Greetings, Superfriends! This week we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. That’s a pretty exalted title, but one that is well deserved. What does it mean to acknowledge that Christ has dominion over us, and especially our hearts? How does the Church show us that the Kingdom of God is quintessentially different from any earthly kingdom or authority? Each homily was a bit different this week, but the essentials are below. The video is from the 5:00 Vigil Mass.
[The King Spud Joke.]
It is a very perplexing sort of juxtaposition. On the one hand we are celebrating the Solemnity of Our Lord Christ the King of the Universe. On the other hand, we have this gospel reading from Luke 23:35-43, where Jesus is hanging on the Cross and the good thief asks him to remember him when he comes into his kingdom. Jesus’ answer is “This day you will be with me in paradise.”
There’s a lot to unpack here.
First of all, what does it mean to acknowledge Christ as King? This is difficult for us Americans because we got rid of our monarchy 246 years ago. It helps to remember that a monarch had dominion. This means he had authority over the land and everything and everyone on it. But he did not own it. It was given to him by God to be placed under his care. At his death a king would be judged on how the land and the people prospered materially, culturally and morally under his care. He was a steward, not an owner.
This feast was established relatively recently by Pope Pius XI in 1925. He did so to emphasize that, in the face of the rising secularism of our day, it is Christ who is sovereign over all creation, including every human person. The feast also has an eschatological dimension. At the end of the age, the Kingdom will be established in fullness and Christ shall reign supreme. This is why it is celebrated on the last day of Ordinary Time, on the threshold of Advent, when we contemplate the second coming of Christ in glory.
Second, dying a brutal death by an incredibly cruel method of execution does not seem to be the way to establish the Kingdom. As we will see in May when Charles III is crowned King of England, it is usually done with great pomp and circumstance and lots of fancy clothes and shiny things. What was it about Jesus that allowed the thief on his right to see who Jesus really was, even in the midst of his own suffering? That is a faith that looks into eternity. THAT’S the kind of faith that I want!
Third, Jesus’ answer to the thief lets us know that the Kingdom is not just some distant, future reality. It is something that we can experience “today.” This is cause for reflection. There is an immediacy to the Kingdom, its benefits, its responsibilities, and our role in helping it unfold in the present day.
One thing is obvious. The Kingdom of God is very different from any kingdom on this earth. It bears none of the trappings of this world and thus transcends the vagaries of this world. So much so that even a dying, repentant thief could recognize the King of the Universe as he hung upon the Cross.
What’s the key? Quite simply, the Kingdom of God is not made of bricks or stone or pomp or circumstance or lots of shiny things. It is made up of relationships. Relationships with God and with one another.
Relationships are not rocket science. If you want a relationship to grow, you give it two things.
1. Time, and
2. Attention
If you want your relations with Christ to grow,
You give it time and attention
Once again, I say, “If you cannot find ten minutes a day for private prayer with Our Lord, your life is out of control and you need to make adjustments…no excuses.”
If you want your relationship with your spouse, your family, your friends to grow
You give it time and attention.
Very few relationships end because of conflict
Conflict is simply a symptom.
Very many relationships die because of neglect.
This coming year we are preparing for my 40th class reunion. Quite frankly, we are just amazed at how many of us are still alive.
But here’s a good exercise. Go back and pull out your high school yearbook from your senior year.
Count how many people wrote in your book that you would always stay in touch. Think about how many times you wrote that in the yearbooks of others.
Where are those people now?
Very few relationships end because of conflict
Very many relationships die because of neglect.
If you want a relationship to grow, give it time and attention.
If I was the Evil One, I would try to steal your time.
I would fill your life with so many good things.
Not bad things
Good things:
Career, responsibilities, hockey, soccer, volleyball, dance, video games, even volunteering…you name it, so that you would not have time to give attention to the essential relationships….to what really matters.
The Kingdom of God is built of relationships
In fact, we even describe it in terms of the most intimate relationship that we humans can have with one another,
We call it being in full communion
with God and with one another in the Church
In this holy communion, who I am is intimately joined at the very level of being with who God is
And who you are as the body of Christ.
This is celebrated in the Eucharist as we celebrate and receive holy communion from this very altar.
Virtue deepens this communion
Sin injures or severs this communion
Reconciliation restores this communion.
In the end, it is not our stuff that we take with us when we leave this earth
It is the relationship we build while we are here
Our communion with Christ and with one another.
This is our treasure in heaven.
It’s all about trajectory.
And it begins now
The Kingdom of God is close at hand
Because you and I are close at hand.
Let us build these relationships with Christ and one another
while there is still time
So that we may say today and every day into eternity
“Thy Kingdom come.”