(Homily for the Solemnity of Christ the King, Year C)
Today is the last Sunday of the Church’s
liturgical year and it is dedicated to the celebration of the solemnity of the
Kingship of Christ. The feast of Christ
the King was introduced by Pope Pius XI in 1925, in order to confront the abuse
of power by the nations and the surge of secularism among the nations and most
importantly, to proclaim the primacy and supremacy of Christ over the kingdoms
of the world. From the beginning of the liturgical year to its end we not
only celebrate some religious feast, but God’s presence, indeed, we are deeply
immersed in the ocean of God’s grace. In the
course of the liturgical year, according to the Second Vatican Council, we celebrate
all the mysteries of Christ, from Incarnation to Nativity, to his ascension,
the Pentecost and the vigilant hope of the Coming in glory of the Lord. With
the celebration of the liturgical year, the Church in a way, renders present in
all times the mysteries of redemption, such that the faithful can approach to
these mysteries and to be filled with the grace of redemption (cf. Sacrosanctum
Conciliun, nn. 102 and 185).
The
Solemnity of Christ the King brings the Liturgical Year to a close. In the course
of this passing liturgical year, we have celebrated the mysteries of the life
of the Lord. Now, we contemplate Christ in his glorified state as King of all
creation and of our souls. Today we celebrate a King whose kingdom is totally
different from the kingdoms of the world. A
king whose ruling staff is Love. Little wonder, the readings of today do
not talk much about kingdoms, but about the King who dies for love. Ours therefore is a King of Love and a King
for Love. Indeed, Kings come and go, likewise their kingdoms, but our King
reigns forever, and for this St. Luke affirms that: “his kingdom will have no
end” (Lk. 1:33). His is an
everlasting kingdom. In the words of the psalmist: “All the kings of the earth
give thanks to you, Yahweh, when they hear the promises you make; they sing of
Yahweh’s ways, ‘Great is the glory of Yahweh” (Ps. 138:4-5).
As God would have it in the first reading (2 Sam. 5:1-3) we are presented with the episode of the solemn coronation
of David as the King of the people of Israel. He was consecrated King by Samuel
for the southern tribe of the nation (cf.
2Sam. 2:4), and the elders of the north recognized that God has chosen him
as the King of Israel, and they consecrated him with the unction (cf. 2Sam.5:1-3). David was not only called to carry out political and economic
responsibilities as a King, but he had to perform the mission of a spiritual
and moral leader in favor of his people, to express and to make effective
in concrete manner, the covenant God has made with his people, in some circumstances he was even wearing
the priestly vest and was carrying out priestly functions, “David presented
burnt offerings and communion sacrifices in Yahweh’s presence. And when David
finished presenting burnt offerings, he blessed the people in the name of
Yahweh Sabaoth” (2Sam.6:17-18). David is the prefiguration of Christ in the
Old Testament, he is like a Christ-figure; his regality is a prophetic
anticipation and prefiguration of the regality of Christ. Yahweh promised
to secure this throne forever (cf. 2Sam.
7:12-16), even with the limits and infidelity of the man David. He carried
out his mission as a King in an inadequate and imperfect manner, but that of Christ is perfect! However, the
word of God was addressed to David thus: “You are to shepherd my people Israel
and be leader of Israel” (v.2),
similar words were referred to Christ: “And you Bethlehem, in the land of
Judah, you are by no means the least among the leaders of Judah, for from you
will come a leader who will shepherd my people Israel” (Mt. 2:6).
The
Gospel passage (Lk. 23:35-43) rather
presents in a somewhat dramatic manner
the coronation of the King of the universe, because therein we see a scene that seems to relegate the royal dignity:
Christ on the cross with two thieves. Indeed, on Calvary the regality of Christ
was an object of derision, by the crowd, by the leaders, by the soldiers, even
by one of the thieves. Even the inscription of Pilate on top of the cross
sounds ironic. Even though before Pilate Jesus declared expressly that He is a
King, but he equally made it clear that His Kingdom is not of this world (cf. Jn. 18:36). Behold, it is indeed
on Calvary, on the Cross that Jesus received his solemn coronation as a King. For
on the cross he acquired his kingly title in full, because with his sacrifice
he expiated the sins of mankind and became the first-Son of the multitude of
brothers (cf. Mk. 3:35; Heb. 2:11). On the cross with the sacrifice of his
life, Jesus expresses with all clarity the meaning and essence of his kingship:
a service to mankind taken to the extreme: “No one can have greater love than
to lay down his life for his friends” (Jn.
15:13) elsewhere St John says: “having loved those who were his in the
world, he loved them to the end” (Jn. 13:1),
his indeed is not merely too much or excess love, but extreme and endless love
(love in extremis). His sovereignty is founded on his total
self-giving for love, in the offering of himself as the victim for the
expiation of the sins of the world. Our King received his crown on the cross. His is not a kingdom of domination and
imposition, rather a kingdom that has love and mercy as its pillars.
Interestingly, this gospel passage calls us today to mediate not only on the
King, but also on the Cross that is, his Throne. His indeed, is a kingdom of Love and a sovereignty of Mercy! And it
is love and mercy expressed in the parlance of the Cross, of suffering and
dying for Love!
Let us reflect deeper over the scene on
Calvary, as St. Luke presents it to us: ●The leaders: “jeered at him with the
words, He saved others, let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the
Chosen One” (v.35). ●The soldiers
“mocked him too, coming up to him, offering him vinegar, and saying, If you are
the king of the Jews, save yourself” (vv.36-37).
●Even one of the thieves abused him: “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and
us as well” (v.39). ●There was also
the inscription by Pilate that was pasted at the top of the cross: “This is the
king of the Jews” (v.38). However,
without knowing it Pilate expressed the truth. The work of salvation accomplished by Jesus during his earthly life
reaches its climax and its culmination on Calvary. Indeed, here lies the
scandal of the cross (cf. 1Cor.1:18;
22-25). The one who is hanged on the cross in agony and died in the midst
of two thieves is the “image of the invisible God”, as St. Paul expressed in
the passage of the second reading, he existed before all, he is the Creator of
all and all subsists in him, in a
nutshell a God in the midst of men (and women), a weak God, who could not save
himself. He is an absurd and inconceivable God by the Jews. But instead,
that is the supreme sign and gesture of his love and the love of the Father: “For
this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who
believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (Jn.3:16; 1Jn.4:9-10; Rm.8:32).
At the heart of that event, we see the
challenging interrogation of the hardened thief: “If you are the Christ, save
yourself and save us as well.” This is a
scandalous quest that put not only the authenticity of the divinity of Christ,
but also of the Kingdom of God into question. But the King responds,
demonstrating that there is something worth more than life, and that is Love,
little wonder in the drama of the Cross we see “a King who dies loving”. Because dying is not the end of this love,
and certainly the resurrection is a seal that such love cannot go in vain. But
the good thief understood or rather had an intuition that “this man has done
nothing wrong” (v.41), therefore he
was condemned unjustly, just as Pilate recognized many times during the
prosecution, “I find no case against this man” (Lk. 23:4.14-15.22), yet he handed him over to the Jews to be
crucified. The good thief then humbly asked: “Jesus, remember me when you come
into your kingdom” (v.42). Indeed Jesus started reigning on the cross,
the heart of the thief was touched by grace and he entrusted himself to Jesus. Jesus
exhorted him beyond expectation: “In truth I tell you, today you will be with
me in paradise” (v.43). The famous good thief is a symbolic
representation of the human person that God continues to show his love, for
God every man or woman is lovable.
One may curiously ask: what merit had the good thief? His merit comes
absolutely from God’s love. His merit is Love. The response of Jesus to his
supplication goes beyond mere answer to a request, but the fulfillment of every
human desire.
Extrapolating from the encounter with the
good thief, we could see the last three salvific words of Jesus on the Cross:
Today, with-me, and paradise. ● Today:
this is common in the gospel of Luke (cf.
Lk. 4:21; 19:9), which denotes the readiness of God to save us sinners, for
the love of God is humanly speaking an instant that opens to eternity. ● With-me: entails that the Kingdom of
God unlike the earthly kingdoms is inclusive. The symbolic image of the King who dies on the Cross with arms
outstretched is a credible sign of a love without frontiers, a kingdom
without walls, and an inclusive kingdom. And the
arms of the crucified King will continue to be outstretched for all who
recognize Jesus as a companion of Love and suffering, irrespective of what
their past might be. ● Paradise: the
hope of every man and woman. Behold, his kingdom is not a futuristic kingdom
but today, his kingdom is not far-fetched is with us already, but yet it looks
forward to the future, the “not yet”.
In the second reading (Col. 1:12-20) we see the solemn Christological hymn of St. Paul where the regality of Christ, his
sovereignty on souls and on the world is expressed with strong theological
foundations. Christ is the King of the universe, because he is the Son of
God, the God-Man, the visible image of the invisible God (v.15), “for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth”
(v.16), “in him all things hold together”
(v.17), it is through him that the
Father desired “to reconcile all things to him, everything in heaven and
everything on earth, by making peace through his death on the cross” (v.20). Indeed, St. Paul pictured him
accurately well as “the Head of the body, that is, the Church” (v.18), therefore, he is King in a very special way for those who are members of his body,
of those who have effectively been “rescued … from the ruling force of
darkness” (v.13), those who have
truly obtained “freedom and the forgiveness of sins” (v.14). Indeed, the Church is on earth, the Kingdom of Christ, and
all the members recognize him as their Sovereign Lord, Guide and Shepherd. In verse 20 St. Paul says that Jesus made
“peace through his death on the cross”. Similarly, the Gospel passage redirects
our attention to the scene of Calvary. For it
is precisely on Calvary that Jesus received his kingly investiture, and the
cross became his kingly throne, the place of his coronation and his
exaltation as St. John opined: “as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so
must the Son of man be lifted up” (Jn. 3:14).
Ironically, the moment of his maximum
annihilation was transformed into
the moment of his supreme glorification
(cf. Phil. 2:7-11).
In all my friends, this kingdom comports an existential
implication for us, because we do not only celebrate the King of the
Universe, but also our membership in this kingdom. For this St. Peter called us
“kingly people” (1Pt. 2:9). In the
words of St. Paul “It is he who has rescued us from the ruling force of
darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son that he loves” (Col. 1:13), ours is merely a
gratuitous transfer to this Kingdom, but do we really belong to this Kingdom? Today, the hot
button questions we have to ask ourselves are: Is Christ really our or my
King? What or who is ruling in my life?
Christ is our King when his words and examples have become norms for our
actions. Today’s feast should not only end with mere and empty proclamations
and gyrations, we have to allow the Truth to lead us. We belong to his kingdom
when we live according to his words. His is a kingdom of truth, a kingdom of
love. Do we bear witness to his truth and to his love? That is bearing witness
to his kingdom or do we bear witness to evil? We belong to his kingdom when we
live in truth, grace, holiness, Justice, love and peace. Which kingdom do you
belong? The one of Jesus or the one of the Devil? Today,
we are marching out to tell the whole world that we have a King whose Kingdom
is eternal. We are going out to proclaim and acclaim his Kingship. We are going out to confess and profess that
there is no King like him. We are at the same time challenged to allow him
to be the ultimate King in our lives. It
is not untrue that most of us have various kings and kingdoms that are ruling
our lives. We need to stop a while and ask ourselves: who is actually
reigning in my life? Let us re-echo our voices together with that of the
Psalmist in declaring the smooth entrance of this King into our lives, into our
families, into the hooks and crannies of our society: “Lift high your heads, o
ye gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! Let him enter the King of glory”. Who
is the king of glory? The Lord of Host, He is the King of glory” (Ps.
24:9-10). Lift those things in your life that may block His
entrance, lift those things that may obstacle his entrance into your family,
lift those ancient ways of living, those ancient gods. Let us open up for him too. Let us open our lives, our families, our
societies, our educational system, our political system, our work place, our
dreams and aspirations, so that He can enter and take control. For wherever he
enters, witnesses a change. Welcome Him today, so that he may recognize you as
sheep and not as goat on the day of reckoning. Let Him enter the King of Glory (cf. Ps. 24:10). Come our King forever and always!
King of Glory (cf. Ps. 24:10)
Our Peculiar King, for
no one is like you (cf. Ex. 15:11)
God made King, for royal dignity has been yours from birth (cf.
Ps. 110:3; Jn. 18:37)
King with divine
mandate (cf. Dn. 7:14a)
King of Kings (cf. Rev. 17:14; 19:16)
King of the whole world (cf. Zech. 14:9)
King of peace (cf. Is. 9:6)
The highest King (cf. Rev. 1:5)
Everlasting King (cf. Jer. 10:10; Lk. 1:33)
Come Lord Jesus, come and reign in my
life! Amen!!!
(Fr.
Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)
No comments:
Post a Comment