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Gospel Reflection 20061126

Dare to be a dreamer!Being cynical means not believing in the promise of a better future. Cynics look around and see all the terrible things happening in the world and can only imagine that things are going to get worse. Christians, on the other hand, can be optimistic about the future. We wait in hope for the wonderful world that is coming because we have already begun to experience it.

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Feast of Christ the King
John 18:33b-37Pilate said to Jesus, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?" Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here." So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

We are told often what to think by the media, government and even coworkers. Pilate was one of those whose judgment was based on what others had said. His question to Jesus was that of a functionary; not of someone sincerely seeking the truth. I will be judged one day on how I judged. How fair, how sincere and really how interested am I in others? Do I treat those in my life as though I really cared?
this world. It is a world where people, once accused, are already judged; where “what others think of you” seems to matter most. Jesus does not belong to the ways of human respect. He answers to God alone, just as he lives only to please his Father. Do I belong to this world? What kind of grip does this world have on me? How do its judgments affect my behavior?


Jesus loved those who acknowledged their need for him, those who needed healing and forgiveness. He loved those who acknowledged that they were not kings of their own lives and had faith that Jesus was in charge.
We can either acknowledge Jesus as King or try to be king ourselves. We can let Jesus heal and forgive. Or we can despair of healing and forgiveness and turn over the kingship in our lives to money or power or other sins and give those values the absolute dominion in our lives.

The world is, and is not, Christ’s enemy. If we understand the world to be the collective lost sheep, or the prodigal son, Christ the King loves the world: He came not to condemn it but to save it. But if we take the world to mean that whole host of attitudes and actions which are hostile to Christ, His Gospel, His Church and His Cross, and which freely serve, explicitly or implicitly, the doomed kingdom of the anti-Christ, then Christ the King will have no choice but to judge it and condemn it to eternal loss.

Just before being elected Pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger exposed the world’s imposition of subjective personal values, calling it a “a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one´s own ego and desires” (Homily, April 18, 2005). In the same homily he juxtaposed this relativistic “truth” to friendship with Christ. Real friendship with Christ is our single guiding light, and it requires that we subject to him all other guides: our ego, our own feelings and our selfish desires. Without this anchor, this King, our weak and fallen nature drifts after whatever ideology or new school of thought becomes popular. Pontius Pilate was “tossed about by the waves” of thought and the popular trends of his time. God can and will judge us on whether or not we lived in his kingdom of Eternal Truth. In which kingdom do I live?
Free me from the deceptions of pride, human respect and self-love. Jesus’ answer was that, yes, he was indeed a king, but not the sort of king he had in mind. Wherein lies the difference between the kingship of Christ and that of Pilate and other kings of this world? We can name three: (1) Other kingdoms have territorial boundaries but the kingship of Christ is universal. Christ is king without borders. (2) Other kingdoms come and go, but the kingship of Christ is eternal. (3) Other kingdoms are sustained by military power, but the kingship of Christ is sustained by the power of truth. Citizens of Christ’s kingdom must, therefore, stand by the truth even when it is hurting and embarrassing to do so.
When we speak about the kingdom of God in this way, some people ask: what then becomes of patriotism and national loyalty? Patriotism and national loyalty certainly have their place in the Christian life, but loyalty to God comes first. In the name of patriotism and national loyalty some Christians have surrendered their consciences to the state. If the state says it is lawful, then it is all right to do it. A good example is abortion. Or, if the state says it is illegal, then it is wrong to do it. An example is helping an “illegal” immigrant. Today’s celebration challenges us to do better than that: to look more critically at the laws and policies governing public life and examine them against the light of the law of Christ. As Christians we should be loyal citizens of our countries, but loyal citizens of God’s kingdom first.
Jesus Christ has always been a sign of contradiction, as much today as when he came to earth more than two thousand years ago. There are those who ignore him or even hate him. And there are those who love him unconditionally. There are those who only go to him when they have problems because they think that he will resolve them. And there are those who love him and who follow him, despite their problems, without asking for anything or blaming him for anything, giving of themselves to him. There are those who show that they always have Christ in their hearts and in their minds. They always talk to everyone about him. And there are those who say they are Christians, they even think they are good Christians, but they never show it. They never talk about Jesus. They not only do not talk about him, they do not follow him.
Profoundly living Christian lives every day should be the goal of every good Christian. We cannot be Christians just some of the time. Christians who truly follow Christ should make an effort to make holiness a part of their lives. They should show in their lives the peace, love and justice that only the Lord can give them.

We should always remember that when Christ returns as King of the Universe he will do so in majesty. But we should also remember that he will return as judge. He will reward those who followed him faithfully. And those who have ignored him or who have denied him, he will also deny before the Father (Mt 10:33).
But this vision also challenges us to make a decision — a difficult decision. If he really is king, then is he the center of my life? Is he really king of my kingdom? Many of us find it easy and natural to turn to Jesus as king when our backs are against the wall, when our lives are in chaos and despair. It is much harder for us to remember who is really in charge when things are going well and our self-confidence is high.

Jesus Christ is king. He is in rule over all of creation. The question is, is he my king? Is he the leader in my life?
One of our fascinations with royalty is the power, the privilege, the position, and the possessions which they appear to have, yet somehow these qualities seem to be in conflict with the values of a christian life. But these are the very gifts which our friend and our lord Jesus longs to give us if we allow him to be our king.
He gives us power; not the power to defeat our opponents or to control or manipulate the stock market. But the power of the Holy Spirit.
He gives us privilege. Not for special invitations to royal receptions, but the privilege to be called god's children and his brothers and sisters.
He gives us position. Not the position of chairman of the board or a life of ease, but the position that comes with the promise of a permanent place in his kingdom.
He grants us the gifts of possession. Not a pocket full of money or unlimited charge accounts, but rather, a relationship with him through which we discover what truly is worth possessing.

posted by Mike Young @ 6:23 AM