November 20, 2016

Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe 2 Samuel 5: 1-3; Colossians 1: 12-20; Luke 23: 35-43 Sometimes I wonder why the English bother with their monarchy. It seems to me that the Queen is little more than a figurehead with very little authority. It also seems that a tremendous amount of money is given to support the extended Royal family. Yet people look up to the queen for one who personifies dignity and wins respect and makes people feel better about themselves. There a number of monarchs in the world today: in Europe there are Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg, Monaco and Lichtenstein. Other countries that are still under monarchs are Andorra, Cambodia, Bhutan, Brunei, Kuwait, Jordan, Japan, and Mataysia. The overall advantage is that there is only one individual who will make the decisions. These will be made quickly and there will be fewer disagreements with new policies. What does this have to do with today’s feast of Christ the King? This feast is celebrated on the last Sunday of the Church calendar. The readings leading up to this Sunday are eschatological in content: looking at the death, judgment and final destiny of the soul and humankind. Jesus has defeated evil. The kingship of Christ means that the eternal Son of God who became incarnate in Jesus is the ruler of the universe. The world is the universe over which Christ’s kingship prevails. This is not an abstract concept. It involves the doctrines of creation, redemption and the reconciliation of the universe. Jesus came to show us that God is in love with each person now and forever. Are we living as a person loved and graced by God? Faith Catholic explains that, “The feast of Christ the King was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925. Europe was still healing from the effects of World War I. The once great Catholic monarchies of Europe had been replaced by fascists, socialist and communists, all styles of government that are opposed to religious observance. Europe was beginning to turn away from God and His Church. The intent of this solemnity was to let all people know that the kings of men will never match the great and glorious, merciful and mighty kingship of Jesus Christ. The Church was staking her claim with the powers of heaven.” The readings further tell us about my role and each person’s role in the Kingdom of God. When we look at the history of Israel’s kings we see that the country was only united for a relatively brief time during the reigns of Saul, David and Solomon. After that, it was a divided kingdom: Israel in the North and Judah in the South. The country was surrounded by pagan neighbors and so often the leadership and kings adopted the worship of pagan idols. Some kings allowed shrines to pagan gods in the Temple. The bottom line is that the policy of any given king had an enormous influence on the faith and religious practices of the people. The prophets were the ones who kept calling the people to return to the one true God. As we can guess, often the prophets were expelled, tortured, thrown in prison and killed. Did the people care? They just wanted to survive, raise their families and worship their God in peace. They wondered who exactly was their God? Paul oftentimes is difficult to read because he doesn’t tell stories. He was trained as a scholar of the Hebrew Law so he is much more a theological thinker. He is also working hard to together a church community throughout the known world. He also is an ‘absentee pastor’ since he is on the move frequently and corresponds by letters. He tells us today, in an ancient hymn, that Jesus is the image of the God we can’t see, the firstborn of creation, all things were created though Him, He is the pattern we are to imitate; reconciliation and peace result from the blood of His cross. From these we see that Jesus was fully human and fully divine. He was a leader who came to serve, not to be served. He humbled Himself and was exalted on the cross. He died for you and me and everyone. The Gospel account we would never associate with the feast of Christ the King, is the death scene that Luke describes. Jesus never sought the title of ‘king’ but many people wanted Him to be king to replace the atrocities of the puppet King Herod. Jesus showed us what it means to be a leader, a king was to be a servant to all. Mark states it beautifully when Jesus said, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishers to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10: 42-45) Today’s Gospel has Jesus hanging on the cross. Pilate ironically labeled it, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Jesus never referred to himself as a king. He never lived as royalty. He had no armies nor showed great power with the exception of His overwhelming compassion seen in His miracles and caring. He was accused of being a political insurrectionist and was crucified for this. He has two criminals on either side of Him. One has no faith and ridicules and abuses Jesus. The other criminal tells the first he is wrong and asks to be remembered when Jesus enters His kingdom. Jesus is not a secular king but will reign forever. Do I believe? Do I go to Jesus with all my little cares and hurts? Do I realize I am loved? My reflection today is from Sunday Homily Helps: a) We usually don’t think of Jesus as a king because he did not act like most of the kings we’re familiar with. He did, however, demand total loyalty. b) If you were asked to identify yourself and your roles in life, how would you answer? Typical responses would include things such as husband or wife; mother or father or grandparent, student, nurse, electrician, priest, homemaker, etc. Would you have included, follower of Jesus or Christian? c) When Pope Francis accepted his election to the papacy, he defined himself with these words: ‘I am a sinner, but I trust in the infinite mercy and patience of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Would you have included sinner among your roles? d) Each of us is many things and plays many roles. There’s another identity and role, a permanent one, that’s been promised to us, unless we refuse it: citizen of heaven. That’s thanks to Jesus Christ, our redeemer…and our king.” Can I pledge my allegiance to Christ the King? Fr. Charles E Miller, C.M. in Sunday Preaching suggests this one: • We pledge allegiance to Christ the King. • We embrace His eternal and universal kingdom. • We acknowledge His kingdom to be one of truth and life, of holiness and grace. • We wish to do what we can through prayer and action to bring to the world His kingdom of justice, love, and peace.