Saturday, November 24, 2012

Homily for the Solemnity Christ the King

Soon and very soon we are going to see the king...soon and very soon we are going to see the king...soon and very soon we are going to see the king...alleluia.alleluia we are going to see the king! 

I must admit, I had never heard this great Gospel tune until I arrived at prison.  Let me refresh your memories, I arrived at prison not as a prisoner but as a chaplain; just to make sure.  But I digress; this is simply a hymn of great joy and anticipation sung in many faith traditions that serves as a reminder that, we too, at the end of our lives, can go and see the king!  And live with Him forever!  Can I get a great big amen!

Here in these parts of Lousiana if someone told me we were going to see the king I would surmise we are off to a Mardi Gras Ball or Mardi Gras parade.  With the big super krewes selecting entertainment royalty as their kings it would make sense that we might go and see for free our favorite actor or singer or TV star.  On Mardi Gras Day we wait for the arrival of Rex, whose very name means king.  Perhaps we worship  from time to time at our grand Cathedral in the French Quarter, St. Louis Cathedral.  No, this historic place of worship is not named for the city to the north that shares the Mississippi River with us; it is named for St. Louis, the King of France!

As people of faith, we are called today to always remember that we have but one King.  He is the King of Kings: Jesus Christ!

Some how, some way, we have arrived at the end of the liturgical year.  All of our Sunday's in ordinary time are over and next week we arrive at Advent.  Where did our liturgical year go?  As a universal Church community, we end our liturgical year with today's Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King of the Universe!

The Church, in Her sublime wisdom, weaves together three wonderful readings from the Holy Scriptures to help us celebrate the Feast of the King.  In Daniel we hear of a vision of the coming of one like the Son of man coming to receive kingship!  In John's spiritual vision contained in the Book of Revelation we hear that Jesus is the faithful witness and the ruler of all the kings of the earth!  Glory and power belong to this King as we are reminded by good St. John.

But to understand the true meaning of Jesus' kingship, the Church gives us the dialogue between Jesus and Pilate, in St. John's Gospel, as the King stands condemned, about to die for us.  Wait a minute; we are to believe that this great and glorious King, the King of all Kings once stood condemned to die and did die on that Cross for us?  This mighty and powerful King shed His blood, for us?  Indeed we do believe this and not only do we believe it, we are proud to profess it.  Since we know the rest of the story, that Jesus indeed died and rose again, then ascended to the Father to sit at His right hand in Heaven, Holy Mother Church declares Jesus is King of the Universe!

This solemnity is more than a date to mark on the calendar and yes, it is more than a link between the end of the liturgical year and the start of Advent.  This solemnity should give each of us pause in the week ahead to reflect and prepare.  Most of us do not remember this but at our very Baptism, after the water is poured and the Trinitarian formula declared, the newly baptized is anointed with sacred chrism, holy oil, and we are told that just as Jesus was priest, prophet and king, so are we.  Yes, in our Baptism we share in the kingship of the King of Kings, Jesus the Christ.  In this week ahead, can we reflect on the gift of Baptism in our own lives?  Perhaps we can remember our Baptismal promises this week and remember we pledge to reject Satan and sin and profess our faith in the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and the one, holy, apostolic and catholic Church. May that be part of our prayer time this week.  To prepare for the coming Advent season, we can also recall our shared kingship with Jesus.  Remember that Jesus was the type of King that came to serve and not be served.  In this week ahead, reflect on our lives of service to the Church by the way we serve one another.  Can we each make an effort this week to be of service to someone who truly has a need?  It may be a simple act of kindness or even a profound act of charity; either way, we put our own kingship into action as we imitate the kingship of the King.

Soon and very soon we are going to see the King!  Soon and very soon we are going to see the King!  Soon and very soon we are going to see the King!  And to that we can all say Alleluia!!

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