Word to the Wise
Sunday, November 20, 2022 - 34th or Last Sunday in Ordinary Time - C: The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King
[2 Sam 5:1-3; Col 1:12-20; Luke 23:35-43]Let us give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light. He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the first born 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. [Colossians]
The celebration of the last Sunday in the liturgical year is called by a rather ornate title: Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe! How does one wrap one's mind and heart and soul around such a title? Our earthbound categories of "king" and "ruler" are inevitably tainted by human political notions of power and "Kingdom." Jesus' own disciples thought in those terms. [Matt. 20:20-28]. The scripture from 2 Samuel in which David is made king of the tribes of Israel should warn us that the category of "king" in human terms involves a mixed bag! The scripture from the Gospel According to Luke shows how the Roman prefect Pilate viewed any notion of "king" when he put the sign on Jesus' cross: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. The contrast in the words from each of the two criminals is a clue to understanding the meaning of "king" when applied to Jesus. "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
The "kingdom" of Christ has existed from the beginning of "time." The Letter to the Colossians offers a cosmic view of all creation. Our brothers and sisters of the Eastern rites frequently depict Jesus as "pantocrator" - creator and ruler of all. This becomes challenging when we view any photo taken from the Hubble telescope, revealing yet another galaxy millions of light years from us. In the light of such reality, we proud humans are confronted with our status as a tiny speck in the total reality of Christ! Yet that tiny speck is brought into Jesus' "kingdom" like the "repentant thief" hanging on the cross next to Jesus!
This incredibly broad perspective ends the liturgical year and the very next Sunday starts the story of waiting and expectation that Advent inaugurates. We will go from the universe to a tiny Middle Eastern piece of the Roman Empire with all its history and hopes, which become our own. The term "king" is really much too limited, but it may be the best we humans can do to describe the ultimate reality that springs from Mary in Bethlehem. AMEN