Deacon Tom Anthony

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Lectionary: 161

Reading 1 Dn 7:13-14

As the visions during the night continued, I saw
one like a Son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
when he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship;
all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 93:1, 1-2, 5

R. (1a) The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed;
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.

Reading 2 Rv 1:5-8

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father,
to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.
Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will lament him.
Yes. Amen.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, " says the Lord God,
"the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."

Alleluia Mk 11:9, 10

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Jn 18:33b-37

Pilate said to Jesus,
"Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?"
Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?"
Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here."
So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?"
Jesus answered, "You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 This Sunday marks the last Sunday in Ordinary Time. It is the last Sunday in the Liturgical Year of the Church. The days are getting shorter, coinciding with the coming of winter. Light is fading fast and it feels as if life is withdrawing from the world around us. It is cold outside; lonely and foreboding. During this time there may be a feeling of hopelessness coupled with many fears of what is to come in the future. The presence of uncertainties can bring about great anxieties. Joy in the moment is lost while sadness looms.

Today serves as a reminder of who we are as Christians and what we believe. Even though darkness looms there is something greater than it which will always be the victor against it. The light is Jesus Christ and He is our King. It is through Him that everything can be put into order and things can be seen with greater clarity. As it is written in the Gospel of John:

“…the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.”

As we physically descend into a dark period of the season we need to remind ourselves that we can still dwell in the light spiritually. With that focus, our thoughts and actions can follow. Seeking encouragement with Jesus Christ can give us the tools necessary to combat the darkness which threatens to envelope us and we can conquer it if we desire to do so. The darkness is present but it does not have to be the master of us.

It is very easy to accept feelings of sadness or depression if we feed those thoughts.  The Holy Mother Church gives us the Season of Advent and this marvelous feast day as tools to combat this presence of hopelessness. She challenges us to stand up and recognize Jesus Christ as the King of the Universe: an all-encompassing statement of fact and recognition that we are invited to shout with joy and love. It is He that we recognize as the Son of God and it is He we have surrendered our will to in choosing to love Him and be loved by Him completely. As a Christian Community we are asked to gather together in commemoration and worship. We are then invited to journey forward to the Light of Christ unafraid of what lies ahead.

The answers to our most troubling questions and to our greatest fears have already been responded to. Christ dwells amongst us and soon we will be with Him completely when He returns to claim us as His own. As the Prophet Daniel said in the Scripture Reading today:

“His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.”

Being fully receptive to these words can bring about a feeling of peace and love unparallel to anything experienced before. Whatever conflicts that we face can be overcome with Jesus Christ being central in our lives and us listening to Him. This is what He promises and this is what He is capable of doing.

Jesus said that His kingdom did not belong to this world. It is beyond this world and is not held to the rules and laws of this world, for He created this world and the universe. We as His children are inheritors of His kingdom and can rise above the dictations of this world by embracing His wants above what we want and desire. It must be understood that what we want and desire is limited and will soon pass away while He is forever. We are then presented with a choice: To pursue a path that we want only to be limited by what this world offers or accept the eternal which is Jesus Christ.

There is more to this world and God’s Creation than what is directly in front of us. We should not limit God and what God can do by our own experiences and senses. Our faith encourages us to look beyond that and search for God in everything including that which might be clothed in the darkness of not knowing. It is through our relationship with God that the light breaks through the night and brings about the day. For even the night is subject to the King of the Universe.

Deacon Tom