057 Sunday, Feast of Christ the King
Readings
Sunday, Feast of Christ the KingDaniel 7: 13-14; Psalm 93: 1-2, 5;: 1-5; Colossians 1: Revelation; 1: 5-8; John 18: 33-37
Homily Theme
Subjects of the King
This week, the Readings are full of words that speak of a King and a Kingdom. They refer to Subjects of a Kingdom, not to Citizens of a Republic. They are not easy words for most Americans, who are born and raised in the United States to fully understand and appreciate, but remember most of the world’s population doesn’t reside in the USA. We Americans constantly boast of the fact that we belong to the greatest Democracy on earth. That is not very flattering for those who live in other equally free Democracies in our modern world. The Catholic Church covers the entire globe and Christianity is the largest belief system in the world and since we claim to be Christians, we can boast that we belong to the greatest Kingdom ever conceived and that we are Subjects of the greatest King ever born.
Kings in the Old Testament, appointed a Prime Minister to rule in their absence, so did Jesus, as do Kings in modern Kingdoms. Jesus appointed Peter and gave him the power of the keys, to bind and to loose on earth, with the assurance that it would be bound and loosed in heaven. “Though art Peter and upon this Rock I will build my Church…I will give to you the Keys of the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind upon earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Mathew 16:18-19. Jesus our King made Peter his Prime Minister and the long lists of succeeding Popes are Prime Ministers up to this time also.
The Church is not a Democracy and we don’t vote for our beliefs. As Christ’s Subjects in His Kingdom, we do not have to guess what we must believe, or how we are to live, since we have a Prime Minister who is Peter’s successor along with the Magisterium of the Church to guide us. She teaches that life begins at conception and ends at natural death. Do all the Church’s teachings affect how we vote and how we live? They must if we claim to be Catholic, but this is not true of all Catholics today, especially those in political and public office: many of them pick and choose. Do you? The Church follows the King laws and is pro-life as is He: Are we also?
Jesus, our King, is the Alpha and the Omega. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is true God and true man. Jesus laid down His human life for all of us so that those who belong to His Kingdom can reign with Him forever in paradise. He will come at the end of time in Power and Majesty to judge us all. Hopefully, in spite of our many imperfections and sins, we will be found to be true Subjects of the King.
Viva Christo Rei