{"id":1959,"date":"2016-11-20T13:25:41","date_gmt":"2016-11-20T18:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=1959"},"modified":"2016-11-20T13:25:41","modified_gmt":"2016-11-20T18:25:41","slug":"our-lord-jesus-christ-king-of-the-universe-year-c-homily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/our-lord-jesus-christ-king-of-the-universe-year-c-homily\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Year C – Homily"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christ the King, Year C<\/a>
\n2 Samuel 5:1-3
\nPsalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5
\nColossians 1:12-20
\nLuke 23:35-43
\nNovember 20, 2016<\/p>\n

Until the days when Saul became king, Israel had not had a king.\u00a0 There were leaders known as \u201cjudges\u201d who lead the community.\u00a0 The people asked God to give them a king.\u00a0 Saul became the first king but he was not a good king.\u00a0 It was David who did much of the work.<\/p>\n

Because Saul had turned away from God, God had David anointed as king but David did not take over until Saul died.\u00a0 Even then, a portion of the kingdom made Saul\u2019s son king at first but then eventually became over all of the Israelites.\u00a0 David was seen as a great king.<\/p>\n

David was \u201canointed\u201d as king.\u00a0 Anointing happens for different reasons.\u00a0 We anoint those who are sick for healing.\u00a0 We are first anointed in Baptism and then Confirmation.\u00a0 In this anointing we become children of God.\u00a0 We are chosen<\/em> as God\u2019s children.\u00a0 In being anointed, David is God\u2019s chosen one to be king.<\/p>\n

The Hebrew word for \u201canointed one\u201d is \u201cmessiah.\u201d\u00a0 In Greek, the word for the \u201canointed one\u201d is \u201cChrist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ<\/em>, King of the Universe.\u00a0 We tend to think of \u201cChrist\u201d as Jesus\u2019 last name but it is actually a title so it is Jesus, the anointed one<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Israelites had been waiting a thousand years for the coming of Christ.\u00a0 They expected a king who would be a great military leader who would defeat their enemies and make Israel a great earthly kingdom.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s gospel refers to Jesus\u2019 kingship but we do not see him becoming a great earthly king here.\u00a0 As we hear this passage, Jesus is hanging on the Cross, seemingly<\/em><\/strong> defeating by the enemy.\u00a0 The references to him as \u201cking\u201d are actually people mocking him.\u00a0 To them, the fact that He is being crucified proved He isn\u2019t a king.<\/p>\n

They are thinking only in earthly terms of power and wealth.\u00a0 It is only the repentant criminal who realizes that Jesus\u2019 kingdom is not an earthly kingdom.\u00a0 Jesus rules in Heaven.<\/p>\n

Jesus is not defeated by those who had him crucified.\u00a0 As our king<\/em>, Jesus hands over his life to defeat a far worse enemy, sin<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Jesus shows that a good king is not one concerned with wealth or power.\u00a0 A good king is focused on serving the needs of the people<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Jesus is our king.\u00a0 As Paul writes, Jesus is the king of \u201call things<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Hence, the name for today\u2019s solemnity \u201cKing of the Universe.\u201d\u00a0 The universe encompasses all<\/em> that we see.<\/p>\n

All this being said, while we are live in this world, we need people in positions of authority.\u00a0 As Pope, in 1963, St. John XXIII wrote an encyclical called Peace on Earth.\u00a0 In this encyclical, he writes about our need for authority and how real authority comes from God.\u00a0 He says that people who hold positions of authority should not do so for personal power or wealth. \u00a0Those in these positions must always work for the \u201ccommon good.\u201d\u00a0 I think I need to include here that the \u201ccommon good\u201d is NOT determined by popular opinion.\u00a0 It is to help all live as Christ has called us.<\/p>\n

We see authority in various ways in our lives.\u00a0 In the home, the parents are supposed to be in charge of the children.\u00a0 At school, it is the teachers and the principals.\u00a0 At work, there are supervisors and managers.<\/p>\n

We have leaders in the Church too.\u00a0 The pope leads the whole church.\u00a0 Bishop Matano leads our diocese and, as Pastor, I am the leader of our parish.\u00a0 I hope you pray for me as your leader, not to do what you want but to do what God wants.<\/p>\n

There is one more type of leaders to talk about, political leaders.\u00a0 Pope John XXIII also writes in Peace on Earth<\/em> about our need for governments.\u00a0 In our country, we don\u2019t call our political leaders kings but we have elected offices on many levels, village, town, country, state, and the national level.<\/p>\n

We just went through an election.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t easy but now it is over.\u00a0 Some people are happy with the results, some are not, and some are worried.<\/p>\n

The election is in the past and we can\u2019t change what happened.\u00a0 We need to look forward.\u00a0 When I say forward, I don\u2019t mean the next election (I just heard on Thursday night somebody in the news talk about a candidate for the president in the next election).\u00a0 The next election will come.<\/p>\n

Now is not a time to make plans for the next election.\u00a0 We need to work together.\u00a0 At this point, we all need to seek to come together for the common good.<\/p>\n

What did I say I hope you do for me as your pastor?\u00a0 I hope you pray for me to lead not as you want but as God wants.<\/p>\n

We need to do the same for all our political leaders at all levels.\u00a0 We need to pray that all leaders set aside any personal agendas or ideologies in favor of the common good as God defines it.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter if we like them or agree with them.\u00a0 We must pray for them<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Leadership is not about power.\u00a0 It is not about wealth.\u00a0 It is not about being famous.\u00a0 Leaders need to always be about service.\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 Crucifixion is the perfect example of this.\u00a0 Jesus died not for his own gain but for us.\u00a0 May we put the service of others in the name of Jesus among our highest priorities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christ the King, Year C 2 Samuel 5:1-3 Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5 Colossians 1:12-20 Luke 23:35-43 November 20, 2016 Until the days when Saul became king, Israel had not had a king.\u00a0 There were leaders known as \u201cjudges\u201d who lead the community.\u00a0 The people asked God to give them a king.\u00a0 Saul became the first …<\/p>\n

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