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| 172' Statue of Christ the King in Poland |
Today, we celebrate the Feast of Christ, the King of the Universe, to whom we pledge our ultimate allegiance, Jesus who is the image of the invisible God, and the Good Shepherd who guides us into eternal life.
In the aftermath of World War I, which saw four empires swept away, Pope Pius XI was convinced that new dictators were emerging who thought they were gods and would deny people their basic human rights. So, he wanted to point people to the one true God. That’s how we have today’s feast.
What, really, is the Feast of Christ the King all about? We recognize the end of the liturgical year when, to quote the letter of Paul to the Corinthians, “every human being and all that is will be subjected to Jesus Christ, who will deliver the Kingdom of God over to his heavenly Father.”
God became incarnate in Jesus to share God’s life and love and goodness with all creation by the power of the Spirit. Yes, all creation is alive with the goodness of God.
The book of Samuel takes us back to the anointing of David as king of the tribes of Israel. The people acknowledge their kinship with the king. He will be their watchful shepherd as well as their wise leader.
The letter of Paul to the Christian community at Colossae in Turkey highlights an early Christian hymn of thanksgiving to God and exaltation of Jesus. Christ before his birth is the image of the invisible God, the model or blueprint after which all things were fashioned. The second stanza describes Christ after his earthly life. He is the head of the Church, the people of God, through whose dying/rising we’re in relationship with God, moving from earth to heaven. The author proclaims that Christ alone is the ruler of the universe.
In the Gospel according to Luke, we reexperience the theme of “rise and downfall.” We remember how Simeon prophesized in Luke’s infancy narrative that the child in his arms was destined to be the downfall and rise of many. We meet two robbers at Calvary; one sees something transcendent in the bloody face of Jesus; the other doesn't. One rises (“This day you will be with me in Paradise”), and the other apparently meets his downfall. In a certain sense, the good thief pulled off the greatest robbery ever: he stole heaven.
We as a community of faith profess our ultimate allegiance to Jesus Christ. Do we spend our time, our energy, our resources with Jesus in prayer and in service?
Jesus calls us to a God-centered, other-centered life. This Feast of Christ the King of the Universe asks us, how can we rededicate ourselves more single-mindedly to Jesus, who is our way, our truth, and our life.
