In the second half
of the last century, Catholics took a deep look at their faith and at the
meaning of being Christian Catholics. The Church was suffering from those who
emphasized the Divinity of Christ to such a degree that His Presence was seen
as too great for the ordinary person to tolerate. This was really a heresy. It
removed the possibility for a person to have a personal relationship with the
Lord. That is not in keeping with Scripture, where Jesus calls His disciples
and us His friends[1].
When the Church
looked at this during the second half of the last century, it realized the
importance of people recognizing their personal relationship with the Lord. We
were told, rightly so, that Jesus is a loving caring friend. And this is great.
We should have an active and open communication with the Lord. We should have
an active and open prayer life.
But this way of
thinking can also be taken to an extreme. Jesus is not just our friend. He is
also our King. There is a deep difference, a huge difference. Here’s one way of
considering it: We allow a friend to ride shotgun. We give our King the keys to
our car. We don’t just consult with Jesus, we follow Jesus. We give Him our
lives. We let Him direct us.
When we hear the
word "king" we often think of the splendor of Versailles of Louis XIV
of France, or the Russian court of Catherine the Great. This is certainly not
the type of king presented in today's readings.
Today’s Gospel
is the scene at the Calvary. Jesus is abandoned by his people. Only Mary, John
and Mary Magdalene and perhaps a few others are there. The rest of the Twelve,
the huge crowds that had pressed so hard on the Lord forcing Him to do things
like preach from a boat off the shore, the crowds are gone. Where were all these
people? Surely they heard of His arrest,
his trial before the Sanhedrin and the Pilate.
Certainly, by
now they had heard how the Temple leaders had filled the Roman courtyard with
scoundrels demanding Jesus’ death. Where
were they all? Had they decided that Jesus could not lead them? Yet, it is on the cross that Jesus is
proclaimed to be a King. And this was really not by the Romans who placed a
sarcastic sign over his head, This is the
King of the Jews[2].
On the cross, Jesus was proclaimed to be a King by one of the criminals who were
dying with him. Jesus, remember me when
you come into your kingdom. Why would this man whom we call Dismis call
Jesus a King? What did Dismis realize that so many others had blocked out of
their lives? Dismis had to realize that Jesus possessed the Power of the
Spiritual, the Power of God. Jesus demonstrated this power when he turned to
the repentant criminal and said, this day
you will be with me in Paradise."
He is our
King. His Kingdom is, as today’s
Preface, the prayer we say immediately
before we sing the Holy Holy, tells us, is a
Kingdom of truth and life, a Kingdom of holiness and grace, a Kingdom of
justice, love and peace.
We have given
the keys of our lives to our King. We have now been called to imitate him at
his most regal moment: reigning on the Cross sacrificing himself for others,
reconciling, forgiving. We are called to realize with our lives the Kingdom of
truth and life, holiness, grace, justice, love and peace.
Perhaps the
greatest sacrifice we are called to make is the sacrifice of forgiving those who
have hurt us. On the cross Jesus forgave those who conspired against Him to
kill Him. He forgave the soldiers who brutalized Him. He forgave His disciples
who deserted Him. He forgave us. He saw our sins, your sins and mine, and
embraced the cross to restore grace, not just for the world in general, but for
you and me. It is harder to say "You are forgiven" than it is to say,
"I am sorry." But that is the way of the King on the cross forgiving
the criminal, the mockers, His executioners, forgiving us. Forgiveness is the way of the Kingdom.
We are called to
be members of a Kingdom of Truth. Jesus told Pilate that he came to give
testimony to the truth. Pilate sarcastically asked, what is truth? So also do some people of our day who are faced with
the realization that a life of materialism is empty and an illusion. Some have become cynics saying that there is
no truth in the world. Others have
decided that truth is relative. Truth is
whatever they decide it is. If that is
so, then there really is no truth.
No, Jesus Christ
said that there is truth. He is the King of truth. So what
is this Truth? What is the basic truth of the world? What is the
fundamental truth that Jesus proclaimed? The Truth of Jesus Christ is that
there is infinitely more to our existence than the physical. The Truth of Jesus
Christ is that his Kingdom is worth infinitely more than all the riches of the
world. The truth of Jesus Christ is that living for personal gratification is
taking a dive into an empty pool. Yes there is truth. And we stand for the
truth and with Jesus.
If we do this,
when we do this, if and when we stand for the Truth of Christ, we are set apart
from others. And that is what holiness is, to be set apart for God. Therefore
the Kingdom of Truth is a Kingdom of Holiness.
It is also the
Kingdom of justice and love. For truth demands that we protect the rights of
all. We, the Church, cannot and will not ignore the plight of the poor, the
sick, the mentally and physically challenged, those who are abused by the
system, the battered wife, the helpless baby--inside or outside the mother, the
scorned migrant, and all the lepers of the modern world! As followers of Jesus
Christ we are committed to His Kingdom of Justice and Love.
The Church year
is over. Like the conclusion of a good book, the final chapter sums up the
essence of the book. The Solemnity of Christ the King sums up the Church year
by proclaiming: Jesus is the central mystery of our faith. He lived, He died,
He rose, and He will come again. He went about preaching about the Kingdom of
God and encouraging us to change our lives so we can become members of this
Kingdom. He told us to avoid the
materialism of the world. He called us
friends, and brothers and sisters. He
called us His own. He told us to keep
His presence alive in the world by bringing His compassion to others. He allowed us to be called Christians. May we have the
courage to be faithful members of our Friend’s Kingdom ■
[1] Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of
the Universe C, November 24, 2013. Readings: 2 Samuel 5:1-3; Responsorial Psalm
122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5; Colossians 1:12-20; Luke 23:35-43
[2] The acronym INRI (Iēsus
Nazarēnus, Rēx Iūdaeōrum) represents the Latin inscription which in English
reads as "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews" and John 19:20 states
that this was written in three languages—Hebrew, Latin, and Greek—during the
crucifixion of Jesus. The Greek version reads ΙΝΒΙ, representing Ἰησοῦς ὁ
Ναζωραῖος ὁ Bασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων. In the New Testament, the "King of the
Jews” title is used only by the gentiles, namely by the Magi, Pontius Pilate,
and the Roman soldiers. In contrast, the Jewish leaders use the designation
"King of Israel".
