Parish Deacon

On Kings

A Homily by Fr. Dan Vollmer

November 23, 2019

Let's begin with some historical background. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. He died before they entered the Promised Land. Joshua took the place of Moses as their leader. When Joshua died, there wasn't a leader appointed to replace him. The Israelites entered a period that is called the time of the Judges, and we can read about that time period in the Book of the Judges.

Historically, the Book of Judges covers the time period from after the death of Joshua around 1250 BC to about 1050 BC. Some of the Judges were judges in the modern sense of the word, but most of them were more along the lines of a military leader, or a hero (Samson). Since there was no king, the twelve tribes formed a sort of loose confederation.

In chapter 9 of the Book of Judges (9:8-15) we find a negative attitude toward kings. God is supposed to be their king. However, near the end of the Book of Judges we find four times the statement (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25): "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what he thought best." In fact, the very last verse in the Book of Judges repeats that verse for the final time. So the longer the tribes go without a single strong ruler, the more they desire one because near the end of the Book of Judges things are getting chaotic and atrocities are being committed by the Israelites.

However, in the next book of the Bible, The First Book of Samuel, there are two strong judges. The first is Eli, and the second is Samuel. Both seem to be able to keep order, but they are not kings. In fact, a curious thing is noted about both of them. Both of them have sons who are immoral.

We read this in the First Book of Samuel (2:12-13a): "Now the sons of Eli were wicked; they had respect neither for the Lord nor for the priests' duties toward the people." And then six chapters later we find this (1Samuel 8:1-5): "In his old age Samuel appointed his sons judges over Israel. His first born was named Joel, his second son, Abijah; they judged at Beer-sheba. His sons did not follow his example but sought illicit gain and accepted bribes, perverting justice. Therefore all the elders of Israel came in a body to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, 'Now that you are old, and your sons do not follow your example, appoint a king over us, as other nations have, to judge us."'

Eli was virtuous and a strong leader, but his sons were wicked. Samuel was virtuous and a strong leader, but his sons didn't follow his example. The people want Samuel to anoint someone to be king because they don't want Samuel's sons to mess things up. However, who rules after a king dies? One of his sons. What was their experience with the sons of Eli and Samuel? Not good.

The people seem to be caught between a rock and a hard place. Things got chaotic without a strong ruler. However, it is clear that you can't count on the sons of a strong ruler to be able to follow in his dad's footsteps in both virtue and leadership skills.

So, Samuel anoints Saul as the first king of Israel. He is a good military leader, but he has mood swings and is jealous of David. When Saul dies in a battle, the tribe of Judah makes David their king. The other tribes follow Saul's son lshbaal, who ruled for two years, and then was murdered. Today's first reading follows immediately after the burial of Saul's son lshbaal.

All the tribes are united under the kingship of David. Who becomes king when David dies? His son Solomon. Who becomes king when Solomon dies? Solomon's son Rehoboam. The kingdom splits into a north and south not long after Rehoboam becomes king. The kingdom was never united again, and most of the kings in both the north and the south were poor leaders and not very virtuous. In fact, when a king is introduced in either the First or Second Book of Kings, the statement, "He did evil in the Lord's sight…" appears after the name of most of the kings. It is obvious, the people need a king who is a good leader and virtuous. Where were they going to find such a king?

In the book Plato's Republic, Socrates argues that the best ruler is a philosopher king. The philosopher king is trained from a young age to love virtue and truth above all things. Socrates isn't a big fan of democracy because it is possible, and likely, that those elected won't be virtuous, and will pursue paths of personal gain and power, rather than what is good for the people. He argues that someone who always pursues what is good for the people, and is personally moral and virtuous is by far the best kind of leader for a city. In theory it is. In practice, it is difficult to impossible to accomplish. Democracy is the best kind of system we have, but we all know it isn't perfect.

Has anyone tried to pursue the path of a philosopher king? Yes, the Catholic Church. Our pope, bishops, and priests are supposed to be men who are good leaders who love truth and virtue, and pursue those goals even at a personal cost. In fact, our pope is the closest thing our world has to the philosopher king that Socrates argued for. It is by no mistake that the first semester at the seminary we were reading Plato's Republic. We were being told in the first semester the kind of men, and the kind of priests we were expected to be. Our model for that kind of virtue, morality, and truth is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ.

A good priest should always point the people to Jesus, and do his best to imitate him. Jesus is our King. Amen? It is him that we are to follow. Jesus wants to lead us to heaven. There is no other way to heaven. In fact, Jesus said (John 14:6): "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, except through me."

That means that if the laws of the United States or the laws of the State of Arizona conflict with the teachings of Jesus or the Catholic Church, then the teachings of Jesus and the Catholic Church always take precedence over the laws of this country and this state. We should never even hesitate. It should be obvious. The goal of the teachings of Jesus and the Catholic Church is to build the Kingdom of God on earth and to lead us to heaven.

We have to be careful that we don't allow our heart and our emotions determine our actions. We should not allow our heart and our emotions to rule us because the odds are not good that our heart and our emotions will lead us to heaven. In addition, if we let our emotions and our feelings rule us, then Jesus Christ in not our King. Here's a great line from the movie "Fireproof": "You have to lead your heart."

That means it is important for our children and youth to be instructed in our faith, virtue, truth, and morality so that they can lead their hearts and their emotions. Without instruction in Christianity, virtue, morality, and truth, our heart and our emotions will get us in all kinds of difficult situations. I've been a priest for 14 years, and it is very clear to me that someone who lives the teachings of Jesus and the Catholic Church, someone who has been instructed in our faith, virtue, morality, and truth, will always find life to have fewer complications than someone who follows their heart and their emotions.

I hear the confessions, and I hear the stories of those who come to me for help. It is clear, when Jesus is our King, and we follow him, life is so much better, and has much fewer complications.

The norms of our culture will never lead our children to heaven. To tell a child or a teenager to ignore the teachings of Jesus and the Catholic Church is the same thing as rejecting Jesus Christ as our King. Our culture has rejected Jesus Christ as its King, and how is that working out for us? Is our culture leading us to virtue, morality, and truth? Of course it's not.

So, parents, your children should be in our RE classes after they receive first communion and confirmation. I guarantee you that their public school is not instructing them in the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church. I guarantee you that their public school is not instructing them in virtue, morality, and truth. They will only find that at church.

We have instruction for children all the way through the 12ih grade. Let us help you instruct your children in virtue, morality, truth, and our Catholic faith so that as adults they will have the tools to lead their hearts and their emotions, and thus avoid a lot of the bad choices that we see young people making these days.

Socrates was right. The best kind of ruler is someone who is trained from a young age to love virtue and truth above all things. Well, we have someone even better than that. Jesus Christ is our King. Jesus Christ is God, and God is the perfection of virtue, truth, and love.

We see our Jewish brothers and sisters struggling throughout the Old Testament because they rarely had good, virtuous, moral leaders. Well, God solved that problem by coming down from heaven to teach us and show us the way. Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, is our King. We celebrate that today. May Jesus Christ truly be our king so that we may more and more become what we desire in our leaders: a person who is courageous, and loves what is good, virtuous, and moral. Amen?