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| Stained Glass window Assumption Church Fairfield CT* |
The feast of Christ the
King marks the end of the church year. Although Christians have always believed
in the Kingship of Christ, the feast is a relatively recent one dating only
from 1925. At a time when the very idea of Kingship was on the way out, the
Pope chose to emphasize the Kingship of Christ.
The Second Vatican Council
reemphasized the importance of the feast when it moved it from the last Sunday
in October to the very last Sunday of the church year. Naturally, the theme of
today's readings is Kingship. The first reading presents us with David, the
greatest of the kings of Israel. The reading makes clear that a true king
exists to serve his people, and not to be served by them. It says, "You
shall shepherd my people Israel."
In America we have never been
partial to kings or the idea of Kingship. We pride ourselves on being a
government "of the people, for the people, and by the people." It
wasn't only that our founding fathers revolted against King George III of
England but their aversion to kingship went even deeper.
Kings were supposed to be
God's divinely appointed representatives on earth. Their coronations were
religious ceremonies where the new king would be anointed with holy oils by a
religious leader. Political philosophers spoke of the "divine right of
kings" to justify their power. Old traditions held that the King even
possessed miraculous healing powers. It was believed that merely touching his
cloak could cure many physical maladies.
By the time of our revolution
it was clear that most kings were not what they were supposed to be. Many had
come to their thrones not by divine right or election but through violence and
usurpation. Many did not behave like representatives of God especially when it
came to being good shepherds. A King was supposed to be the best and noblest
man in the nation but often he seemed to be the worst. Even if they started out
with good intentions, power corrupted them.
But what if there was a
person whose teaching was both simpler and wiser than any of the world's great
philosophers? What if this same teacher was able to calm storms at sea and even
walk on the angry waters? What if there was a person who did indeed possess
miraculous healing powers? -- if merely touching his cloak could cure both
physical and spiritual ailments? What if there was a person who could feed the
multitudes not only with bread for a day but with the bread of everlasting
life? What if there was a person whose power was so great that he could even
bring the dead back to life? Finally, what if there was a person who rather
than being corrupted by power, surrendered his own life for his people?
Shouldn't we call that person our King?
In St.
Paul's letter to the Colossians we hear that God has "delivered us from
the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved
Son." He enabled us to enter the Kingdom "by the blood of His cross."
We do have a shepherd king who was willing to lay down his life for us.
In
the gospel of St. Luke we see our King on this last Sunday of the Church
year dying on the cross. The crowd is jeering at Him and the soldiers taunt,
"If you are King of the Jews, save yourself." Even one of the
criminals dying next to Him reviles Him. How fitting it is that the whole cycle
of readings ends this year with the "good thief," who only asks,
"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
All year we have been reading
St. Luke's account of our Lord's journey to Jerusalem. We've followed Him on the
journey, heard the famous parables, witnessed the miracles and healings. He
asked us to take up our cross and follow Him and promised that if we would do
so we would enter into His Kingdom. Actually, He said that His Kingdom would
enter into us--that the Kingdom of God would be within us.
We end this Church year by
visualizing the scene on the Cross. Let's imagine that we are one of the
thieves being crucified along with Jesus and that our own journey through life
is coming to an end. Wouldn't we want to hear the last words in our gospel when
the King turns to us and says,
Amen,
I say to you,
today
you will be with Me in Paradise.
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*Image by Melissa D.
