Deacon Tom Anthony

JESUS CHRIST IS KING!

MY BROTHERS,

This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. It is the last Sunday in Ordinary Time. Next Sunday we will be entering into the Season of Advent which is a time of contemplation. Before this contemplation, we are encouraged to recognize who Jesus Christ in relation to us and how we are going to let this affect our lives. If Jesus Christ is in fact our God and Savior then we should approach our relationship with him in this particular manner. It is very easy to say that we believe in God. It is much more of a challenge to put these words into action. How do we conduct ourselves as God's Children? How are we going to do things differently in comparison to those around us who have not accepted God into their lives? We all probably can recall a time when we acted no differently then those who have rejected God and instead embraced a life of sin. We need to overcome these temptations and embrace our birthright.

Acknowledging God is the first step towards salvation and a life of fulfillment. When we recognize him we are then able to turn to him and react to his call of love. At first, it may feel faint and far away; barely a whisper. This is because we are unfamiliar to the sound of his voice. We have spent so much time running away and refusing to love him that he has become a stranger to us. To become familiar with him will take a lot of effort and work. But this hard work has many benefits in the long term. Through our discovery of who God is we will then come to a more complete understand regarding how we should conduct ourselves in the world. Our conscious will start to assist us in discerning what is right and what is wrong. We will then find ourselves wanting to do the right thing instead of embracing our sinful past. What used to feel good (sinning) will then be revealed for what it really is: a disease that slowly rots our soul.

It may seem like a very simple thing to do or say that Jesus Christ is our King but there are several ramifications to the statement. It is a recognition and promise that he will be central in all of our thoughts and actions. It is a pledge to serve him and only him at all costs. We swear to sacrifice and love him beyond everything else. This is our duty and our purpose in life. It is through loving Jesus Christ that we will then achieve happiness and satisfaction with ourselves.

Christ did all these things first before we were even born. We have always been central in his thoughts and all of his actions. He served us by bringing us his word and fulfilling his covenant through his suffering, death, and resurrection. It is through him loving us and we loving him that perfection is reached in this life and the next. Christ will never tell us what to do but will only ask. He offers these gifts to us with the hope that we will accept them. It is very sad that we spend much of our life not understanding that he has been with us all the time and has never stopped loving us even when we did not love him. Society has a way of blinding us to the truth as it sways us with all of its sinful allures. Even though the truth may be in front of us it is in our nature to embrace the darkness instead while running from the light.

We struggle to maintain some sort of control of our lives even though God is begging us to surrender to him so he can show us the way. We forget that just because we surrender to him does not mean we have surrendered our free will. That can never be taken from us. Making a choice to recognize Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior remains a choice and a validation of our free will. We as Christians come forward voluntarily to love God because we know that perfect happiness lays in the perfect love that only God can offer. It is then through this love that we express our love for everyone and everything around us. With love nothing is impossible and everything becomes perfect. If we all made an effort to express God's Love imagine how much better this world would be.

Jesus Christ being recognized as King of the Universe invites us into a beautiful relationship. We are protected and guided through the pitfalls of creation while understanding what is truly important. Whatever society offers in contrast is a poor substitute to the purity and greatness of God. We all had a time where we lived our lives without God or minimized him in some way. We all now have the opportunity to lift him up in all his greatness and beauty. 
 

Deacon Tom