Reflection for the Solemnity of Christ the King 2015

We do have a
King.

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming amid the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. All the peoples of the earth will lament him. Yes. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, ” says the Lord God, “the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.”

We have a bit of a problem as Christians.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is before Pilate. Jesus stands His ground and tells Pilate about His kingdom. He tells Pilate the purpose of His coming – “to testify to the truth.”

Our “bit of a problem” is that when we describe Jesus as our King we often times, both in words and visually, describe Him as a humble King. His head is bowed, He looks meek and frankly – weak.

This image can be compounded further because our Church has a democratic tradition in its management. We also live in a democratic society and take our liberties seriously. We tend to prefer our King to be meek and weak.

To help us fully appreciate the Kingship of Jesus – His formal and official Office as our King – the Holy Church gives us this Solemnity. We need to take this opportunity to fix our perspective, to adjust our vision to see Jesus as the One who has absolute authority to rule and reign over us. The Magi and Pilate called Him King. Jesus comes to Jerusalem as the gentle and humble King riding on a donkey – a symbol of a king arriving in peace. In the days to come, with the arrival of the fullness of His Kingdom, He will come astride a white horse. The King astride a horse is a symbol of a king arriving in power to judge and wage war.

The “Kingdom of God” is noted at least sixty-six times in the New Testament, most of the references are in the Gospels. Jesus proclaims: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.” Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come . . .”

We should have no doubt, Jesus is our King and we owe Him total loyalty, obedience, worship, and adoration. While the time is here we need to greet Him as the King who came in peace to free us and accept His forgiveness and His Lordship. We need to receive Him in awe and reverence for LORD! We are not worthy. It is time for us to recognize that we need to give Him the Lordship and power over our lives – for “To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever!”

Reflection for the Solemnity of Christ the King

Do you know a good podiatrist?
My Achilles is bothering me.

“His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, His kingship shall not be destroyed.”

We may recall the myth of Achilles from our school days.

The gods gave Achilles’ mother a choice as to how her son’s life should be: short but glorious or long but obscure. Fearing for her son’s safety, Achilles’ mother chose long but obscure. His mother also bargained with the gods for additional protection from harm. They told her to immerse Achilles in the waters of the Styx River, which would immunize him from all harm. His mother did this, holding onto Achilles by the ankle. Of course, this part of the boy did not receive the protection of the gods, and proved to be Achilles downfall. Achilles died after being shot in the ankle by Paris’ arrow during the battle of Troy.

From this mythology we derive the term Achilles heel. It is the weakness, the failings we all have. We certainly have many positive and wonderful qualities, certain skills and talents, those things (and there are many) that make us special. We also know that we have that Achilles heel, the particular sin, shortcoming, or weakness that might well prove to be our downfall.

For podiatrists, the Achilles tendon is the tendon of in the back of the leg that attaches the calf muscles to the heel bone. Injuries to this tendon can require long healing time and rehabilitation.

We set aside this Sunday to recognize and celebrate the kingship of Christ. What does Achilles have to do with the kingship of Jesus?

It is in this: That Jesus as Lord and King of all things, and most particularly of our hearts and souls, has the power to overcome our Achilles heels.

Our Achilles heels lead to injury, in ourselves and in others. We might not even recognize our Achilles heels! We may think we are relatively ok.

The reality is we all lay unprotected, vulnerable, injured, in need to healing and rehabilitation. When we recognize this we might try to fix it ourselves, but that is not possible. Rather we need to throw ourselves on the mercy of our King, relying on Him. With Him we have the grace to overcome as well as His healing.

Our King, Jesus Christ, is the absolute guarantor of protection, of healing, renewal, and eternal life. Our lives will not be long and uneventful with Him. Making Him the Lord, worshiping, adoring, relying on, and serving Him, fixes every weakness in us, and gives us unending life in His Kingdom.