“The Man Who Would Be King” is a story by Rudyard Kipling. This is not that story, but today’s gospel. If this gospel sounds super familiar, it should be.  This is the parable of the gold coins as told by St. Luke.  Just this previous Sunday, the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time,  our gospel was the parallel in the Gospel of Mattew, the parable of the Talents. If you are so inclined, you can read my Sunday homily on the gospel.

While the gospel might be parallel, the details are different and I would suggest that Luke’s intentions are different from Matthew’s.  In Matthew’s use of the parable, the focus is on the stewardship of the disciples. The Lukan placement and details suggest that the focus is on a comparison and contrast between the coming Kingdom of God and the norm for a political kingdom of Jesus’ time. Some scholars suggest that rather than the “Parable of the Gold Coins” a perhaps better title might be “The Parable of the Greedy and Vengeful King.”

Consider a simple outline of the parable as follows: (1) a throne claimant travels to a distant country to secure the title “King.” (2)  the citizens of the country send a delegation to oppose the conferral of royal power upon him. (3) When the throne claimant returns he rewards those who have served him well and slaughters those who did not or opposed him. While we have a natural tendency to quickly associate Jesus with the “King,” this simple outline should dissuade that line of thought. But for those aware of the history of the rulers of Israel in the time of Jesus (before, during, and after) – or for the people living in 1st century Israel, the simple outline easily reminds one of King Herod the Great and his sons. All of them were required to travel to Rome to secure the title “king.” All of them rewarded supporters and slaughtered their enemies.  No one would associate this parable with the long awaited Messiah who would ascend the throne of David to restore all things as God intended.

St. Luke has placed this parable immediately before his entry into Jerusalem on what we celebrate as Palm Sunday. Jesus will soon confront the authorities in the Temple and condemn the scribes who devour the widow’s houses (Lk 20:47), praise the widow who gives but a few coins (21:1-4) and announce the destruction of the city (21:20-24).

Jesus we know as “king.” Herod and Caesar we know as kings/rulers. The parable invites us to consider the kingdom to which we would become citizens. In Jesus’ kingdom, the greedy will be driven from the Temple, and the generous (even just a few coins) rewarded – all in opposition to the kingdoms of Caesar and Herod.

Many men and women want to be king/queen/ruler. There is the One who would be and will be King of the Universe.

Image credit: The Parable of the Talents by Willem de Porter, 17th century, National Gallery of Prague, PD-US