Sunday 20th November 2022 - Christ The King

Christ the King! It is a strange King we have who is depicted as a broken man hanging dying on a cross. But it is from that cross that our God reigns. The Gospel passage chosen for today reminds us of the events of Good Friday, when Jesus was crucified among common criminals although he had never done anything wrong. The Roman Governor, Pilate, who had condemned Jesus to death had a sign placed over Jesus’ head proclaiming him to be Jesus of Nazareth, King of The Jews. Whether this was a cynical notice or signified that Pilate saw something divine through the torture torn, bleeding and bedraggled man dragged before him we shall never know. Suffice to say that Pilate was destined to be remembered by name at every Mass at which the Creed is recited for all time. In any case one of the criminals crucified with Jesus recognised him as a king and gave us the wonderful prayer; ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom’. The response from Jesus to the prayer of the dying criminal was immediate and must have brought the man some reassurance out of the desperate situation he found himself in. ‘Today’ Jesus said, ‘you will be with me in paradise.’

In the first reading David is made a King who is very much an earthly king of power and majesty. However there is an allusion to the Kingship of Jesus in that David was a shepherd and Jesus is the shepherd king reigning over his flock with mercy and compassion rather than by force, cruelty and the harshness often associated with earthly ruling power.

The Kingdom of God is very different to our idea of a kingdom on earth. The King of Heaven, Jesus, submitted himself totally as a servant of the creation that came into being through him and for him, ruling from the throne of the cross. In Jesus, God has come as close as it is possible to be to us his created people. In Jesus we have a God who knows what it is like to be one of us, to live, to suffer and even die as one of us. Our God, Our Heavenly King, is not a remote unseen majestic and cosmic entity who’s name we dare not even utter. No, our God has a face, a body, has lived, suffered, and died as one of us. In Jesus we have a God who knows and understands our human condition intimately. We have a God who is very close to us, he is with us as we hang on whatever crosses come our way in this life. He is next to us as he was to the two criminals crucified with him on calvary. Do we mock and jeer him like the one did, or do we call on him to remember us in his kingdom like the other? Are we a subject of a worldly kingdom, or a subject of an eternal heavenly Kingdom. As it was for the two crucified criminals it is our choice.

Yes, the heavenly Kingdom is very different from the realm of the earth in which we live today. There seems to be so much violence around us in society often whipped up by the press and social media. It is a far cry from the compassion shown by Jesus on the cross. This violence begins in the hearts of individuals, spreads out into families, communities, countries and ultimately throughout the world. We like to think we are living in a time of peace but looking around us both near and far this is an illusion. We need the mercy and compassion of Christ the King as much as ever today.

The second reading establishes Jesus as the ‘image of the unseen God’. Jesus himself said, ‘if you know me you know my Father too’. It is through Jesus that we get to know God. Our faith is a relationship, a relationship between us and God. It is difficult to have a relationship with an entity that we cannot see or even begin to imagine but we can have a relationship with another human being. In Jesus we can have that human relationship with the unseen God, as Jesus said, ‘I am in the Father and the Father is in me’. It is through the actions of Jesus, Christ the King, that all things, including us, are brought to perfection.

Our King not only reigns from the cross but teaches from the cross as he brings forgiveness to the repentant sinner crucified with him. David was elected as King over his people, but Jesus comes to his throne through rejection and death. In the two crucified criminals we are given examples of the opposition Jesus faced then which continues today as well as the consolation brought by conversion and acknowledgement of sinfulness. They give us examples of the cynical rejecting world as well as the consolation available through repentance.

There is irony in the words of those who reject Jesus. The taunts aimed at him hold fundamental truths. He is the chosen one, the Messiah of God, the Saviour of his people. The inscription above his head proclaims him to be the King of the Jews. Amid this cynical rejection Jesus fulfilled his mission of salvation by dying on the cross.

We ponder today that Jesus is not only our king but is king of all creation. We are called to acknowledge the sacredness of all creation particularly the world in which we live and rely on for our earthly existence. God has put a sacred stamp on every mountain peak, every valley and field, every sea and beach, every creature that flies, walks and swims. Created by God and reconciled through Jesus, concern for the environment we live in is much more than merely a political issue. We are custodians of all of creation and the tide of destruction due to our sinfulness must be reversed if we are not to deprive our children and those to come of their inheritance.

To enter the Kingdom of Jesus all we need do is to follow the example of the second criminal crucified with him, stop excusing ourselves of any wrongdoing, acknowledge the need we have of the mercy offered through Christ the King, praying; Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom’.

God Bless, Brendan.