Deacon Tom Anthony

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Lectionary: 162

Reading 1 2 Sm 5:1-3

In those days, all the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said:
“Here we are, your bone and your flesh.
In days past, when Saul was our king,
it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back.
And the LORD said to you,
‘You shall shepherd my people Israel
and shall be commander of Israel.’”
When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron,
King David made an agreement with them there before the LORD,
and they anointed him king of Israel.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5

R. (cf. 1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Reading 2 Col 1:12-20

Brothers and sisters:
Let us give thanks to the Father,
who has made you fit to share
in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.
He delivered us from the power of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

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,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.

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 Lk 23:35-43

The rulers sneered at Jesus and said,
“He saved others, let him save himself
if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.”
Even the soldiers jeered at him.
As they approached to offer him wine they called out,
“If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.”
Above him there was an inscription that read,
“This is the King of the Jews.”

Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying,
“Are you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us.”
The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply,
“Have you no fear of God,
for you are subject to the same condemnation?
And indeed, we have been condemned justly,
for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes,
but this man has done nothing criminal.”
Then he said,
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
He replied to him,
“Amen, I say to you,
today you will be with me in Paradise.”

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Jesus Christ King of the Universe. We are challenged as Christians to recognize Him as He is in all of His power and glory. How are we to approach Him daily if He is indeed all that we profess Him to be? Are we going to let Him into our lives and let Him do the work that is necessary for our salvation or are we going to take Him for granted as so many people in the world do so today? This is a very special day of recommitment to the principles that we have so many times claimed to live by and, at the same time, ignored and turned away from. Paul brings this challenge to the forefront of the day in his Letter to the Colossians. In it he expresses directly who Jesus Christ is, leaving no doubt how we should experience Him.

The Colossians were approaching the Divinity of Jesus Christ the wrong way. More time was being spent on the reverence of spiritual beings and pagan rituals. Paul felt the need to refocus their faith solely on Jesus Christ. In many of the same ways, we too can find ourselves distracted from Jesus Christ even when we have the best of intentions. We may find ourselves performing good works but forgetting why we are doing them or in whose name we should be doing them in. We may find ourselves swept up in our duties to the Church and forgetting whose church it really is. And, at times, we may actually find ourselves glorifying the saints while forgetting to glorify Jesus Christ.

It is healthy and necessary to remember why we do things and who we do it for. All of our actions and thoughts should be preempted by the understanding that all that we do and all that we are is because of Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ is removed, everything else collapses and becomes meaningless. The criminal on the cross gave his last moments over to Jesus and, as a result, all of his sins were forgiven. He was promised that he would be welcomed into Paradise. We are promised the same thing by accepting Jesus Christ and acting out our faith. This goes back to the Paradox of the Cross: There we hang, living in hopelessness and listlessness, while Christ is there beside us because of us. Yet, He is there for us as both an example through suffering and as a relief to the burdens of our sins. It is through His voluntary suffering, cursed by the world, hanging from a tree, that we find love and salvation.

Today let us plan our eternity around Jesus Christ. Today let us recommit ourselves to Our Lord and Our Savior. We have to make Jesus’ presence within us and around us more evident so that we may spread the Message of Salvation around the world. This is what we have been commissioned to do as Children of God. If He is indeed Our King then we must act out our beliefs continuously. It is only then that we can experience Him fully and be witnesses to Him in all of His Glory.

Deacon Tom