Christ the King
November 25, 2012
Daniel 7:13-14;
Psalm 93; Revelation 1:5-8; John 18:33-37
The Feast of Christ the King is
the final Sunday of the Christian year and it concerns itself with the return
of the Lord Jesus to inaugurate the final judgment of our moral choices. It
becomes our day to check in on ourselves to see how faithfully we are imitating
the life of Jesus and make needed amends. It gives us a chance at a dry run. All
of creation will be called to account for how much they have loved others and
the righteous will be taken up into heaven as a reward for their fidelity.
The feast is relatively new to the church calendar as Pius XI instituted it in
1925 as a response to the rise of secularism when church leaders thought the
role of Christ was becoming displaced by modern ideas. With the rise of
dictatorships in Europe, Pius XI thought that the masses of people were getting
pulled into the orbits of earthly leaders with new types of secular-based
governments. Mass attendance was at a low point and respect for Christ and the
Church was waning. This feast was to bolster a strong image of the church and
remind everyone that Christ still reigned supreme while other governmental
leaders would pass away, yet the image of a strong, kingly Christ depicted by
Pius XI is diametrically opposed to the one presented in the readings. The king
we know works in very different ways.
The Daniel reading shows us what the
mere presence of Jesus does for the world. In the preceding verses, the four
beasts of the apocalyptic vision are destroyed. They’ve lost their dominion on
earth, which are signified as the four successive pagan empires of the
Babylonians, Medes, Persians, and the Greeks. These beastly images come from
the great abyss below, that is, the power of evil, but the image of the one
like a Son of Man comes from above “with the clouds of heaven.” This Son of Man
represents the holy ones of the most high and he cares about the faithful
people who served God all life-long. He becomes a messianic king whose dominion
never ends.
In the Gospel, Pilate asks Jesus
about his kingship and they get into a discussion about what constitutes
“truth.” We know that Jesus testifies to the truth and that the subset of Jews
who were in opposition to the Christians of John’s community has already
rejected the truth. Pilate distances himself from the Jews whom he despises,
and Jesus distances himself from both the Jews and Pilate. Jesus answers the
question to separate his kingship from anything that could threaten Pilate,
since he claims that it can be proved that his kingship is not of this world.
He has no followers fighting to secure his release. Jesus must testify to the
truth because he was sent as King, but Pilate’s question, “What is truth?”
shows that he is ranked with that subset of Jews as one who cannot hear the
voice of Jesus. Therefore, he cannot hear the truth revealed in his words.
Pilate though understands something
at a gut level. He has Jesus flogged and mocked as king at the center of his
trial and, in this Gospel, Jesus appears as king for the rest of the
proceedings. Pilate is then caught by his actions and has to state that Jesus
is king otherwise he would be labeled a traitor to Caesar because in the empire
there can only be one king. In the end, Pilate writes an inscription over the
crucified Jesus so that everyone can see that Jesus is “the King of the Jews.”
Pilate publicly and universally affirms the truth about Jesus that the
opponents of Jesus desperately seek to reject: He is the King. Truth always
emerges, and truth is always found in love and suffering.
Who is this king for us? The chapter
from Revelation, our second reading tells us that our king is the one who loves
us and frees us. From his suffering he was able to love us. Truth becomes
visible once again. This is not a king concerned with his own power or
dominion; this is a king who uses his power to free us from anything that keeps
us separate from his love. The magnetism of his love draws us to him and makes
everything right. This is a king who speaks gently, by softly inviting us into
his realm, who encourages us the best out of us, who “sees, and hears, and
knows us,” and will stand in the pits of our suffering with us – just so we can
know he is there with us and for us. This King abides by us and is nearer to us
than we imagine. When we know his love, we know the truth: He is our King and
our Lord. Let us give thanks to our King today. Alleluia.
Themes for this Week’s Masses
First
Reading: Near the conclusion of the Book of Revelation, the
Lamb stood on Mount Zion with 144,000 holy ones who were unblemished in their
devotion to the Father. One who looked liked the Son of Man sat on a throne and
carried a large sickle for the time to reap the harvest had come. Seven angels
from the seven last plagues carried out God’s fury. On the sea of glass and
fire stood those who had won victory over the beast. They sang the song of
Moses and the song of the Lamb. Another angel with great authority cried to the
earth, “Fallen, Fallen is Babylon.” A different angel picked up a stone and
hurled it at Babylon until light, life, and song be snuffed out of the city.
The multitudes in heaven sang, “Alleluia! Salvation, glory, and might belong to
our God.” ~ The Feast of Andrew the Apostle teaches us to confess that Jesus is
Lord and he has been raised from the dead. If you believe this, you will be
saved.
Gospel:
At the temple, Jesus sees the wealthy putting money into the treasury. He also
notices a poor widow who makes her offering and Jesus is delighted with her
generosity. Jesus tells the people that the elegantly adorned temple will be
one day be thrown down in rubbish. They ask when it was to happen and he tells
them to pay attention to the signs of the times. Nations will rise against
nations and powerful earthquakes and natural destruction will usher in those
disastrous times. Then the leaders and people will seize you and persecute you
because you believe in Jesus. The spirit of Jesus will come to your aid in
those times of trouble and you will be protected. When armies surround
Jerusalem, desolation will be at hand. Scripture is fulfilled after terrible
calamities. People will either choose or deny him. Then the Son of Man will
come in a cloud with power and great glory. ~ On
the Feast of Andrew, Matthew shows us that Andrew was the one who brought his
brother Simon to Jesus at the Sea of Galilee.
Saints of the Week
November 25: Catherine of Alexandria, martyr, (d. 310)
is said to have been born in Egypt to a noble family. She was educated and
converted to Christianity because of a vision. She refused to marry a man
arranged to be her husband by the emperor, and she denounced him for
persecuting Christians. She was arrested, tortured, and killed.
November 26: John Berchmans, S.J., religious
(1599-1621), was a Jesuit scholastic who is the patron saint of altar
servers. He was known for his pious adherence to the rules and for his
obedience. He did well in studies, but was seized with a fever during his third
year of philosophy and died at the age of 22.
November 29: Bernardo Francisco de Hoyos, S.J.,
religious (1711-1735) was the first and main apostle to the devotion of the
Sacred Heart. He entered the novitiate in Spain at age 14 and took vows at 17.
He had mystical visions of the Sacred Heart. He was ordained in January 1735
with a special dispensation because he was not old enough. A few weeks after
celebrating his first mass, he contracted typhus and died on November 29th.
November 30: Andrew, apostle (first century) was a
disciple of John the Baptist and the brother of Simon Peter. Both were
fishermen from Bethsaida. He became one of the first disciples of Jesus. Little
is known of Andrew's preaching after the resurrection. Tradition places him in
Greece while Scotland has incredible devotion to the apostle.
December 1: Edmund Campion, S.J., (1540- 1581), Robert
Southwell, S.J., (1561-1595) martyrs, were English natives and Jesuit
priests at a time when Catholics were persecuted in the country. Both men
acknowledge Queen Elizabeth as monarch, but they refused to renounce their
Catholic faith. They are among the 40 martyrs of England and Wales. Campion was
killed in 1581 and Southwell’s death was 1595.
This Week in
Jesuit History
·
Nov 25, 1584: The Church of the Gesu,
built in Rome for the Society by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, was solemnly
consecrated.
·
Nov 26, 1678: In London the arrest and
imprisonment of St Claude la Colombiere. He was released after five weeks and
banished.
·
Nov 27, 1680: In Rome the death of Fr.
Athanasius Kircher, considered a universal genius, but especially knowledgeable
in science and archeology.
·
Nov 28, 1759: Twenty Fathers and 192
Scholastics set sail from the Tagus for exile. Two were to die on the voyage to
Genoa and Civita Vecchia.
·
Nov 29, 1773: The Jesuits of White
Russia requested the Empress Catherine to allow the Letter of Suppression to be
published, as it had been all over Europe. "She bade them lay aside their
scruples, promising to obtain the Papal sanction for their remaining in status
quo.
·
Nov 30, 1642: The birth of Br Andrea
Pozzo at Trent, who was called to Rome in 1681 to paint the flat ceiling of the
church of San Ignazio so that it would look as though there were a dome above.
There had been a plan for a dome but there was not money to build it. His work
is still on view.
·
Dec. 1, 1581: At Tyburn in London,
Edmund Campion and Alexander Briant were martyred.
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