Christ the King 2016

            Christ the King

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

Today we are invited to rejoice in Christ our King Who is the Son of God made flesh.

We should be aware that throughout the New Testament the many mentions of "the God", for example, “the God of our fathers", "the God of the living", "may the God of hope", and other such expressions, all refer to God the Father, He is "God" because the Father is the origin and source of all. 

However, because He is eternally, and eternally the Father, therefore He always and eternally expresses His Fatherhood in His Son, His co-eternal Son, for without His Son He would not be Himself, that is, He could not be Father.  The Father withholds nothing from His Son, as Jesus told his disciples at the Last Supper:

Everything that the Father has is Mine. (John 16:15)

(Father,) everything of Mine is Yours, and everything of Yours is Mine. (John 17:10)           

And therefore we heard in the second reading that:

            He (the beloved Son) is the image of the invisible God.

Indeed, as the Nicene Creed in our Mass proclaims the eternal relationship between Father and Son in the one Godhead: He (the Son) is God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, Begotten not made, of One Being with the Father.

Therefore, in the one God, the Son is the total, essential, expression of the Father's very being as God.  Creation, however, is not essential to God, it is a choice He makes and, being the result of such a decision, is an abiding choice of His will and a partial expression in space and time of His Fatherly goodness.  As true Father He loves His creation as He made it (Genesis 1:31):

God looked at everything He had made, and found it very good.

Because the Son is the total, co-eternal, expression of the nature of God the Father whereas creation is a partial, temporal, expression of God's fatherly goodness and care, therefore we can begin to appreciate there being a special relationship between the Son and creation, as we heard in the second reading:

He -- the image of the invisible God -- is the firstborn of all creation.

All things created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -- all have been created through Him and for Him.

Now we can understand why it should be the Son Who was sent by the Father for our salvation; and how, by taking truly human flesh of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, He became the Man Who (Colossians 1:17):

Is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 

Indeed, though appearing outwardly as the mysteriously humble figure of Jesus, son of Mary, from Nazareth, the same letter to the Colossians goes on to tell us (2:9):

            In Him dwells the whole fullness of the Deity bodily.

Let us, therefore, try to glimpse something more of the glory of the Father, manifested to us in the beauty, the truth, and the goodness of His Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

It was the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, bond of love between Father and Son in the one Godhead, Who guided, strengthened, and sustained, the incarnate Son Who -- having been made one with us in all our powers and potentialities, even to the extent of sharing in our native human weakness though without sin -- would be led to the full maturity of His human nature by the Spirit.  This began to climax, as you will recall, at the baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan:

After Jesus was baptized, He came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened (for Him) and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him.  And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is My beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased.”  Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. (Matthew 3:16-4:1)

The beloved, only-begotten Son of God, the Lord and Saviour of all mankind, had to be made absolutely perfect in the flesh for our sake; and -- because of our sins -- such perfection could only come through suffering:

It was fitting for Him, for Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. (Hebrews 2:10)

And now, as we begin to see the true nature of Christ's glory in its earthly manifestation, we catch a glimpse His goodness and His humility:

Since the children share in blood and flesh, He likewise shared in them, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life.   (Hebrews 2:14-15)

This He was able to do because:

Though He was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.  Rather He emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and being found human in appearance, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.    And when He was (thus) made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.  (Philippians 2:6-8; Hebrews 5:9)

Human eyes cannot clearly see nor can the human mind fully comprehend the glory of Christ, but, having learned of His majesty and glimpsed something of His goodness and humility, let us now raise up our minds by faith to look at the beauty of Him Whom the prophet Malachi (3:20), in the name of God, described as the "sun of justice":

For you who fear My name, the Sun of Justice will arise with healing in its wings.

For this Son of God, made flesh and perfected as man through suffering the ultimate humiliation of death on the Cross, this Son was revealed in all His beauty by rising from the dead as the prophet Isaiah had foretold :

Your eyes will see the King in His beauty, they will behold a land that stretches far away.  (Isaiah 33:17; NRSV)

This is indeed the case, because it is only the beauty of the risen Christ that enables us to raise our eyes in hope to the promised land of our heavenly home with Christ.

The prophet Zechariah (9:16-17) had foretold:

The LORD their God will save them like a flock on that day; how good, how lovely! 

If He, the risen Lord, gives such comeliness His faithful flock, what then must be the Personal beauty of Him Who, rising like the sun, brings such beauty to those who once:

Sat in darkness and in the shadow of death? (Psalm 107:10)

For St. Paul is in full agreement with the ancient psalmist, when he says of Jesus, as you heard in the second reading:

He delivered us from the power of darkness.

To understand a final aspect of the glory of Christ the King let us now just consider Him in heaven.  There, He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and there we can recognize His eternal truth and faithfulness; for, we are told that, in heaven, He is eternally solicitous for our well-being:

It is Christ Who died, and furthermore is also risen, Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also makes intercession for us. (Romans 8:34)

He is able to save forever those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

How are we, for our part, to approach God; to draw near to Him in accordance with the prayers of Jesus Who lives before the Father and intercedes eternally on our behalf?  Let us carefully attend to Jesus on the Cross and learn His ways.

The people stood looking on (and) even the rulers sneered with them saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself”.

But Jesus did not save Himself.

One of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us.”

He was the Christ, indeed He knew He was the Christ, but still He did not save Himself.  Why?  Listen yet more closely:

The other criminal, however, (after) rebuking him 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.”

Jesus, so calmly and completely certain what was to happen to Himself, did not promise that He Himself would take the former thief into Paradise: “You will be with Me”, He said. In other words, ‘He Who will receive Me into Paradise will draw you there with Me’.  Notice Jesus’ absolute commitment to and total trust in His Father and the Spirit Who was working in Him for the Father’s glory, for that is Jesus’ royal way for us too that will ultimately lead us from this world to the Kingdom of His Father as children of God.

All the conceits of our human sinfulness have gradually to be set aside until we are totally convinced that we can neither grab the fruit of tree of Paradise, nor can we merit it for ourselves.  Such fruit is given only to those who, through faith in Jesus, and in the fear of the Lord, become aware of and responsive to the Spirit of God at work in their lives: those who pray for, and are willing to wait for, His lead in all things; those who sincerely seek to distinguish aright between His guiding and their own passions and fears, their own imagining, wishing, and wanting; and finally, those who will then seek to commit themselves totally in an endeavour to follow His lead as closely as their trust in Him and death to themselves will allow.

Yes, dear People of God, Jesus Christ Our Lord is, indeed, King of all creation and most particularly our King in Heavenly Glory; may our celebration today promote and further His rule on earth, in our lives, our society, and in our world.

                                                                                           

33rd Sunday Year C 2016

 33^rd. Sunday (Year C)

(Malachi 3:19-20; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19)

The Lord of Hosts declared to the prophet Malachi:

The day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch.  But for you who fear My name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.

Though terrible events be taking place all around them, God’s People were not be afraid, indeed they were not to be disturbed in any way because, ‘fearing the name of the Lord’ in spirit and in truth would lead them to fear naught else.

The Lord of Hosts’ picture – ‘published’ thus by the prophet Malachi-- of a people set apart from all others agrees with St. Peter's description of the true disciples of Jesus:

You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, (the Lord’s) own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light. (1 Peter 2:9)

Catholic Christians are indeed, as we hear in the canon of the Mass, intended to be ‘a chosen generation, a people set apart’ for the glory of Him Who called them to Jesus.

In what respect are they set apart from others?  Surely, not because they are aloof from, or indifferent to others, for charity is the very essence of the great commandment that rules their way of life, while the Lord and Saviour they worship and follow Himself gave the supreme example of fraternal love.  Nor are individual Christians to set themselves apart by flamboyance or exuberance, for St. Paul told us that Christians ought to be quiet in their life-style:

We command and exhort (you) in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in a quiet fashion and eat (your) own bread.

So we realize that Christians are to be "different" from others, above all, by their spiritual strength of character: fearing the name of the Lord, they will fear no other, naught else; always trusting in the power of the Spirit and trying by moral discipline to bear witness to the teaching and love of Christ and His Church in all circumstances and before all people.  To that end ‘fear of the Lord’ is an absolutely fundamental virtue because it alone can save us when our mind cannot comprehend or our heart appreciate.  How many of those choosing to commit suicide would be saved by an authentic ‘fear of the Lord’!  To have no fear of the Lord is indeed a great sin and an extremely dangerous one!  Moreover, it can also merit the condemnation of Jesus Who said:

Occasions for stumbling (scandals) are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come!   It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble.   (Luke 17:1-2)

If we now turn our attention to Jesus Himself we can see Him forming the character of His disciples along those lines:

As some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, (Jesus) said, “These things which you see -- the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down."

Here He would seem to be weaning them from such false supports as national pride, or a vain-glorious enthusiasm which could be sparked off by external stimulants such as the magnificent Temple recently built by King Herod in Jerusalem; for He then went on to give them yet more serious counsel for storms that would soon threaten to destroy them:

Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time has drawn near.'   Do not go after them!

‘Take heed not to be deceived’ even though many others be misled; ‘do not go after’ the crowd, do not yield yourselves to the inebriation and excitement of mob emotion.  There Jesus is clearly seeking to form in His disciples a characteristic attitude that will distinguish them in the future: choosing to walk resolutely with Him rather than chase after the crowd, never fearing to be alone with their Lord.   That was not to be all, however, for Jesus went on to warn of yet greater trials:

When you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.

Mature Christians must be able to stand resolute amidst widespread anxiety and contagious panic: having sufficient spiritual courage and moral discipline to wait for and confidently trust in the Lord, though everything else might seem to be falling apart:

There will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

Fear is instilled in us above all by imminent and urgent threat to self: to one's life, one's reputation, one's family, one’s possessions; and only the supernatural virtue of fear of the Lord can overcome the effects that such natural terrors can trigger off.

Here, People of God, we should most carefully notice that Christian fear of the Lord is no ordinary gift from God but such an outstanding sign of His blessing that, according to the prophet Isaiah, the Messiah Himself would take special delight in it:

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.  The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.  His delight is in the fear of the Lord.  (Isaiah 11:1-3)

Isaiah was a great prophet of the Lord God inspired by His Spirit, but Isaiah was just a man and he used a language he understood and knew his hearers in Israel would understand; he was not the beloved Son of God revealing the full beauty and wisdom of God His Father to disciples called to become, in Himself, adopted children of God.

Therefore whereas Isaiah spoke of: 

A Rod coming forth from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch growing out of his roots; and His delight being in the fear of the Lord;

Jesus spoke rather of His Father being always with Him; and though all others might leave Him alone,  that abiding Presence of His Father was Jesus’ delight, which He treasured above anything and everything else, a delight He ‘feared’ to lose:

The ruler of the world is coming.  He has no power over Me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded Me.  Get up (My disciples) let us go (to meet those sent to arrest Me). (John 14:30)

So, dear People of God, for us ‘fear of the Lord’ is no trembling acquiescence with impersonal demands from ‘on high’ made on us ‘against the grain’, it is a personal spiritual awareness of a ‘presence’ within us, a presence we fear to lose because we trust it, and humbly, quietly, and so very deeply rely on it, to such an extent that we can be said to delight in that ‘whose’ loss we fear would be to our enduring spiritual ruin.

Fear of the Lord, therefore, is a supreme sign of God’s love and favour, meant to be our special delight and ultimate defence against anything this world can throw up against us or the devil devise to ensnare us.

And that is just the final situation which Jesus puts before His disciples now:

They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of My name.

Then, indeed, fear of the Lord and trust in His mercy and power must be seen to be the disciple’s great delight and sure shield.  Jesus insists that at such times they look neither to men nor rely on themselves, but rather turn to Him:

Settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.

People of God, recognize what Jesus is looking for in His disciples, appreciate the sort of character He wishes us to have; and with such things in mind, recall the command Paul gave his Thessalonian converts when he was with them:

When we were with you, we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.

Notice those words, “we instructed you”: this order – it was more than advice -- was not given, mentioned, just once or twice in passing, it was his usual and repeated teaching.   Moreover, here we should remember that Paul was the apostle who suffered most for Christ, one who was also supremely conformed to Christ in his mind and heart, as the following texts show:

From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.  I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 6:17; 2:20)

In our modern Church too many are influenced by no-longer-practicing Catholics or Christians who choose to put themselves forward as popular ‘ethicists’ and proclaim personally-chosen bits and pieces of their former belief and exalt them out of all proportion to the balanced and living fullness of Christian faith; they have, for example, an idea of holiness that is not only sugar-coated but also carefully conformed to worldly standards, set up for the acceptance of people around, and against the ‘unfeeling’ teaching of Mother Church.  True holiness however, is not worldly, but Christian and personal, being God’s gift by the Spirit, given only to the committed disciple of Jesus. Therefore we should appreciate that Paul’s teaching, though it does indeed reflect his own character and his personal appreciation of Christ, nevertheless, since Paul was most deliberately chosen by Jesus and uniquely endowed by God for his role as teacher of the nations, he was supremely one with Christ, and we should in no way presume to suspect, let alone criticise, the intentions which inspired his mind and heart to write those words:

If anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.

St. Paul was following the example and purpose of Jesus Himself by preparing and promoting in his converts, as best he could, that moral discipline and spiritual strength essential for disciples who would, inevitably, have to carry the Cross with their Lord for God's glory and mankind's salvation; and such strength is never acquired through indulgence, nor is mere encouragement or comforting exhortation sufficient to promote it.  Of course St. Paul recognized sickness, but he would not allow the ‘popular immorality’ encountered today that castigates Christian teaching for aiming to form and  develop strength of spiritual character in all called by the Father to believe in and obediently follow His Son become incarnate for us.   We need to be trained as Christians and prepared as disciples if we are to appear with Jesus before the God of all holiness.

Today we find desires for quick, sugar-coated, easily seen and popularly appreciated, pseudo-holiness still preventing the wholesome teaching of the Scriptures and Mother Church from finding practical acceptance: how many parents, for example, wanting to appear well in human eyes, ‘don’t like’ to correct, let alone discipline, their children; with the result that the children suffer many and more serious future difficulties and dangers resulting from emotional indiscipline and moral weakness.  Likewise, how often are the Scripture and Gospel warnings of eternal punishment, along with Mother Church’s doctrines and disciplines, watered down for public acceptance rather than proclaimed with apostolic zeal?  The result is that, even among Catholics, discipline is being gradually downgraded, while sin -- even depravity at times -- is passively passed-over or regularly excused for ‘medical/psychological’ reasons, all because it doesn’t ‘seem nice’ to speak of, people don’t like to hear of, God punishing sin; punishing it, above all, with eternal, physical punishment  and :

         

If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray.   (1 John 5:16–17)

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire ….  where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.   (Mark 9:43, 48)

Jesus’ final words in today’s Gospel reading have special significance for those called to be witnesses to Him In today’s world.  They are not soft words to coax, for He wants all who are called and aspire to become His disciples in truth, to be strong enough, in Him, to glorify the Father by the Spirit; and to this end He chooses to help us with clear words that give inspiration and offer strength:

You will even be handed over by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and some of you will be put to death.   You will be hated by all for My name's sake, but not a hair on your head will be lost.  By your perseverance you will secure your lives.