2025/11/23 SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
- Fr. Radley Alcantara, Associate Pastor
This weekend’s gospel gives us this brief exchange between Jesus and the man we usually call the good thief, Dismas. It’s only a few verses, but it brings the whole gospel into focus. It reminds us that God shows up in every part of our lives. It’s easy to notice God when things are going well: when the baby is born healthy, when the anniversary comes around, when the job offer comes through. In those moments we say, “God is here. God is good!”
But this story tells us the truth we forget. God is also here when life is breaking your heart. Sometimes that heaviness shows up as a subtle sadness we can’t explain, a season of transition that feels more cloudy than clear, or a move that leaves us wondering if we made the right choice.
Think about that thief. He knows he’s guilty. He knows his life hasn’t gone the way he planned. He’s in real pain, and he’s running out of time. If anyone had a reason to give up, it was him. We all have moments like that: when life doesn’t line up the way we expected, when we’re grieving change, or when we’re carrying questions we didn’t expect to have.
But, somehow, he sees what everyone else on that hill misses. He sees that Jesus is good and innocent. He sees that Jesus has a power that reaches far beyond this dreadful moment. So, he turns toward him and says the simplest prayer: “Jesus, remember me…” He doesn’t demand a miracle nor does he even ask to be saved. He just wants to be remembered. And, Jesus responds with something way better than anything he could have asked for: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
We’re reminded that the One we follow doesn’t abandon us when life isn’t going as we hoped. When a marriage comes undone, when someone we love and care about is in a dark place, when a relationship isn’t what we thought it was, when our jobs or careers aren't fulfilling, when there’s finally a diagnosis and we have no words left, we can still pray: Jesus, remember me. It’s trust. It’s saying, “I believe you’re good, I believe you’re here with me, and I’m trusting you.” Jesus meets us there, even in the seasons of life that feel gray and heavy or unsettled, the ones we wish would just clear up already.
Most kings stay above the struggle, but Christ the King climbs down into it. Even when he is lifted up and above, it’s on a cross right inside the suffering, sharing in the struggle. He doesn't reign by being untouchable. He reigns by being close.
The gospel makes a promise. Because God remembers us, we’re never left empty-handed. Paradise is God giving us more than we asked for and more than we hoped for, even when all we can manage is that simple prayer: Jesus, remember me.