Cycle C - Year I:  

24 November 2019: Solemnity of our Lord Jesus, King of the Universe 

(Liturgical Color: White)

Readings:

First Reading:        2 Samuel 5:1-3

Second Reading:   Colossians 1:12-20

Gospel:  Please Read  Luke 23:35-43

"Behold, our Servant-King!"

Two donkeys were walking in Jerusalem, when one donkey said to the other, "Just yesterday I was here carrying Jesus and the people were singing and shouting and throwing down their clothes for me to walk on, and today they don't even recognize me."

The other donkey replied, "That's how it is, my friend, without Jesus you are nothing!"

Indeed, without our Lord Jesus Christ we are nothing and the whole of creation is nothing!

This Sunday the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Christ the King, and thus closes out another liturgical year.  This is a fitting celebration because Jesus is the Alpha and Omega of the whole of creation.  That is to say, He is the beginning and the end of human history and of the created world, and through Him "all things were created and by whom the world is being restored to the Father."

But first, a brief of history.  Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King on December 11, 1925 as a way for human beings to proclaim a truth about God that indeed He is the King of kings and Lord of all creation.  Of course, it is a limited concept but it is the highest title human beings can use to refer to Jesus.

But then, there seems to be a problem in understanding Christ as King.  Because His own example of kingship is a servant-King.  And throughout history, the concept of a servant-king is all but alien to humanity.  This is why the crucifixion was actually intended to utterly discredit and humiliate Jesus.  After all, a true king and Messiah would choose to save himself first.

And even the Gospel reading for this Sunday is not of help, so it seems, in trying to understand Christ as King.  Because St. Luke presents to us Jesus as He was dying on the cross.  It is an unusual picture of a king, nailed on a wooden cross with a crown of thorns; he wore no royal robe but stripped to his loin clothes.  How can He be a King in this way?

Now our understanding of kings is usually associated with power and authority.  Even our own experience with political leaders, all too often what comes to mind when we talk of power and authority is dominion over the weak, and worst, associated with deception, corruption and exploitation.

Yet for Christians we know that it is not so with Jesus' kingship.  For He is King who exercises a totally different kind of power and leadership.

So let us reflect deeper on the Gospel passage to know about Jesus' kingship.

Foremost, Jesus is not a king in the usual, earthly sense that we are familiar with.  For He did not come to establish political or military power.  He did not come to govern a country or raise an army.  He Himself said so that He was not an earthly king, "My kingdom is not of this world." (Jn 18:36)

How do we uncover the real dimension of Christ's kingship?  The Gospel account on Christ on the cross presents to us a glimpse into the mystery of our Lord's kingdom where His kingship is not through dominion but of service by love.  On the cross before His last breath, Jesus forgives and saves a repentant thief, Dimas, who asks for His forgiveness.  Thus, Jesus is a King who welcomes to His kingdom all those who need most of His mercy.

But then again, when our very faith is shaken by what is happening to our nation lately, we ask whether Christ still reigns in our world today?  "Where is Christ, our King?" we ask.

It is a challenging question but we find the answer in the very example of Dimas as he himself was dying on the cross with Jesus.  Even though his life on earth was about to end, Dimas realized in his waning moments that Christ's kingdom was not to be understood by earthly standards. Rather, it is a kingdom that begins from within us, with a complete surrender in faith to the One who truly saves, Jesus Christ Himself.  In other words, it is a remarkable act of faith that Dimas recognized that Jesus has a kingdom and that He is King of that kingdom.

In the same context that Dimas pleads with Christ for forgiveness and mercy in his most desperate hours, our Holy Mother Church wants to bring us to the cross of Christ's throne, as the current liturgical year closes, where "God rules" over us and the whole world.  So that as we are about to begin a new season of hope and joy in the coming of Advent Season and Christmas, let us keep the faith in spite of our many trials and sufferings, so that like Dimas we entrust ourselves completely to Christ, our King, who will set us free from bondage of sin and death in the resurrection to come.  For our Lord Jesus Christ is a victorious King, who defeated the moral enemy of human existence -- sins, death and the evil one.

So then, Hail to our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the universe, and our Servant-King.

A blessed Christ the King Sunday to us all.  And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!