The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Lectionary: 161
Reading I
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
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 II
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
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
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,
Today marks the last Sunday in Ordinary Time. It is most fitting that this is also the Solemnity of Jesus Christ The King of the Universe. It serves as a reminder to us all who Jesus is. He is not just our king or the king of the world, but He truly is the ruler and creator of all things visible and invisible. When we look around at the beauty of this creation and upwards into the night sky, it should be with wonderment regarding just how endless His creation is. Moreover, the wonderment should be coupled with thanksgiving because all of it was created for us. We are at the pinnacle of God’s creation and are set above it as its caretaker. We are no random occurrence and cannot live our lives that way, thinking that we are masters of our own destiny; able to dictate the terms of our existence while conquering all things that we interact with. Being a part of God’s creation means that we must live in accord with it and not in opposition to it. God dictates the terms of our existence through Natural Law and through instruction while Jesus Christ offers the necessary wisdom and guidance so that we may live our lives in the most joyous way while pursuing an eternity with Him.
Jesus receives all power and authority through The Father. To reach the Father we have to go through Him. Through this process we are guided by The Holy Spirit which is The Love of God. In order to achieve full fulfillment in this life we need to acknowledge who Jesus is and treat Him accordingly. If we recognize His kingship, then shouldn’t we be listening to what He is saying? Sacred Scripture offers a guidebook regarding this process of following Jesus. The words within are not optional. Yes, there are many interpretations and there are those who just might try to lead people astray through their own views designed to gain power and influence, but through a close relationship with Jesus and an embracing of one’s faith these errors can be sorted out. Again, this requires listening to The One who has been set above all things and who has received all glory, honor, and power. This also requires listening to The Holy Mother Church. The Church was established by Jesus to help us on our journey to Him. It is through the Church that we can learn more about our Salvation Story and conduct ourselves rightly in relation to Jesus and His creation. This is all part of being submissive to our king.
There was a reason why this Solemnity was named Jesus Christ King of the Universe. There is also a reason why it is celebrated today. The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, celebrated this year on Nov. 21, also is referred to as the Feast of Christ the King, Christ the King Sunday, or Reign of Christ Sunday. While the concept of Jesus Christ being King is as old as the Gospels, the feast is fairly recent in the Roman Catholic calendar.
The feast was introduced in the Western liturgical calendar in 1925 by Pope Pius XI, via the encyclical "Quas Primas." Pope Pius XI was about to close the Jubilee year of 1925 in the context of the growing secularist nationalism that followed the fall of European kingdoms after World War I, and decided to establish the solemnity to point to a king "of whose kingdom there shall be no end.”
Communism and nationalism both stress atheism and subservience to governmental powers above all things. Under each religion and worship are oppressed. There is a focus to replace God with the government and a reliance on the government, supported by the human will, to provide everything while being able to accomplish all things. The government becomes God and the individual person no longer matters. The Church, reminding the world that Jesus Christ is The King of the Universe, sets Jesus in His rightful place and reminds all those who seek to destroy Him that their efforts will never come to any fruitful end. It is through this acknowledgement that we are then able to enforce our faith and strengthen ourselves in preparation to oppose all those forces who have aligned themselves against all that is good in the world and that comes from God.
We as Christians need to be fully aware of what we are up against. We live in this world but are separate from it. We acknowledge earthly powers but recognize Jesus Christ above all else that comes from this world and those things that originate in the spiritual realm. Those who oppose Jesus Christ are our enemies and intend to do us harm. Those who are against us are against God. We live in harmony with God’s creation, fostering it as its stewards. We focus on getting closer to God, ensuring that all of our actions and deeds emphasize that point. We love our God and love our neighbor. We also love ourselves. We see the good in all peoples and encourage all to see the same. Life is beautiful. Creation is beautiful. All things that oppose these principles have their roots in evil. We abhor evil. We embrace the good.
Nobody is perfect. It is impossible to understand all these things and do them correctly all of the time, but we do have a great advocate to help us when we falter. That advocate in our king and master. Today is His day as well as all other days. Today we are encouraged to recommit ourselves to that understanding that Jesus Christ is indeed The King of the Universe and live our lives by that understanding. What could ever go wrong when we do just that?
Deacon Tom
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