b-37
In the first reading today, we hear about one like a Son of Man being presented before the throne of God and receiving dominion, glory, and kingship. We first note that this is the passage Jesus refers to when He speaks of Himself as the “Son of Man.” The title itself, because of what we see in the first reading, implies that He is the King. However, if we consider this in a chronological sense as recounted in the Book of Daniel, this kingship is not conferred on our Lord until He brings His humanity with Him into Heaven.
What we must recognize, then, is that Jesus is a King in several different senses. He is God from all eternity. So, as the omnipotent Creator of all that exists, He is King in this sense, but this is not what we celebrate today.
When we consider the way God established Israel, there was no human king in Israel because God Himself was their King. When the people rebelled at the time of Samuel, they rejected God as their King and asked for a human king because they wanted to be like everyone else. Samuel tried to reason with them, but eventually God told Samuel to anoint a human king because they had rejected God. However, because He is God, Jesus is rightfully the King of Israel. However, this is not the kingship we celebrate today.
Samuel anointed Saul as the first human king in Israel. Because of Saul’s disobedience to the Lord, his kingship was not passed on to his sons. Instead, God made David the king and promised that his sons would be successors to his throne as long as they sought to serve the Lord. Of the fifty-one kings who followed David, only two (Hezekiah and Josiah) tried to serve the Lord (Solomon did for a while, but eventually fell away) and the reign of the House of David ended when the people went into exile.
At the beginning of his Gospel, St. Matthew, gives us a genealogy of St. Joseph. When the Angel, Gabriel, appeared to our Lady, we are told she was betrothed to Joseph who was from the lineage and House of David. Anyone who was a descendant of David was part of his lineage, but only those who were part of the line of kings w were members of the House of David. St. Matthew traces the lineage of David’s kingship to St. Joseph, which means St. Joseph was the heir to the throne and, therefore, the actual king of Israel.
According to Jewish Law, if a woman is with child when she moves in with her husband, the child in the womb automatically becomes the legal child of the husband, even if he is not the biological father of the child. Hence, when our Lady crossed the threshold into Joseph’s home, Jesus became his legal child and the heir to the throne (remember, Gabriel told Mary that Jesus would be given the throne of His father, David). So when St. Joseph died, Jesus became the rightful King of Israel. Again, this is not the kingship we celebrate today.
Finally, what we see in the readings today makes clear the kingship we are celebrating. In the second reading we are told that Jesus is the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. His kingship was established through His passion, death, and resurrection. In His glorification in Heaven, we see Him being presented before the Throne of God and receiving dominion, glory, and kingship. This is why Jesus tells Pilate that His Kingship is not from this world.
What we see in all this is that Jesus is King, not because He is God, but because He is the Redeemer. Daniel says “one like a Son of Man” was presented before God. Jesus is King because He took our humanity to Himself and in that humanity, He suffered and died for us. In this scene reported in the first reading, we see that He Who is the King from all eternity as God is also made the King in His humanity.
What is necessary for us to understand is that while Jesus has dominion over all, His royal office is exercised by service, not by power. He told His disciples that He came into this world not to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. This is the model for us because we are baptized into Jesus and share in His threefold office of Priest, Prophet, and King. You are a King or a Queen in Christ but, as He told the Apostles, the greatest among you must serve the rest. So, exercise your royalty by serving others in union with Christ the King!
Fr. Altier’s column appears regularly in The Wanderer, a national Catholic weekly published in St. Paul, Minn. For information about subscribing to The Wanderer, please visit www.thewandererpress.com.
