[00:00:05] Hello, my name is Sally Moriarty-Flask. Welcome to: From His Word to Our Hearts, my weekly Bible study podcast. Together we will explore the readings to be proclaimed at the Catholic Mass on Sunday, November 23, 2025, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.
This week's episode is entitled: The Chosen One of God and in these readings, we are reminded that Jesus’ kingship is not of this world, that he is the Savior who did not save himself. But why is it so hard for us to live as he taught us to live?
As we journey through the readings this week, consider the following:
All too often we struggle with who or what has power over us, and sometimes we make the wrong choice. We give power to the Internet, or influencers, or politicians, or social media. What we really need to do is surrender ourselves fully to Jesus and declare him to be the King of our lives, our minds, and our hearts. So, how do we do that?
[00:01:28] Let's begin in prayer.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Heavenly Father, we praise you and we thank you for the gift of your Son, our Savior and King. May he rule our lives so that we are free to love and serve you, to worship and praise you, now and always. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:01:57] Now that we've opened our hearts in prayer, let's listen to what God is telling us in the Scriptures.
Our Gospel this week is from Luke 23: 35b-43.
“[T]he rulers scoffed at [Jesus], saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!’ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, and saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!’ There was also an inscription over him, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’ One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’ And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingly power.’ And [Jesus] said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’”
[00:03:11] This week, we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, with which the Church brings to a close our current observance of Ordinary Time and the current Liturgical Year - designated as Cycle C - which has focused on the Gospel of Saint Luke. If you would like additional information about this feast in particular, or about different types of feasts in general, I have released a short bonus episode exploring those very topics, so I invite and encourage you to listen to that as it may be quite helpful.
You may remember from back in episode 21, my episode about the Liturgical Year, that the Church devotes an entire year to each of the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and those are designated as Cycles A, B, and C. In Cycles A and C, the Church assigns the Gospel for this feast from the evangelist associated with that year. So, Matthew in Cycle A and Luke in Cycle C. However, in cycle B, which we were in last year, the Church doesn't assign a Gospel from Mark, but rather one from John. Each of the three Gospel passages chosen for this Solemnity teaches a very specific lesson about the kingship of Jesus. In Cycle A, we hear the Judgment of the Nations from Matthew 25; in Cycle B, we hear Jesus’ testimony before Pontius Pilate; and here in Cycle C, we hear the Passion Narrative.
[00:04:54] So, let's break open this week's Gospel…
[00:04:58] “[T]he rulers scoffed at [Jesus],”
Before we go any further, I want to clarify that there are actually three different times that Jesus is mocked and as he hung on the Cross. Those Luke refers to here as rulers are the Jewish religious authorities… and they are simply the first to mock Jesus, but they will not be the last.
“[T]he rulers scoffed at [Jesus], saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!’”
Notice what the Jewish authorities are mocking and how they phrase their challenge. They say - IF he is the Christ. And remember, the title Christ comes from the Greek word Christos which means Messiah, so they are mocking Jesus’ role as God's anointed one, the
long-awaited Messiah that would save the world. But Jesus' destiny was not never to save himself… it was to save the world which he accomplished precisely by not saving himself.
“The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, and saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!’”
The Roman soldiers here are obviously the second group that mocks Jesus and, again, notice what is being mocked and how the challenge is phrased. They say - IF he is the King of the Jews. We need to understand that those Roman soldiers reacted to the title of King because they saw that as a direct challenge to Caesar's authority.
“There was also an inscription over him, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’”
[00:06:52] It was a common Roman practice to post the charge (or offense) above the head of the person being executed and you may recall that the Jewish authorities charged Jesus with a number of offenses in his trial before Pilate. The only charge that raised any particular concern for Pilate, however, was the one that apparently challenged Caesar's authority, so that was the one and only charge posted above Jesus’ head on the Cross.
“One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!’”
[00:07:31] This criminal is the last person to mock Jesus - and notice that this man's scorn is also for the title of Messiah. But, where the Jewish authorities challenged Jesus to save only himself, this criminal begins with that same challenge, but then adds an additional condition… and us.
“But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’”
The second criminal sees what the first missed, what the Roman soldiers missed, what the Jewish authorities missed - that Jesus is innocent.
[00:08:31] This man has also realized that, by remaining on the Cross, Jesus remains with them… that Jesus accompanies the two criminals in the midst of their suffering. Then this criminal is given a precious glimpse of Jesus’ divinity, which we hear in his very next words…
[00:08:57] “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingly power.”
This man's conversion comes at just the right time!
[00:09:09] “And [Jesus] said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’”
This statement invites us into a profound truth by exploring a contrast. The first Adam was driven out of Paradise, the Garden of Eden, because of hubris, disobedience, and sin. A fate that stretches back through all of time… mankind has never been permitted or even invited to return to Eden. Jesus, the new Adam, opens a greater Paradise, that of life in the kingdom, not in some far distant future, but today!
[00:10:09] Jesus is not an earthly king, and his ultimate enemy is not an earthly one… it is the single greatest enemy mankind has ever encountered - sin and death brought about by the actions of our first parents.
[00:10:32] And when the second criminal makes his plea to Jesus, it is a sincere affirmation that this earthly death will not be the end… that Jesus will reign in his divine kingdom forever.
[00:10:50] So we are left to ask - do we recognize Jesus as our divine king?
[00:11:00] And I don't mean that in a corporate sense - as a big group of us. I mean, do each and every one of us - individually - recognize Jesus as our divine king? Do we understand that his Incarnation allowed Jesus to experience every part of human life - even death?
[00:11:25] Do we see Jesus as the king who offers us life in his eternal kingdom? Or do we expect him to save us by taking us down off of our own crosses in this life? Does Jesus reign over our hearts, our minds, and our lives? Or do we hand that power over - voluntarily and willingly, even enthusiastically - to the changing and changeable agents of this finite world?
[00:12:03] That takes us to our First Reading, which is from 2 Samuel 5:1-3.
“[In those days,] all the tribes of Israel came to David at He’bron, and said, ‘Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you that led out and brought in Israel; and the LORD said to you, “You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.”’ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at He’bron; and King David made a covenant with them at He’bron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel.”
[00:12:57] David's rise to power reaches its zenith here in this passage from 2 Samuel, when he is crowned king of Israel and establishes his capital in the city of Hebron. The name Hebron comes from the Hebrew word ḥeḇ·rō·w·n, which means friend.
[00:13:17] David was not only anointed king in Hebron, he also ruled there for seven years and six months before making the city of Jerusalem his capital. Hebron is 20 miles south of Jerusalem and was - at the time - the leading city in the region of Judah. That's why David established his initial capital there. So, let's delve into this passage a bit more deeply…
[00:13:48] “[In those days,] all the tribes of Israel came to David at He’bron,”
[00:13:53] Thus begins the golden age of Israel when all twelve tribes stood united under a single monarch. Now, you may be asking… wait, didn't that already happen under Saul's leadership? But the answer is no, not really. Because during Saul's reign, and even during the time of the judges before Saul, the twelve tribes were more of a loosely unified coalition of separate entities than a unified kingdom. In fact, while Saul was still living, David himself ruled over the tribe of Judah. It was only after Saul's death that the other eleven tribes approached David and asked him to be their king, which allowed David to establish the first truly united Israel under one strong monarch.
[00:14:54] Now, the kingdom of Israel will only last for a hundred years before the northern tribes break away and usher in the age of the divided kingdom. But, as of now, all twelve tribes are united under King David. And those twelve tribes said to David…
“Behold, we are your bone and flesh.”
Meaning we are your kinsfolk, we are all related.
[00:15:23] “In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you that led out and brought in Israel;”
And by that the twelve tribes are alluding to David's military leadership when Saul was king.
“and the LORD said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.’”
[00:15:49] The leaders of the twelve tribes are reminding David that he is God's anointed one, he his chosen. If we think back to 1 Samuel 13, we read that Saul became impatient and made an unlawful sacrifice to God rather than waiting for Samuel to arrive and offer the sacrifice properly. At that time, Samuel said to Saul: “ your kingdom shall not continue, the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart; and appointed him to be a prince over his people” and then we are told in - 1 Samuel 16 - that the Lord chose David and instructed Samuel to anoint him.
[00:16:35] Since Christians acknowledged Jesus as the promised Messiah, descended from the house of David, it is certainly understandable why the lectionary paired this reading with our Gospel.
[00:16:49] “So all the elders of Israel came to the king at He’bron; and King David made a covenant with them at He’bron before the LORD,”
[00:17:00] Meaning that the tribes swore an oath of allegiance before God to accept David's kingship.
“and they anointed David king over Israel.”
This is actually the third time David was anointed. Earlier I mentioned the first time, which was in 1 Samuel 16, when God withdrew his favor from Saul and bestowed it upon David instead. The second anointing was in 2 Samuel 2, when David was anointed after Saul's death, making this David's third anointing - this time by all the tribes of Israel. Remember, numbers are always significant in Scripture, and the number three is a number of completion, of fulfillment, meaning that David is now truly and legitimately the king of Israel.
[00:18:05] And, as I said, it's easy to see why the Church chose this reading to accompany our Gospel. God declared that David would be shepherd and ruler of God's people and promised that the Messiah would be a descendant of David. Christians see Jesus as the fulfillment of those promises, but Jesus is unlike any human king. He is not just a shepherd and guide, he is not just a ruler or leader - he is all of those things…. but he is also God's Chosen One and our Lord… the one who laid down his life to save us, the one who still intercedes on our behalf, the one who nourishes us so that we might have life within us, the one who died to conquer death so that we might live in his presence for all eternity.
[00:19:21] Considering all that Jesus has done for us, why is it still so hard to live as he taught us to live?
[00:19:32] That brings us to our Responsorial Psalm, which is Psalm 122. And the refrain is:
“Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.”
And here are the verses:
[00:19:45] “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’ Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!”
“Jerusalem, built as a city which is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD.”
“[A]s it was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD. There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David.”
[00:20:17] This Psalm is a Song of Zion - one of the Ascent Psalms (120 – 134).
[00:20:28] And it captures the excitement of one who is making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where the temple stands - the place where it was believed the presence of God dwelt here on earth. And remember, Jerusalem sits atop Mount Zion, so travel is always up to the city.
[00:20:50] When the Psalmist says Jerusalem is “bound firmly together” he is referring to the city's walls that provide not only boundaries but protection as well. And in the third stanza, the decree that the Psalmist refers to is from Deuteronomy 16, which declares that three times each year men should appear before the Lord: Passover, Pentecost (the Feast of Weeks) and Booths (the feast of Tabernacles). And they should not appear
empty-handed but bring an offering of thanksgiving. Not just in words, but in whatever sacrifice he is able to offer. And remember, our First Reading told us that David established his capital in Hebron, and we know that he ruled there for seven and a half years before moving his capital to Jerusalem. Jerusalem then became the seat of government from which David executed judgment and dispensed justice for Israel according to God's law.
[00:22:08] So, Jerusalem became - in turn - the place where faithful Jews encountered God and received his justice.
[00:22:18] Christians see Jesus, descended from the line of King David, as the promised Messiah and his Church - here on earth - as the place where we encounter Jesus and, through the Sacraments, receive his divine grace.
[00:22:36] That takes us to our Second Reading, which is from Colossians 1: 12-20.
“[Brothers and sisters:] [Let us give] thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the dominion 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 first-born of all creation; for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities—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 first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether here on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
[00:24:11] Colossians is unique among Paul's letters. Some scholars classify it as a Captivity Letter, while others contend it is an Occasional Letter; some accept Paul as the author, while others suggest it was Timothy or some unnamed follower writing in Paul's name; some contend that the literary style and theology of this letter couldn't possibly belong to Paul, while others attribute the differences to the distinctive situation addressed in this letter. Nothing we say or do will have any impact on the outcome of those debates, I only mention them here so that you are aware of them.
Those who do accept Paul as the author date this letter to between 60 and 62 AD, when Paul was under house arrest in Rome. Those who do not accept Paul as the author suggest that it may have been written as early as 50 AD or as late as 80 AD.
[00:25:13] Regardless of all the debates swirling about this letter, it is - nevertheless - a master class in apologetics - which is the defense of the Christian faith and the clarification of Christian doctrine. Towering above all else, is Paul's affirmation of the supremacy of Jesus. In fact, that is the focus of this passage, which can be broken down into three sections. So, let's take those one at a time, beginning with the first section which offers a three-fold thanksgiving to God…
“[Brothers and sisters:] [Let us give} thanks to the Father,”
That's Paul's invitation to offer God our thanksgiving.
“who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”
And there is Paul's first reason for thanksgiving… that we are “qualified” through Baptism to inherit salvation in the kingdom of heaven and to be in the company of the saints - those holy men and women who are already in God's presence.
“He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness”
Through his Passion and Death, Jesus has “delivered” us from the darkness of sin, making that Paul's second reason for thanksgiving. So, what is the third reason?
“[he] transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,”
By virtue of our faith we are transferred to the kingship of Jesus. Jesus is God's beloved Son… we have been transferred to his eternal kingdom and are subject to his eternally just reign.
“in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
[00:27:14] Meaning that Jesus, our eternal King, secured our redemption and our welcome into his eternal kingdom through his Sacrifice on the Cross. With those words, Paul concludes his three-fold thanksgiving to God, which comprises the first section of this passage. And we now begin the second section…
“He is the image of the invisible God,”
Meaning that in his Incarnation, Jesus made visible the life and love of the invisible God.
“the first-born of all creation;”
[00:28:00] Jesus is before all else that is, he is the first and only Son of God the Father. He is one in essence - one in being - with the Father.
“for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,”
That's what we hear in the prologue of John's Gospel, right? “In the beginning was the Word.” That is, of course, the capital “W” Word, which in Greek is Logos. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.” That is the beginning of the of the prologue of John's Gospel.
“whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities”
So many times we think of those things as earthly authorities, but they're not. They're actually all names for choirs of angels, which points to the reality that Jesus is before all things, earthly beings – undoubtedly - but even the spiritual beings in heaven.
[00:29:21] “all things were created through him and for him.”
All creation came about through Jesus, the Logos, the Word of God, and all of creation exists to love, serve, and praise him.
“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
[00:29:44] Jesus is eternal, he existed before all created things and he, in turn, holds all creation in existence. That sentence concludes the second section of this passage in which Paul focused specifically on Jesus’ role in creation. Now Paul turns his attention to Jesus’ role in reconciling mankind to the Father. That is the third and final section of this passage.
[00:30:19] “He is the head of the body, the Church:”
With those words, Paul illustrates the inseparable nature of the union between Jesus and the Church. And that is a recurring theme for Paul; we hear in 1 Corinthians and Ephesians… that the Church is the Body - the Mystical Body of Christ - and Jesus himself is the head.
“he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead,”
[00:30:50] That phrase connects Jesus' eternal existence, which we heard so powerfully proclaimed in John's Gospel, with Jesus’ Resurrection, where he became the first to be raised from the dead and take his place of glory at the Father's right hand in heaven.
“that in everything he might be pre-eminent.”
[00:31:17] Everything was created through him, and everything was created for him, so that in the Resurrection everything could be redeemed by him!
“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,”
Jesus is fully divine - he is the divine Logos - and when he became fully human in his Incarnation, he retained his divinity, which existed alongside his humanity. That phrase here from Saint Paul is the clearest assertion of the divinity of Jesus in the New Testament.
“to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
Jesus reconciled mankind to the Father, made peace between creation and the Father, through the ultimate act of love - the shedding of his Blood on the Cross.
[00:32:27] Jesus, through his absolute supremacy over all creation - whether on earth or in heaven - and through his redeeming work on the Cross transformed the old order into a new creation through the Church which he established.
[00:32:50] Now, having broken this passage into its component parts, it's evident why this is - as I said earlier - a master class in apologetics. Paul skillfully weaves all three sections of this passage together to form one cohesive defense of our Christian faith, which is, after all, what apologetics is all about!
[00:33:20] But despite hearing the words of Scripture, despite doing our best to study and understand them, despite listening to Jesus teach us how we are supposed to live, we still sometimes make the wrong choices. We still hand over control of our hearts, our thoughts, and our lives to something other than Jesus.
[00:33:49] Something like rabbit holes or conspiracy theories on the Internet, something like influencers who don't really care about what we think or feel as long as they make money off of us, something like politicians who are more interested in political power than in preserving and promoting the dignity of all people, or something like social media, which can present a distorted portrayal of ourselves and others.
[00:34:28] So, how do we change that? How do we give control of our hearts, our thoughts, and our lives to Jesus rather than to the things of this world?
[00:34:44] Well, it has to start with us… it has to start with us making a conscious choice.
[00:34:52] Everything we do to better our lives, our families, our communities, and our world starts with a conscious choice to do better… to be better…
stronger, healthier, smarter, more ethical, more respectful, more loving.
[00:35:16] We have to choose to do the right thing rather than the easy thing. We have to choose not to allow the internet, or influencers, or politicians, or social media to have power over us.
[00:35:33] We have to choose to listen to Jesus rather than the world.
[00:35:39] Next week, we begin a new Liturgical Year with the First Sunday of Advent. That gives us the opportunity to sort-of Scripturally reset our hearts, our minds, and our lives.
So, let's make a new Liturgical Year resolution… to be kinder, more respectful, more tolerant, and more loving people. The type of people Jesus teaches us to be.
[00:36:12] If you would like to reach out to me with questions or comments, send me an email at
[email protected]
Thank you for spending this time with me and until next we meet, may God shower his blessings upon you like a soft and gentle rain, and may he hold you, safe and secure, in the palm of his hand.
From His Word to Our Hearts is produced by SFS Audio Solutions.
The content of the show was assembled by me, Sally Moriarty-Flask.
Our music was composed by Jimmy Flask and is used with the permission of the composer. All rights reserved.
Information regarding references used in preparing the exegesis for this podcast is available upon request.
Thank you for listening and God Bless.
