Christ the King
Christ the King
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
The Magi leave their homeland to search for the King. Herod does not accept His presence and attempts to have Him killed. Simeon tells Mary that He will be the fall and the rise of many in Israel. Just before His passion, the people proclaim Him king as He rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. Caiaphas, the high priest, charges the King with blasphemy. Pontius Pilot asks Him if He really is the King of the Jews and Jesus answers that He is a king, and that His kingdom is not of this world. A sign bearing a message in three languages is nailed above the crucified King: Jesus, King of the Jews.
Today on the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year, the Church celebrates the solemn feast of Christ the King. In Jn 18:36, Jesus tries to clear up Pilate’s misunderstandings by stating that: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom where from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” This means that Christ is not king like the rulers of the earth. His kingship does not depend upon the powers of this world and is not inspired by them.
Then what is the Kingdom of Jesus?
By summarizing all of the teachings of the New Testament on the kingdom we can clearly see that the kingdom is a three dimensional reality: the life of grace within every individual who does the will of God, the Church here on earth, and eternal life in Heaven.
The kingdom first establishes itself in our hearts, thus allowing us to participate in God's inner life. We are elevated and transformed through sanctifying grace. This supernatural life of grace comes to fulfillment in the eternal life of Heaven. Kingdom of Jesus is a kingdom of LOVE.
Essentially, the one characteristic that marks the way we are to live our lives is love. Let us remember that love is the total, self-sacrificing donation of our entire being.
God’s love for you is unconditional. In reality, Christianity is a love story: God loves you unconditionally and he calls you to love him unconditionally. His Kingdom is a kingdom of Love. We are called to love. This is the meaning of our lives. Every act of service, every act of kindness, every act of self giving must be seen as an act of love.
And who are we loving? “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matthew 25: 40).
Before his conversion, Francis of Assisi was ridding his horse through the countryside. Suddenly he came up upon a leper. Despite the ugliness of the terrible disease, Francis was so moved with pity, that he jumped off of his horse and flung his arms around the unfortunate man. As Francis looked at the leper, the man’s face changed and it appeared as the face of Jesus.
Blessed Mother Theresa certainly showed the modern world how to love. She once said, “What I can do, you cannot. What you can do, I cannot. But together we can do something beautiful for God. Yes, you must live life beautifully and not allow the spirit of the world that makes gods out of power, riches, and pleasure makes you to forget that you have been created for greater things – to love and to be loved”.
We must never be surprised that the spiritual life is a battle. A battle between the two kingdoms will always take place in our heart until the day the Lord calls us to the kingdom of Heaven. If you struggle, you will conquer. If you conquer, you will be given the crown of victory. To ensure that Jesus is always the king of our hearts requires great commitment, sacrifice, conviction, hard work and a lot of prayer to assure that Jesus is always the king of our heart.
Knowing that Christ is King is not enough for us. To seek his kingdom means to seek the TRUTH. God’s kingdom is where this truth reins .The words truth and true, used 39 times in John. Jesus is king in the sense which he himself defines: he bears witness to the truth (Jn 18:37).
Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you a king?” the Lord replied, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Jesus came to give witness to the truth — to the truth about God and his love; to the truth about us, who we are and who we’re called to be. Jesus’ Kingdom is a kingdom of Truth.
On this day we are reminded of who it is that should be the center of our lives, Jesus Christ, our Lord and King.
Many of you may remember the animated film called the Lion King. There is a particular scene that I would like to focus on today. After the death of his father, Simba the little lion cub is confused and is trying to plan his future. As he contemplates, a baboon by the name of Rafiki comes on the scene and tells Simba that he is confused because "you don't even know who you are." Simba replies "And I suppose you do?" Rafiki responds, "Yep, You are Mufasa's boy.” Rafiki then takes Simba to a nearby river to show him that his father Mufasa is still alive. He tells Simba to look in the water and tell him what he sees. Simba responds, "that's just my reflection." Rafiki insists, "No. Look harder!" As Simba looks in the water more closely, he then sees the image of his father, King Mufasa. Rafiki then makes the point, "See. He lives in you.”
Christ the King lives in each of us in a very real way! At Baptism, we were anointed with Sacred Chrism as Priest, Prophet and King. In other words, we share in the Kingship of Christ. We belong to the Heavenly Kingdom of the King of Kings!
If Christ is truly King of the Universe and King of my life, then he must be King of every part of my life. I must let him rein in all parts of my life. So this feast is a great day to ask ourselves whether Christ is truly King of our lives, whether he rules everywhere. Is he king of my time, is he king of my life, is he king of my home and if I really believe and seeks to live in His kingdom then I can truly say, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
The Magi leave their homeland to search for the King. Herod does not accept His presence and attempts to have Him killed. Simeon tells Mary that He will be the fall and the rise of many in Israel. Just before His passion, the people proclaim Him king as He rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. Caiaphas, the high priest, charges the King with blasphemy. Pontius Pilot asks Him if He really is the King of the Jews and Jesus answers that He is a king, and that His kingdom is not of this world. A sign bearing a message in three languages is nailed above the crucified King: Jesus, King of the Jews.
Today on the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year, the Church celebrates the solemn feast of Christ the King. In Jn 18:36, Jesus tries to clear up Pilate’s misunderstandings by stating that: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom where from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” This means that Christ is not king like the rulers of the earth. His kingship does not depend upon the powers of this world and is not inspired by them.
Then what is the Kingdom of Jesus?
By summarizing all of the teachings of the New Testament on the kingdom we can clearly see that the kingdom is a three dimensional reality: the life of grace within every individual who does the will of God, the Church here on earth, and eternal life in Heaven.
The kingdom first establishes itself in our hearts, thus allowing us to participate in God's inner life. We are elevated and transformed through sanctifying grace. This supernatural life of grace comes to fulfillment in the eternal life of Heaven. Kingdom of Jesus is a kingdom of LOVE.
Essentially, the one characteristic that marks the way we are to live our lives is love. Let us remember that love is the total, self-sacrificing donation of our entire being.
God’s love for you is unconditional. In reality, Christianity is a love story: God loves you unconditionally and he calls you to love him unconditionally. His Kingdom is a kingdom of Love. We are called to love. This is the meaning of our lives. Every act of service, every act of kindness, every act of self giving must be seen as an act of love.
And who are we loving? “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matthew 25: 40).
Before his conversion, Francis of Assisi was ridding his horse through the countryside. Suddenly he came up upon a leper. Despite the ugliness of the terrible disease, Francis was so moved with pity, that he jumped off of his horse and flung his arms around the unfortunate man. As Francis looked at the leper, the man’s face changed and it appeared as the face of Jesus.
Blessed Mother Theresa certainly showed the modern world how to love. She once said, “What I can do, you cannot. What you can do, I cannot. But together we can do something beautiful for God. Yes, you must live life beautifully and not allow the spirit of the world that makes gods out of power, riches, and pleasure makes you to forget that you have been created for greater things – to love and to be loved”.
We must never be surprised that the spiritual life is a battle. A battle between the two kingdoms will always take place in our heart until the day the Lord calls us to the kingdom of Heaven. If you struggle, you will conquer. If you conquer, you will be given the crown of victory. To ensure that Jesus is always the king of our hearts requires great commitment, sacrifice, conviction, hard work and a lot of prayer to assure that Jesus is always the king of our heart.
Knowing that Christ is King is not enough for us. To seek his kingdom means to seek the TRUTH. God’s kingdom is where this truth reins .The words truth and true, used 39 times in John. Jesus is king in the sense which he himself defines: he bears witness to the truth (Jn 18:37).
Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you a king?” the Lord replied, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Jesus came to give witness to the truth — to the truth about God and his love; to the truth about us, who we are and who we’re called to be. Jesus’ Kingdom is a kingdom of Truth.
On this day we are reminded of who it is that should be the center of our lives, Jesus Christ, our Lord and King.
Many of you may remember the animated film called the Lion King. There is a particular scene that I would like to focus on today. After the death of his father, Simba the little lion cub is confused and is trying to plan his future. As he contemplates, a baboon by the name of Rafiki comes on the scene and tells Simba that he is confused because "you don't even know who you are." Simba replies "And I suppose you do?" Rafiki responds, "Yep, You are Mufasa's boy.” Rafiki then takes Simba to a nearby river to show him that his father Mufasa is still alive. He tells Simba to look in the water and tell him what he sees. Simba responds, "that's just my reflection." Rafiki insists, "No. Look harder!" As Simba looks in the water more closely, he then sees the image of his father, King Mufasa. Rafiki then makes the point, "See. He lives in you.”
Christ the King lives in each of us in a very real way! At Baptism, we were anointed with Sacred Chrism as Priest, Prophet and King. In other words, we share in the Kingship of Christ. We belong to the Heavenly Kingdom of the King of Kings!
If Christ is truly King of the Universe and King of my life, then he must be King of every part of my life. I must let him rein in all parts of my life. So this feast is a great day to ask ourselves whether Christ is truly King of our lives, whether he rules everywhere. Is he king of my time, is he king of my life, is he king of my home and if I really believe and seeks to live in His kingdom then I can truly say, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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