2nd Sunday of Advent Year A 2012

 2^nd Sunday of Advent (A)

(Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12)

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them.  The cow and the bear shall be neighbours, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox.  The baby shall play by the cobra’s den, and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.  There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain. 

Those are moving words because they promise what is idyllic.  But what is that promise based on?  Listen again:

A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.  The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. 

And so, that wonderful, idyllic, prospect is opened up for mankind because a Saviour is to come among us, upon Whom the Spirit of God will rest and Whose delight will be in the fear of the Lord:  Jesus of Nazareth, to be born of the Virgin by the Holy Spirit, Son of God and Son of Man.

And yet, when He did come, He was not accepted nor even acknowledged by His People; indeed, His rejection was so violent and so degrading that His presence among men was not able to work any saving change for the great majority of those who saw but did not recognize Him, who heard but would not listen to Him, even though some had waited long and been ardently expecting Him.  Vindication against Rome and before the nations had become their supreme motivation and -- as we can see with fanatics the world over -- having someone, something, to hate is a great spur for commitment or even sacrifice.   Jesus’ mission, on the other hand, was for their personal righteousness before, and corporate witness to, the God of their fathers Who had sent Him.  Jesus could only work a change for people if they would allow Him, first of all, to make a change in them individually.  That is why we heard the prophet say in the name of the Lord:

The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, for the Gentiles shall seek out the Root of Jesse.

God’s Kingdom of glorious peace would only come when the earth -- that is, all the peoples on earth beginning with Israel, God’s Chosen People -- were full of the knowledge of the Lord: not knowledge about the Lord, but knowledge of the Lord bestowed on them by the Root of Jesse: knowledge suffused through and through by love, such as could only be given to those who would humbly and perseveringly seek to find, or rather allow themselves to be found by, the Person of Him sent in the fullness of time by the Lord, the ever faithful-and-true God of Israel.

Bearing these things in mind we should not be too surprised when, on turning to the Gospel passage from St. Matthew, we heard John the Baptist say to certain Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him while he was administering his baptism in the Jordan:

            You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 

What could have brought the Pharisees and Sadducees together?  Little that promised good for John, certainly.  The Pharisees -- the ‘separate ones’ as their name proclaims -- lived their lives according to rules and regulations fitted for the priests in the Temple of Jerusalem, rules and regulations handed down by their own oral traditions; and they prided themselves on the rigour and detailed fidelity of their application of those rules.  The Sadducees, on the other hand, really were current priests of the Temple, and, as a whole, they were social aristocrats who did not accept the oral traditions of the Pharisees.  What therefore enabled such naturally opposed and mutually disdainful factions to unite on this occasion?   Surely, only the fact that both regarded John the Baptist with like antipathy!

For his part, John knew how to mix-it with such enemies; for by calling them a ‘brood of vipers’ he declared them to be -- according to a byways (not highways!) Jewish tradition -- descended from Cain and born of the union of Eve and the Serpent!!  We Christians have, however, in the Acts of the Apostles (28:3, 5), have a much more historically accurate picture of the significance of the appellation ‘brood of vipers fleeing from the coming wrath’ when we recall the experience of St. Paul shipwrecked on the island of Malta:

Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, when a viper -- driven out by the heat -- fastened itself on his hand.  He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 

Brood of vipers indeed, because both were fixed in their ways and both were proud: one of their reputation for holiness in the eyes of the common people, and the other for their deeply cherished positions of power and privilege; and yet both were as one in their delight at the reverence shown them by the ordinary people: people they were meant to serve but whom they held in very low esteem as a whole.   And in this respect the Pharisees and Sadducees showed themselves to be vipers indeed by their pseudo-holiness and pseudo-dignity: for the Pharisees were more faithful custodians of their human traditions than faithful interpreters of God’s law, more solicitous for their standing in the eyes of the people than sincere guides for those people along the  paths of humble devotion before God; while the pomp and circumstance of the Sadducees, far from showing forth the dignity of Israel’s ancient calling as the Chosen People, was totally dependent on and subservient to the current-day Roman power and politics.  Such pretence by their civil and religious leaders de-railed the response of ordinary Israelites to the message of John the Baptist even though he was preparing the way of the Lord by advice easy enough for them to understand and put into practice:

“He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”  To the tax collectors he said, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.”  Likewise to the soldiers he said, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”

Such teachings were easily accessible to anyone wanting and willing to ‘repent’ as St. Matthew tells us John’s initial proclamation required:

John the Baptist appeared preaching in the desert of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’ 

Repentance was a very hard subject to preach even for one as great as John the Baptist!  So unexciting for the senses and so humble in its performance, repentance was easily dislodged from the awareness and appreciation of simple people by the easy-to-see, carefully honed and sought-out, pseudo personal holiness of the Pharisees, and could be quite overwhelmed by the ceremonial pomposity and Temple-based dignity and power of the craven Sadducees, who despite all appearances, were totally subservient to the occupying Roman power. 

Dear People of God, the poisons affecting, debasing, and preventing true religion among the people in Jesus’ time are still with us and still seducing many today: pseudo-holiness and political correctness!!
 

The great and ultimate fulfilment of salvation through the final coming of God’s Kingdom as foretold by the prophet, the forerunner, and by the Lord Jesus Himself, is not something that can be brought about by human endeavour it can only be humbly aspired to and prepared for, before being gratefully received when freely given by God Himself to those filled with knowledge of the great mercy and goodness of the Giver, and of the saving love of their Redeemer. 

St. Paul tells us that:

Christ became a minister of the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, to confirm the promises to the patriarchs, but so that the Gentiles (also) might glorify God for His mercy.

And so, we Gentiles can and should learn from the experience and failings of ‘the circumcised’, as Paul explicitly tells us:

Whatever (is) written (is) for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Above all we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus in the Scriptures, our ears attentive to His words resounding in Mother Church, and our hearts open to and longing for His most Holy Spirit’s guidance and inspiration as children of God.

We must, therefore, not allow the integrity of our response to Jesus’ call to repentance this Advent to be waylayed and possibly de-railed by modern pseudo-holiness and political correctness; and for that purpose we must pay careful attention to and learn from what happened among the Chosen People of Israel those many centuries ago.

The Pharisees were truly devout but they could never forget themselves or deny their pride in, and desire for, a public reputation proclaiming them to be ‘the best at their job’; that is, they wanted to be commonly known and generally appreciated as personally holy individuals and members of an influential and closely knit group whose traditions were the surest guides for the people in the ways of holiness.

Alas, however, they were substituting holiness in the eyes of the people for holiness before God.
 

The Sadducees were not even aiming for holiness of a religious nature so much as security and approval for their politically correct attitudes and actions.   They sought to ‘accepted and acclaimed’ -- by those who really mattered to them -- for their sagacity, influence, adaptability, perhaps even, at times, for their priestly dignity and social charms ….   Attitudes and abilities, some of which at times, and under certain circumstances, could possibly have proved both helpful and laudable; but which, in those called to be first and foremost priests and shepherds for God’s People, bring Jesus’ words to my mind:

You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.  (Luke 16:15)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in this season of Advent we are walking anew to what is before us, setting out with fresh steps towards what is most beautiful and promises great joy.  As did Joseph, let us walk with Mary, the Jewel of Israel, and for us, the Queen of heaven and Our dear Lady, our supreme mother and unique sister. But, with Joseph, let us take great care, this time of ourselves who are carrying in our soul’s sanctuary of mind and heart the still-to-be-born Son of God.  Let us not turn our  eyes to seek some easier path, but let us always keep them fixed most lovingly on Jesus proclaimed by Mother Church, let our eyes look most confidently for the lead of God’s Spirit of Truth and Love, as we endeavour, as true children of God the Father, to serve, and indeed to love, all our brother and sisters on the way.  But in all things and above all things, let us ever desire and aspire to be with Jesus, so as to be  formed in Him and in His likeness by the Spirit, for the glory of our God and Father.

                                   

1st Sunday of Advent, Year A, 2013

1^st. Sunday of Advent (A)

(Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44)

Advent has come round once again and I imagine that all of us here who are mature adults will be thinking how the time since last Christmas has flown.  I really should say the time from last Advent, but perhaps many of you would not remember the beginning of Advent last year, whereas you will certainly remember last Christmas: how the time has flown since then!!

People of God, I want you to think on that: how quickly the last year has passed by!   I ask you as disciples of Jesus to do this because it is so easy for people to live their whole life and, when it comes to an end, find themselves not only surprised -- the years having passed like a dream, as the poet puts it – but also quite unprepared for what awaits them.  That is why, in God’s Providence, the Church’s liturgy has periods of preparation – Advent and Lent -- that recur annually and thereby remind us: “Look, another year has gone by!   How many more do you think you have?  You need to prepare yourself.”

Why do we need to prepare ourselves this Advent for the coming of the Lord?  After all, most people today, probably the great majority in our supposedly ‘sophisticated’ countries which control the world’s purse strings, think that there is no God worth bothering about: if He is there, it doesn’t really concern us because we are very busy and He is very good and kind, or so Church people say; They must say that, of course; they cannot proclaim an unpopular God; He has to be good, kind, and forgiving … otherwise we, and all the others like us, won’t be going to Church again!!  So, what do we need to prepare for, and why do we need to prepare for it?

Dear Catholic and Christian people, let us first of all be very clear about one  supremely important fact:

WE DO NOT KNOW WHO WILL BE CONDEMNED, BUT WE KNOW MOST SURELY WHAT WILL BE CONDEMNED:

orgies and drunkenness, promiscuity and lust, rivalry and jealousy as St. Paul told us, and that unpreparedness  of which Jesus Himself spoke in today’s Gospel:

For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  In (those) days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.    They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.  Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.   Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. 

So many want to die without having to think about religious matters on earth or about their eternal future in the world to come: they want to be happy and carefree concerning such matters because they like to think that GOD IS TOO GOOD TO PUNISH ANYONE JUST FOR BEING CAREFREE AND IGNORANT OF HIM.

Today’s readings serve to protect us wonderfully well against such folly, against such EVIL, by reminding us of the ultimate significance of our life here on earth and how supremely important it is for us to make good use of the time at our disposal.  

The first main theme of our readings is the joyful expectations of those pilgrims going up to the Temple in Jerusalem:

Come, let us climb the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may instruct us in His ways, and we may walk in His paths.

We can almost feel the excitement and anticipation of those pilgrims journeying to meet Him Who, they most firmly believe, will guide them along the way of salvation.  And surely, our sharing in such a God-given belief, such a hope and longing, stirs up in us a like determination and confidence as that which filled the breasts of those ancient pilgrims, who walked along, exhorting each other with the words:

            Oh, House of Jacob come, let us walk In the light of the LORD. 

Compared with them, we are -- as St. Peter said -- a privileged People, for we have already, and in a far truer sense than those pilgrims could ever have imagined, reached Jerusalem, the dwelling-place of the Most High, because we have the privilege of being children of Mother Church.  For, in her, the letter to the Hebrews (12:22-24) tells us:

You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant. 

Therefore, being so privileged, we should come -- each and every Sunday -- with even greater joy and expectation to the house of the Lord,

            that He may instruct us in His ways, and we may walk in His paths.

Let us therefore pray now, gathered before the Lord, that we may indeed grow in understanding of His ways and learn to walk more steadfastly along His paths, in accordance with the second theme of our readings today:

Stay awake!   For you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

For, not only do we not know the day of the Lord’s coming, but we have even been warned -- quite explicitly by Our Lord Himself -- that it will take place when we least expect it:

For, at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.   

St. Paul, that most faithful apostle of the Lord Jesus, told us what this means for us, and how we might set about doing what Jesus requires of us in preparation for that meeting:

It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light;  let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and lust, not in rivalry and jealousy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. 

We human beings are creatures of habit: we can do something one way, and then, by repetition, allow it to become first of all a tendency for us, and then finally develop into a firmly fixed habit that we do almost instinctively.  Now, in God’s Providence, the liturgy of Mother Church each year invites, indeed, urges us, to observe Advent as preparation for our celebration of Christmas not merely with deep gratitude for the birth of the Messiah as the Infant of Promise but also with firm hope and joyful preparation for His Second Coming as the Lord of Fulfilment. She does this because, without repeated observance of such seasons of preparation, we might easily, indeed almost inevitably, drift into a habit of unthinking and – at the best -- merely material observance of feasts of great moment for the Spirit at work in our lives, instead of establishing a truly Christian habit of preparation that will enable us to appreciate, celebrate, and profit ever more and more, from the ever enduring and constantly recurring goodness of the Lord.

Consequently, People of God, I urge you to use this Advent well: try to form a habit of welcoming the Lord into your life.  We have a month in which to start a new habit, or in which to strengthen a habit we have already been trying to build up over several, perhaps many, years.  The whole point is that if we do not have a habit of recognizing, welcoming, and gratefully responding to Jesus, a habit diligently practised and firmly established over years, then when He comes, unexpectedly, at the end of our days, we will find ourselves unable to welcome Him.  For, be sure, People of God, one cannot live a forgetful life and then, when suddenly challenged, come out with the right response of appreciation and love.  

This is of great importance not only for us but with the Lord Himself, for He has quite deliberately and explicitly told us that His coming at the end will be unexpected, and so there will be no time to collect our thoughts and weigh up what should be our attitude; we will find ourselves responding instinctively, at that unprepared moment, either in accordance with the character we have carefully built up by faithful devotion over the years, or with that thoughtlessness and insouciance allowed to develop over years of selfish, careless, and faithless living.  And that response will, for better or for worse, prove to be our final response and our last opportunity: a violent person, under pressure, will react violently; a weak-willed person, under threat, will be craven; a faithless disciple will always prove himself a hypocrite.   No wonder Jesus said (v. 46):

Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing (his duty) when He comes. 

Recognize yourselves, People of God: sudden trials, sudden and unexpected threats, leave neither the time nor the ability to act in an unaccustomed manner; in order to be found doing the Master's will when He comes we need to have seriously formed good habits and right instinctive attitudes.  Advent is an opportunity given us by Mother Church to try to establish the supremely good habit of recognizing and welcoming the Lord into our lives this Christmas.  Therefore, the way we prepare during the course of this Advent could be the mirror image of our state of preparedness when He comes – suddenly -- to settle accounts with each of us personally at the end of our time of preparation and formation in Mother Church.  

In Psalm 53 we read:

God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God;

and, according to the Psalmist, He found none:

Every one of them has turned aside; there is none who does good, no, not one.  They do not call upon God.

That was the situation, even in Israel, before Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour, came to redeem us; and that is still the situation of many today who turn away from, reject, Jesus.  They do not acknowledge God; they do not seek or call upon Him; they have not understood the probationary nature of their life experience on earth, where both the wonder of God’s creation – so beautiful with all its natural powers and sublime human potential -- and the depth of mankind’s needs seem to be so impenetrable and irreconcilable for them.

So, dear People of God, use Advent to prepare yourself to welcome Jesus not only this coming Christmas but whenever He might choose to stand at the door of your soul and knock.  Try to recognize all those occasions, both great and small, clear and only glimpsed at, where truth and beauty, goodness and love, sympathy and help, power and fragility, fear and wonder, impinge on your consciousness and invite you to respond to God sensed, somehow, to be present there; and may your Advent character of awareness and appreciation, gratitude and trust, peace and joy help the Spirit further Jesus’ Kingdom of faith, hope, and charity in your souls.

Christ the King 2013

CHRIST THE KING (2013)                

 (2 Samuel 5:1-3; Colossians 1:12-20; Luke 23:35-43)

 

There was a time when Jesus asked His disciples what people were thinking about Him:

Who do men say that I am?

They answered saying that people thought Him to be one of the former prophets back on earth.

Shortly afterwards, however, at His crucifixion, there was, as we heard in the Gospel reading, a public proclamation, made by the highest authority in the land for all peoples to read, concerning the identity of Jesus:

An inscription was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

The distinguishing mark for membership of the Jewish nation was, of course, circumcision, or so the Jews of Jesus’ time thought.  St. Paul, however, in his letter to the Philippians (3:3), tells us that circumcision of the flesh is not the true circumcision:

For we are the circumcision, we who worship through the Spirit of God, who boast in Christ Jesus and do not put our confidence in flesh.

Or, as another version puts it:

We who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort.

And the Jews of old -- those of the fleshly circumcision -- showed its provisional and ultimately false character by their rejection of Jesus as their King:

          We have no king but Caesar!

Are we, then, who are of the true circumcision, Christians and Catholics, quite sure that Jesus the Messiah is, indeed, King for us personally, our King, my King?  That question is of the utmost importance, for the Kingship of Christ would seem to be the supreme criterion for the true People of God, the true disciples of the One sent by God as their Messiah and Saviour, the true children of God. We, Catholics and Christians, ascribe the word ‘King’ to Jesus, but what do we mean by that word, is our understanding of it in tune with that of the Scriptures, of God’s Holy Word?

That He is a King, there is no doubt:

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and he questioned him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say so.”   (Matthew 27:11)

Jesus was very careful in His reply because the Jews wanted to have Him put to death by the Romans for treasonable activities and royal aspirations, and so He did not directly use the word ‘King’ as the High Priest was provoking Him to do, for that word had a predominantly political import for Roman ears. Yet, neither could Jesus deny the word, since it had too much meaning in the historical, and too much significance for spiritual, development and expectations of Israel.  Therefore, He chose to accept its scriptural content and aspirations while rejecting its political implications by respectfully answering the High Priest of Israel with his own words:

          You (who are this day High Priest in Israel) say so.

Today, however, there is some doubt about whether or not He is our King: do we indeed accept Him as such?  What does that word “King” mean for us?  We can use the word, but do we give it its true, scriptural, meaning?  Are we aware of, do we accept in our lives, the full meaning of “King” when we say “Jesus is our King”?

Well, we are aware, first of all, of the splendour and power of kings; for in this our country we are still privileged to see and be able to appreciate something of that most ancient, imposing and impressive, and even -- perhaps to a small degree – inspiring, regal office and function.  And, in that regard, Jesus yields to no one, as St. Paul makes abundantly clear when telling us of Jesus’ power and splendour:

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. (Colossians 1:15-17)

We can indeed be proud of, we can glory in, our King; no other earthly king could ever compare with Him.  On that account, we certainly are inspired to claim that “Jesus is King, our King”.

However, as we continue with this examination of the meaning of the word King we recognize in it not only power and majesty, but also authority … for there is no doubt that a king has always been thought to have authority over his subjects.  Do we now want to proclaim so loudly that Jesus is King over us?  Do we -- who so readily and enthusiastically recognize His splendour and glory, His wisdom and might – accept, with similar enthusiasm, that He has authority over us and the way we should live our lives?  Many claim to be Christians -- thereby acclaiming Christ as their King -- but do they, in fact, want to bask only in certain reflected aspects of His glory, without considering themselves in any significant way as being subject to His authority?  There are many so-called Catholics who want to accept Jesus as king in the style of our democratic monarchy: with pomp and circumstance indeed, and with no little popular support and respect, but without any real authority.  

However, that is not the style of kingship recognized in the Bible, such was not the leader that the people of Israel wanted; their king had authority (1 Samuel 8:19-20):

The people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, "No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.

And in the very beginning, at the birth of the People of God, the leaders, Moses and Joshua were not called kings, but their authority was very real:

All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death.  (Joshua 1:16-18)

The people of Israel said: “Wherever you send us we will go.”  ‘Wherever’ meant ‘wherever on the way to the Promised Land’, for that was what had been promised them, the Promised Land, their true homeland and ultimate resting place: wherever you command us to go as we journey towards that Promised Land we will go.

Today, however, there are so-called Christians who have no desire, let alone hunger, for the heavenly destiny offered to all who commit themselves, through faith in Jesus Christ, to the Father’s plan of salvation; they have lost their vision of a promised land because passing pleasures in the desert of this present world have distracted their minds and seduced their hearts.

In ancient Israel some tribes had entered the land Promised to their forebears and into their own personal inheritance before crossing the Jordan, but they were not allowed to rest on their territory -- with their families, cultivating their land, and gathering their crops. No, they had to cross over with all the rest of their brethren and fight with them until they too could enter into their inheritance promised by the Lord, the God of Israel.

Today, far too many nominal Catholics and Christians want to settle for what they have got now, they want to satiate themselves with the seemingly endless pleasures this world – or our privileged part of the world -- seems to offer them; or else they have weighed themselves down with cares that suffocate and blind them to all else.  Such disciples are not necessarily against the glory and the splendour of a King they can understand and rejoice in: one appreciated and praised by all for his goodness and wisdom, his humility and sympathy in his dealings with the underprivileged of his time; indeed, many of them would accept a King who, as heavenly Lord, is able to give them spiritual comfort and joy as they participate in the holy atmosphere and liturgical splendour of the Church.  What they cannot accept, however, is One Who has the authority whereby He might refuse to let them rest in the pleasures and plenty of earthly possessions and passions, just as the Israelites of old were not immediately allowed to rest on the other side of the Jordan; One Who will not allow them to succumb to whatever would stifle their aspirations towards the attainment of God’s promises, just as Israel had to constantly resist and struggle against her many enemies.

Joshua (another form of the name Jesus) had been told by the people, may the Lord be with you; only be strong and courageous; that is, given that the Lord our God is with you, and that you show yourself strong and courageous, we will follow you through whatever trials will bring us into the Promised Land.  Was Jesus strong and courageous in His life and in His death?  Was the Lord, His Father, with Him in His Resurrection?  Indeed Jesus was all that could be wanted of a leader of God’s People.  And yet, despite all that, for many today the obedience due to the authority of Christ is withheld and has become the litmus test for true discipleship.

 And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.

When lifted up on the Cross Jesus will draw all those whom the Father gives Him to Himself (John 12:32).

The obedience of the Cross is indeed the criterion for distinguishing true disciples from those who are false; those whom the Father has called, from those who have come to Jesus, not out of obedience to the Father’s call, but out of other motives, worldly, selfish, and faithless motives.

People of God, Jesus Christ is King, our King; and we must give true obedience to His kingly authority over our lives if we want to share in the beauty and truth, the goodness  and glory, the splendour, majesty, and power of His Kingdom.  The promise has been made to us; the opportunity is here for us; and we are fully equipped for the journey; indeed, we already have a beginning of the fulfilment awaiting us, for today’s rejoicing in our King should give us some faint inkling and joyful foretaste of the glory and bliss that are to come. 

          Thy will be done that Thy Kingdom may come, Lord Jesus.