Ordinary Time - Week 34-
Christ the King
(From Conversation with God, Fernandez Carvajal)This feast brings the liturgical year to a close. Over the past months we have celebrated the mysteries of the life of the Lord. Now we contemplate Christ in his glorified state as King of all Creation and of our souls. The feasts of the Epiphany, Easter and the Ascension also relate to Christ as King and Lord of the Universe, but the Church has wanted to have this feast as a special remembrance to the modern man, who seems somewhat indifferent to his supernatural destiny.
Jesus did not come to establish his kingdom by force. His 'weapons' are goodness and a shepherd's solicitude: "I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out as a shepherd seeks out his flock." The Lord tends to his lost sheep, to those men and women who have gone astray through sin. He takes care to heal their wounds. He goes so far as to die for his sheep. As King He came to reveal God's love, to be the Mediator of the new Covenant, the Redeemer of mankind. The kingdom which Jesus initiated works in its interior dynamism as 'leaven' and a 'sign of salvation' to build a more just, more fraternal world, one with more solidarity, inspired by the evangelic values of hope and of the future happiness to which all are called. Therefore, the Preface of today's Eucharistic celebration speaks of Jesus who has offered to the Father a "kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace." This is what the Kingdom of Christ is all about. Each one of us is called to participate in this kingdom and expand it through our apostolate. The Lord should be present in our families, among our friends, neighbours and colleagues at work. Against those who reduce religion to a set of negative statements, or are happy to settle for a watered-down Catholicism; against those who wish to see the Lord with his face against the wall, or to put him in a corner of their souls, we have to affirm, with our words and with our deeds, that we aspire to make Christ the King reign indeed over all hearts, theirs included.
Saint Paul teaches us that while Christ's Kingdom is achieved in time and space, it will attain its definitive fullness at the Last Judgment. The Apostle depicts this epochal event as a rite of homage to the Father: Christ will present all Creation to him as an offering. Then all things will be subjected to his rule. His Second Coming will establish a new heaven and a new earth. He will there upon vanquish the devil, sin, pain and death.
Meanwhile, we Christians cannot be passively waiting for these momentous events to unfold. We have to desire ardently the establishment of his kingdom. First of all, the Lord must reign in our mind, in our will and in our actions. He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls. Our Lord and our God: how great you are! It is you who give our life supernatural meaning and divine vitality. You cause us to say with all our being with our body and soul: He must reign!