How is Jesus the king of your life?

 

FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING   B   2024

 

 

Today on this the last Sunday of the liturgical year, we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King.  We ask:  is Jesus the King of your life – over both the small and big decisions of life?  What is the power, the dominion Jesus exercises over your life as Christ the King?

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, is the crown of the liturgical year.  The Gospel in fact presents the kingship of Jesus as the culmination of his saving work.

However, today’s feast always creates problems.  One word is at the root of the problem: king.  What does it mean?  How is it applied to Jesus?

Given the Gospel reflections on the ministry of Jesus, “kingly” would be the last adjective anyone would use to describe the ministry of Jesus.

In fact, in today’s Gospel, Jesus in so many words tells us not to celebrate today’s feast. 

Jesus kept company with tax-collectors, sinners and prostitutes, so much so that the authorities described Jesus as “a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners.”  You would expect kings to receive important people and dignitaries, but Jesus received the lowly and rejected people of his time. A king might expect to receive a gift, but Jesus gave gifts, he restored health to those who were sick. Jesus was not the kingly type according to our understanding of king; he is a powerless king! Kings wear a crown. What sort of crown did Jesus wear? It was a crown of thorns.  What throne do we see Jesus sitting on in the Gospel today?  It is the cross.

In today’s passage, Jesus is basically saying, “If you insist on calling me a king, you have to give a brand-new definition to that title.  I’m here to tell people about truths only God can reveal; not the kind of work in which kings normally engage.

For Pilate, a king can only be understood in political terms. Yet, Jesus assures Pilate, “My kingdom does not belong to this world.’

Who is welcome in the spiritual kingdom of Christ the King??

Who, if not the condemned Savior, can fully understand the pain of those unjustly condemned?

Who, if the not the king scorned and humiliated, can meet the expectations of the countless men and women who live without hope and dignity?

Who, if not the crucified Son of God, can know the sorrow and loneliness of so many lives shattered and without a future? 

On this the last Sunday of the liturgical year our crucified king hangs on the cross arms outstretched in loving mercy and welcome.

In our parish community, could there be anyone who is not welcome in our parish community?  In witnessing to the kingdom of Jesus, all are welcome.  There is no one who is excluded from the unconditional love of Jesus, the king our hearts and our lives.

Jesus does wish to be the King of our Hearts.  He will usher in the Kingdom through love, by appealing to the hearts of people. 

Jesus as the King of our hearts opts to be the suffering servant.  And that is why, as the Gospels describe, he ends us as a king who hangs on the cross.

It is interesting to note that the dialogue between the two criminals who were Jesus’ companions in his last moments.  These two criminals  raise this conflict once again – the conflict between what the people thought Jesus’ kingship was and what Jesus himself had chosen to be.  The so called “bad thief” becomes the spokesman for the people: “If you are the Christ save yourself and us as well.”

The “good thief”, on the other hand, understands the role of Jesus in this world more clearly.  Jesus does not save us from human limitations of suffering and even death itself. Rather, Jesus gives us hope, He provides meaning to our human lives.  Therefore the criminal surrenders his heart to Jesus. He makes a choice to be part of the real Kingdom of God.  And Jesus assures him: “Indeed, I promise you, today you will be with me in paradise.” 

 

This is what the feast of today invites us to: to surrender ourselves to the loving reign of God, to make a choice to be part of the Kingdom of God, to be free from the tyranny of power, possession and pleasure.

This feast is an invitation to all of us who have power or authority of any kind to compare our use of power or authority with Jesus. Are we using our power to serve others or to manipulate? Are we using our power for the building up of a more just society or to feather our own nest? Are we using our power in any way that might cause pain to others or in a way that could help to alleviate pain? In the prayer Jesus taught us, we pray, “thy kingdom come.” Jesus has shown how to bring about that kingdom. Let us pray that nations and individuals will be humble enough to look at how Jesus used power and bring about the kingdom of God.

His kind of kingship has to be learned and not in palaces and in schools of diplomacy but among the poor and needy and those whom the world has forgotten.  For our king is the servant of the poor and we only belong to his court when we do likewise.

 

This last Sunday of the Church year challenges us to decide – who is our king?  What are the goals and dreams that we should really be working and sacrificing for?  May we pray for each other that we are all centered in our faith that Jesus is the Lord and King of our lives.  This day Christ the King isn’t just the conclusion of the Church year.  It’s a sign of our hope.  In the words of the good thief on the cross, we are one prayer from being immersed in the mercy of Jesus.  “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Have a Blessed Day.

 

 

 

 

The apocalyptic message is one of hopefulness.

 

Thirty Third Sunday in OT  B  2024

Autumn now seems to be giving a hint of the winter to come. Many leaves have fallen, and others are continuing to fall.  There seems to be more cold darkness as the days grow shorter. 

Additionally, the liturgy calls us to consider the end times as we approach the end of the liturgical year.  The first reading from Daniel and the Gospel from Mark uses very apocalyptic language designed to be sensational.  “The sun will be darkened.  The stars will be falling from heaven and the power in the heavens will be shaken.” Everything is out of order, out of focus, chaotic.

The Scriptures speak of the breakdown of the stable parts of our surroundings.  Yet, apocalyptic language is a message of hope.  Why?  Because Jesus has triumphed over sin and evil.  The ultimate victory belongs to Jesus.  Even though it seems at times like our world is falling apart, for those who trust in Jesus, the message is always one of hopefulness.   To say it again, even though it seems at times like our world is falling apart, for those who trust in Jesus, the message is always one of hopefulness,

Even before the ultimate end times, all of us at one time or another experience our life being shattered.    

              --we lost our job.

--our family like is not what I would like it to be.

              --we are experiencing depression and/or anxiety.

              --we learned we or a family member were seriously ill.

              --we lost someone dear to us.

              --we may be over-joyed or we may be depressed by our election results.

Sometimes we can seem to be in an apocalyptic mood: Our world fell apart—the sun was darkened; the moon lost its brightness.  We ask ourselves:  Why doesn’t God make things easier?  WE are left wondering at times of God’s silence and his seeming indifference. 

No matter what happens, may our faith in Jesus lead us to prayer and trust: :  But you did not abandon us, Lord God.   In the midst of turmoil, we received a great grace.  We understood for the first time the meaning of our faith.  We discovered inner resources we didn’t know we had; friends rallied around us.

The faith perspective we seek is not that having faith in God is an insurance policy that guarantees that our lives will be devoid of troubles, but that having faith in God is the only thing that will get you through the troubles that come in every life.

Yes, none of us get a free pass from the crosses that come our way.  But the apocalyptic scriptures speak to us today that even in the darkest moments of life, the promise we have from Jesus is always a message of hope.  That to the dying moments of life, with our trust and faith in Jesus, the cross is our very pathway to sharing in the risen life of Jesus.

The Gospel calls us to learn a lesson from the fig tree.  Even in the midst of the deep winter of our lives, the twigs on the fig tree have become supple indicating that summer is near.  In the big picture, before this generation has passed away, new and wonderful things will have taken place.

As Bette Midler sings in THE ROSE: Just remember that far beneath the winter snow lies the seed that in the spring becomes the rose.

The central mystery of our faith is the paschal mystery:  Dying and Rising of Christ Jesus and our sharing in this paschal mystery in the dying and rising we experience.

Ultimately, we deeply believe that in dying, we are born to eternal life.  That is the meaning of our funeral liturgy in which not only celebrate the memory of the deceased, but much more importantly we celebrate that the deceased now share in the fullness of the Lord’s Risen Life.

We prepare for the last day of our life by living this day in our lives with a profound awareness of our sharing in the Lord’s paschal mystery of dying and rising this day and every day.  What do I mean by that?  Our discipleship of the Lord Jesus leads us to embrace the cross daily, be willing to die to our self-centeredness and live more fully in the service and love of others.   In so doing, we are following in the footsteps of Jesus who washed the feet of his disciples and came not to be served, but to serve.

What happens for you when the person you have championed does not get elected?

What happens when you are disillusioned by spiritual and government leaders you have trusted?

What happens for you when addiction causes you or someone you love to lose control of their lives?

What happens for you when your doctor gives you test results that leave you numb?

What happens for you when you grieve the loss of someone you love?

And so on and so on.

 

The tire hits the road in the spiritual life when we do not have all the answers to the important questions, when we are not in full control of what happens, may these moments of questioning lead us to trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

 

Lord, prayer is trusting totally in your love, knowing with unshakeable confidence that heaven and earth will certainly pass away, but your love for us will not pass away.

Why the horrible imagery of apocalyptic imagery, especially now with the beautiful season of Advent just a few weeks away?

Maybe the liturgy is such so that we might find within us a need for relief from all the turmoil.  In other words, for the coming of the simple Christ child.

Maybe we always have the courage to trust in the grace of Jesus that is given to us.

 

In the words of the prophet Jeremiah:

I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe!  Plans to give you a future full of hope.  When you call me, when you pray to me, I will listen to you and bring you back.

 

Have a Blessed Day.

Love of God and love of neighbor

 

 

Thirty First Sunday in OT B  2024

 

This coming Wednesday morning as you awaken, hopefully we will know who our next president will be. We will be overjoyed or perhaps we will be despondent.  As important as our political landscape is to how we live our lives, I suggest that the world will not come to an end, and may we have always have the context that a far more important event happened two thousand years ago in the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and on the day of our baptism when we received the life of Christ Jesus within us.

While the rhetoric leading up to election day is getting louder and louder and we should most definitely exercise our constitutional responsibility to vote.  Yet, our participation in the mystery of this Eucharist, our participation in the love and life of Christ Jesus is even more important than election day.

In today’s first Scripture reading from the book  of Deuteronomy, this is what Moses has to say, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

The connection between the words of Moses and the Gospel from Mark is very apparent.  Mark’s Gospel reading today builds on that teaching of love.  It links the Law of Moses to the teaching of Christ.  “One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

So, today’s message is the simple message at the heart of our faith, the command to love.  You are commanded to love God and to love everyone.

Now it is so significant  that Jesus is making this statement that the two great commandments are essentially connected with each other. Our love of neighbor grows out of and is an expression of our love of God.  If we really love God and pray, we will be led into active, generous love for someone who needs us.  The authenticity of our celebration of the Eucharist, the genuineness of the time we spend in Eucharistic adoration will be seen in the love and the service we share with one another. Our right and duty to vote responsibly is so important, but its importance grows our of our larger commitment to live life fulfilling the command of Jesus to love God and one another.

How do I and how do you show our love of God in the day to day moments of our lives?    Many of us need to confess that too often we live our lives devoid of our awareness of God’s presence in our life.  Too often we live  in a manner apparently that we don’t need God, we can shelf Him.  Sometimes, God can be likened to one of the applications on our iPhone to open and shut at will.

To borrow an analogy from our IPhone, in this liturgy, we humbly ask for the grace to experience God in our lives not as an application on the iPhone but rather to experience God as our very operating system by which everything else in our lives draws its existence and meaning.

So, as you continuously use your iphone throughout this day, ask yourself if God is merely an app on your phone or is your faith the very operating system by which you live your life.  Our relationship of God, our love of God and love of neighbor is the operating system of our spiritual journey.

Jesus said to Peter:  “Peter, do you love me?”

Peter says, “You know I love you. Why are you asking three times? Why are you asking me this?”

Jesus responds:  “Peter, if you love me, feed my sheep.”

Love is what drives this Church on. And love is what we have to begin to judge ourselves on. Not do we understand. Not do we read enough books or are we on top of career charts.

We have to learn how to love. And, of course, that’s what Jesus does.

Jesus has come not to teach us grammar, not to teach us the wonders of the world, Jesus has come to teach us how to love. Because we don’t know how. We think we know, but we still have much to learn.

Why?

Because love gives, love doesn’t take. There’s nothing in love that takes. It only gives and gives.

We worship God because He’s a giver. Have you ever noticed God doesn’t take anything from us. He gives and gives and gives.

And that is what He expects of us as Christians.

We’re not to ask what I get out of things. Will I get this? Will I go to heaven? Will I do this? Will I do that? This is a waste of time.

What matters is: will I learn to love, will I learn to appreciate, will I learn to walk through life knowing that everyone that I see is my brother and my sister and we are linked together in one long march through this life and into eternal life.

The question is not how high you make it in the world, how smart you are, your marks at school, even. The question is none of these things. These are secondary.

The question is can you love, are you afraid to love, are you running away from love, or are you going to follow Jesus’ love which finally leads to a cross? Jesus dies on a cross to tell us that there is only love in life that carries us through life into all eternity.

This is what God intends: that we learn how to love, that we learn how to care, that we learn how to sacrifice, that we learn how to become human beings.

And in all of this we are privileged to know that it is Jesus who has taught us, his children, and continues to teach us, for he is with us all our days, and the one thing he is teaching us is to learn how to love.

As Meister Eckhart has taught us, “At the end of the day, we are going to be judged by love alone.”

May God give us the grace to love God and to love one another.