Homily from the Mass of Christ the King of the Universe: “Where does God reign?”

Sunday 23 November 2025
Jesus Christ King of the Universe – Year C

Homily by Father Emmanuel Schwab

1^st Reading: 2 Samuel 5:1-3
Psaume : 121 (122),1-2,3-4,5-6
2^rd reading: Colossians 1,12-20
Gospel: Luke 23,35:43-XNUMX

In his little book "The Way of Man," Martin Buber tells the story of an old rabbi, surrounded by his disciples, who one day asks them, "Where is God?" The disciples look at one another, uneasy about the old rabbi's question. No one dares answer, and the old rabbi answers his own question: "God is where you let him in." 

And inspired by this story, I would ask the question: where does God reign? And I would answer: God reigns where we let him reign.

Where is Christ king? In the heart of the one who lets Jesus reign. 

Thus, we immediately understand that we all have the opportunity to allow the Kingdom of God, the reign of God, to grow in this world, since the only freedom we have control over is our own. By allowing the Lord to reign more in our lives, we allow him to reign more in the world. 

But this Kingdom, this reign of God, the way in which God reigns, this reign that we long for each time we pray the Lord's Prayer — may your kingdom come — this reign, this Kingdom, is not imposed by force, it is offered through love. If the Gospel tells us of Christ's death on the cross and his encounter with the good thief—but not only the good thief, also the bad thief, the soldiers, the chief priests—it is because this is indeed his throne: the cross is his throne. And it is there that we must contemplate the Lord. 

Thérèse invites her sister Céline to contemplate Jesus in his Passion in this way, she writes: 

Jesus burns with love for us… Look at his adorable Face!… Look at those dull, downcast eyes!… Look at those wounds… Look at Jesus in his Face… There you will see how he loves us. (LT 87 of April 4, 1889, to Céline) This reign of Christ is offered in love, and it is by welcoming this love that we can let the Lord reign ever more in our lives and that we can become ever more disciples of the Lord by doing what he says because his word will have more and more power over us. Not a power that violates us, but a power that constitutes us, that resurrects us, that gives us life. 

The world, as we know, is the scene of a formidable battle. The enemy—the devil or Satan—seeks to snatch everything from the Father's hand. Jesus says of him in the Gospel of John: He is a murderer from the beginning, a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44). Wherever we see falsehood at work, it is always because the devil is at work. Wherever we see death at work, it is always because the devil is at work. 

The Lord Jesus describes himself as being The Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). And if we truly want to let the Lord reign in our lives, reign in our hearts, reign in our world, we must love the truth and live the truth; we must love life and accompany the life of every person. To progress on this path, Thérèse understands that the cross of Jesus is the path he took to enter his Kingdom, and it is the path he invites us to take in turn, following him and never without him. This is why Thérèse cries out in her prayer, asking for humility:

I know, O my God, that you humble the proud soul, but to the humble you give an eternity of glory; therefore, I wish to place myself in the lowest rank, to share your humiliations, so that I may "have a portion with you" in the kingdom of Heaven. (Prayer 20, July 16, 1897)

Yes, this reign of God on this earth will not appear in an extraordinary way, nor will it appear as men conceive of power: the Kingdom of God on this earth always appears in a humble heart that enters into the mystery of the cross. And the mystery of the cross consists in becoming victorious over evil with good, victorious over falsehood with truth, victorious over death with life. And this is not achieved without suffering. 

Where does God reign? Where he is allowed to reign. 

In one of her last letters, addressed to Father Bellière, Thérèse recalls:

When I began to learn the history of France, the story of Joan of Arc's exploits captivated me. I felt in my heart the desire and the courage to imitate her; it seemed to me that the Lord was also destining me for great things. I was not mistaken, but instead of a voice from Heaven calling me to battle, I heard deep within my soul a voice sweeter, even stronger, that of the Bridegroom of virgins, calling me to other exploits, to more glorious conquests. And in the solitude of Carmel, I understood that my mission was not to have a mortal king crowned, but to make the King of Heaven loved, to submit the kingdom of hearts to Him. (LT 224, April 25, 1897)

This reign of Christ, as we well understand, takes place within each person who welcomes it. But it is also important that it be able to enlighten and illuminate human society.

It is important that it can enlighten and illuminate culture, that is, this set of ways of life that constitutes a human community. 

I invite you to read it, or reread it if you've never done so, the difficult but truly remarkable speech by Saint John Paul II on June 2, 1980 at UNESCOA discourse on culture, a meditation on what culture is. 

Yes, the light of the Gospel, the revelation that God gives us of the truth about humanity through Christ Jesus, must also permeate culture and the way of life of a society. For if God and Christ do not illuminate our way of life, we risk losing our very identity as human beings, created in the image and likeness of God. We risk becoming nothing more than mindless consumers, easily manipulated. 

Saint John Paul II concludes his address with a vigorous threefold affirmation in which he says:

Yes! The future of humanity depends on culture!
Yes! World peace depends on the primacy of the Spirit!
Yes! The peaceful future of humanity depends on love!

To proclaim the Kingdom of God, to welcome this Kingdom into our own lives, to invite our contemporaries to allow themselves to be called to the grace of this Kingdom and to learn to live by the grace of this Kingdom, is to do good to our world. 

To offer Christ to our contemporaries is to offer them life, to open a future for them. For God gave us Christ Jesus so that we might have life and have it to the full.

Amen