Last Sunday OT, Christ the King, Year C
Fr. Albert
St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia
I. N. R. I. Iesus Nazerenus Rex Judaeorum. Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews. This is the king of the Jews. Bloody, crucified, gasping for breath, and mocked not only by the usual crowds, but even by the men undergoing the very same torment. Do you want victory? A marching army, bombastic music, and a triumphal procession announcing the defeat of our enemies and the arrival of lasting peace? Then you must see your king for what he is.
And who is he? “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth… in him all things hold together… that in all things he himself might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell.” Yes, that dying crucified man is God and king of the entire universe, invested with more power and glory that we can even begin to imagine.
Why is that? How can such a king have such a fate? Because that is how this king conquers, “making peace by the blood of his cross.” Not with armies, weapons, and clever strategies. Not by holding himself above the masses, but precisely by going to them. This king does not merely want to rule over his subjects, but to have them rule with him. He wants them to share in his glory, to share in his conquest. And what is the one thing that every single human being will face? What is the one facet of life that is inescapable for each and every one of us?
Suffering. If you are human, you will suffer and that suffering will be both intimate and universal. Intimate because it is your suffering, universal because all men have some share in it. Our king chose to gain his subjects by identifying with us by striking the one chord which resonates in every fallen soul. Why did Jesus die on the cross? If he is infinitely powerful, why did he have to die? He didn’t. He chose to suffer and to die because he wanted us to be able to share in that redemption. He chose the one path all of us must take as if to show us “see, my kingdom can belong to us all. See that, in my kingdom, even suffering and death itself cannot win. In my kingdom, suffering and death can actually serve us.”
And that is why our king is there on the cross: to “deliver us from the power of darkness and transfer us to [his] kingdom, the kingdom of the beloved Son of God.” King David “led the Israelites out and brought them back.” Jesus Christ, eternal king, Lord and descendant of David, seeks to lead us out through the exile of death and bring us back through triumph of the resurrection. What king can compete with that? What leader, president, dictator or any other merely mortal ruler can possibly make such a claim? None. So whom should we serve? And how do we serve this Crucified King of the Jews?
Of all people to teach us, perhaps we should learn most quickly from another who has been crucified. Fittingly, this man was at the right hand of our king when he ascended to his throne on the cross. The repentant criminal. He was a brigand, not just a thief but a revolutionary and probably a murderer. And it was he who was the first ever to hear those blessed words “today you will be with me in paradise.” So what does he teach us? That God is merciful? Yes, but not in the way that many in our world seem to think. Today is the end of the jubilee year of mercy called by our Holy Father Pope Francis, but it is not the end of God’s mercy. His mercy endures forever and it is his merciful love that began this king’s mighty conquest. How, then, do we share in that mercy? The criminal prays “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” But this plea is only heard because it is preceded by two very important truths which fall from his lips just before this prayer.
“Have you no fear of God.” Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and no plea for mercy is effective unless he who utters it fears the Lord: humility. Even more importantly is this: “we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes.” In the eyes of the all powerful, just God, every human being is under sin and deserving of punishment. We can only receive mercy if we have first acknowledged the justice of our condemnation. All the suffering and pains in our life are as nothing compared to how serious it is to offend the all-loving and infinite God who created us. Mercy is by definition dependent on the acceptance that we have done wrong, the realization that we deserve punishment, and the plea to be generously spared. It is never merciful to pretend that sin is not sin, that lies are not lies, or that a sinner is not offending God.
But thanks be to our King who chose to suffer for and with his people. He offers mercy to those who ask it in sincerity, humbly admitting that they owe a debt they can never pay. As if that weren’t enough, he made it so that even our punishments, pains, and torments in this life can become profitable. No longer is pain pointless – by the power of the Cross, every ounce of suffering can be transformative and open us to a greater share of God’s grace; a greater share in his kingdom and his glory.
So what does that mean to us now? If Christ came to transfer us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom where even suffering can do no harm, what are we supposed to do? How do we serve our King? I offer you a few practical examples of serving the King.
Silence. We live in a kingdom of noise, distraction, and flashy amusement. Our King’s greatest accomplishment, the resurrection from the dead, happened in total silence and with no witnesses. Your own sanctification and salvation will be very much the same. If you do not deliberately find silence in your life to hear and serve our True King, you will not recognize him when he comes.
Penance. Surely you’ve heard the little exhortation “offer it up” when you are suffering. The King of the Universe has given us a share in his conquest. By the gift of the Liturgy and the Eucharist, we can mystically unite our sufferings to Christ’s on the cross. That offering can actually make a difference in the conversion and sanctification of people we love, and even people we’ll never meet in this life. Accept sufferings from God, choose fasts and penances for yourself, and offer these to God during the offertory while I prepare the gifts.
Service to others. Our king came not to be served, but to serve. If you never do something that you don’t like for the sake of someone else, you are probably not on the right track. Seize opportunities to say “no” to your own comfort and pleasure so that you can serve another soul – a soul loved by God and for whom Christ died.
The daily examen: we are the battleground of the two kingdoms: darkness and light. Spend 5 minutes each night, or on your lunch break, to reflect on the previous 24 hours. Identify what is good in your life or your actions and give thanks to God, identify your sins and ask for mercy. You will begin to see more clearly the side you are on.
The battle is already won. Christ the king is victorious. We have only to choose whether we remain in the kingdom of darkness or, with the angels and saints, serve the kingdom of God so that when he comes in glory and power we may shout with joy. Viva Christo Rey! Long Live Christ the King! King of the Jews, King of the Universe!