Homily, November 23, 2025

November 23, 2025

514

From The Pastor

Why is Jesus Christ King of the Universe and Lord of my life? Why should this inspire me and be the primary focal point of my existence?

The Christian truth is centered on God revealed in the person of Christ. Our faith is centered in the person of God Incarnate through the Virgin Mary in Jesus Christ, now present to us through the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it is helpful to review in a reflective way the truth and foundation of our faith. This is my intention here. You may or may not hear anything new. I hope you can hear it in a new way as the foundation of your life as a Christian who seeks to actively live all that we profess and hope for in Christ. Not incorrectly but too often, the faith we profess is seen, perceived, and judged through the rituals and activities of religion. Religion and its practices are easily criticized, and at times admittedly found wanting. My purpose here is to invite each of us to hear and ponder deeply the core truth of Christianity. Religion is essential to faith, but a different conversation.

The Father is head of the Trinity. God creates out of love through Christ who is the agent and mediator of God’s will for the world. In Christ, all things were created in heaven and on earth. God created all that is in, and through, and for Christ. All that is, belongs to and is in Christ. The Divine power and authority through which Christ created, this is not why he is King of the Universe. Reflect: Christ is your origin and Creator. God in Christ thinks your life is a good idea. You are a beloved and essential image of God’s making.

In time, the Word became Flesh. God in Christ accepted our human nature and shared our human condition in all things but sin. Jesus knows the heights and depths of living in a human body. Can you relate to that? This did not make him King of the Universe. Through the Incarnation, Jesus honors the will of the Father to reveal the nature and identity of God through a human person. Jesus is the glory, the evidence, and the experience of God in the flesh. You also are incarnate with a body that is a temple and dwelling place of God in Christ.

Becoming human, Jesus in humble obedience embraces our humanity. Without resentment or bitterness, Jesus surrenders his body, his person/life to heal, forgive, and reconcile all things to himself to accomplish our redemption. After the death and Resurrection of Jesus, in him, as if we were him, we are presented to and received by the Father. It is this that makes Jesus King of the Universe and Lord over all that is in heaven and on earth. Why? Because God in Christ, fully human and fully Divine freely and with pure love surrendered his life for your sake and for mine, including all creation in heaven and on earth.

Consider: the human Jesus, now the Cosmic and Risen Christ, is Lord of Creation, Lord of the Cross, and Lord over evil, sin, and death through the power of his dying and rising. Reflect. God gave all in Christ to create, redeem, and sanctify his creation through the redemption work of the Son. We belong to Christ who gave his life for us that we, with him, might share in the unity and eternal love of the Father and the Holy Spirit in the glory of heaven.

For some, this may not be overly appealing. We prefer to be in control of our own lives. We do not want to be owned by anyone, nor be in debt to anyone. Redemption is a gift. It is pure and it is free. As much as we want and try, we cannot save ourselves. If we want what Christ is offering us, then we must follow his example. In whatever condition or state of our lives, there is an undeniable call to surrender in humble obedience. If you are maturely in love with someone, you know what this means. Maturity means allowing the early years of selfishness to fall away as we learn to give ourselves to the commitments of love in our lives directed for the good of others. Maturing in love forms and creates our identity in Christ that awakens us to the presence of Christ already within us.

Christ is King and Lord of our lives. Not a worldly king of social or political power and control, but a King of justice, love, and peace grounded in the truth of love through which we were created and redeemed. The Church and the world will change and are changing. The Kingship and Lordship of Jesus is eternal and unending. The Kingdom of God is eternal, and you are a part of it; in fact, you are an agent called to help bring it about.

In Christ, this is the focus, the identity, and the mission of our lives. It is a messy, imperfect, and incomplete journey, yet it holds and promises the glorious perfection of union with God in heaven. Be at peace.

Father John Esper

Sermon