Feast of Christ the King (Lk. 23:35-43) “The Servant King”
Feast of Christ the King (Lk. 23:35-43) “The Servant King”
When we were children, many of us liked to play “king of the hill.” In the winter, this was very popular in my neighborhood because there would be large piles of snow on a nearby parking lot. Instinctually, we were drawn to standing above everyone else, being alone at the top of the pile of snow for that made us feel superior. It would have been counter intuitive to let someone else be in the dominant place. Being the king was great. You felt the inebriation of power.
We don’t lose that hunger for dominance as we live our life. We might reflect today on the fact there are two kinds of kings. One is the king who believes they have a divine right to be king. Because of an accident of birth, they are more important than other people. Another type of king is a servant leader. Such a king doesn’t believe that they’re more important because of the royal blood that courses through their veins, but they’re important because of the fact that they can make their subjects lives better by their actions. Perhaps the servant leader believes that real power comes not from aggression, but from the ability to extend mercy.
Schindler’s list is a movie about the holocaust that came out about thirty years ago. Two men are the main characters. One is a German officer named Amon Goth. The other is a man named Oskar Schindler. Goth is sent to Krakow during WWII to build a concentration camp for Jews. Schindler is an entrepreneur who is trying to make money by producing war supplies. He comes to Krakow for that purpose. He makes a deal with Goth that allows him to use Jews as slave labor in his factory.
Goth is a psychopath that enjoys killing people. He has a house overlooking the death camp. He amuses himself by shooting prisoners from his front porch which overlooks the camp. He feels it is powerful because he can kill people in cold blood. Oskar Schindler is shocked by Goth’s lack of conscience. He tries to convince Goth that real power comes from extending mercy. Goth is intrigued by the idea, but always goes back to murdering people. Schindler has the power to keep people as slaves, but he ends up giving away his fortune to save the Jews that work for him. His mission is to use his fortune to give people a new lease on life. He ends up giving all his money in ransom for the Jewish lives.
As we commemorate the Feast of Christ the King, we contemplate Jesus, the Son of God who has unlimited power, but sets his omnipotence aside to come to join the human race. The second chapter of Paul’s Letter to the Philippians reminds us what type of King Jesus was as well as why we honor Jesus.
“He was known to be of human estate, and it was thus that he humbled himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross! Because of this, God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name above every other name, so that Jesus’ name means every knee must bend in the heavens and on the earth, and every tongue proclaim to the glory of God the Father: Jesus Christ is Lord!”
A King that gives away their power is a ruler this world doesn’t understand. Such a king is a fool. And that is how the powerful felt about Jesus. We hear about how the Jewish ruling class, the Romans, a criminal who died next to Jesus, mocked him. “If you are so powerful save yourself,” they say. The only person who recognizes that Jesus has willingly handed over his power is the good thief. He sees what is really happening. Jesus chose to identify with the suffering humanity. He wouldn’t use his power to save himself. Such a move would have affirmed the values of the world. The world says we must stay atop the hill at all costs. We do most anything to stay there, even brutal things.
Jesus wouldn’t selfishly seek glory for himself, nor would he use the violence he could have. He handed himself over to show what is true sovereignty in the eyes of God. The spiritual challenge for us is whether we can hand ourselves over for the good of others so we can achieve a higher consciousness. Is Christ the King that we follow? Can we take the illogical path that leads to great holiness? If we can see the value of what Jesus did, we will then understand the mind of God.
Reflection Questions:
1. Do I willing hand over the power I have over others? Do I respect people who do?
2. Can I appreciate what Jesus did when he came into the world? How would I describe his selflessness to others?
Dear Parishioners,
Welcome to the Advent Season. Advent is a Latin word that means, loosely, “He is coming.” We are reminded in Advent of the three comings of Christ. He came to us in time when he was born in time. He will come to us at the end of all time. Jesus also comes to us every day in all the people that we meet. Everyone is Jesus coming to us to us in the flesh.
We always need to be prepared to meet the Lord. Sacred Heart is offering several spiritual helps this Advent to assist us in our preparation. The first, is daily Mass. Each day of Advent we have at least one Mass at our parish. Most of the time we have two. Reflections on the Advent readings from the Liturgy of the Eucharist is a great way to prepare to meet the Lord. Our National Council of Catholic Bishops has designated the next couple years as a time of Eucharistic Renewal.
Many of us might have grown lax in their Mass attendance. The Eucharist is supposed to be the “source and summit” of the Christian life. It is central to our faith if we are going to take up the ongoing challenge of following Jesus. The Eucharist is most importantly the Eucharistic action. Secondarily, it is Eucharistic devotions like processions, adoration and benediction. All the devotions are suppose to lead us back to reception of the living bread and life giving cup at the Eucharistic table.
I would encourage everyone to consider how you might participate in the Eucharist more during Advent. If we all do, we will be better prepared to meet Jesus when he comes to us.
May Our Lady who waited patiently for the advent of Jesus pray for us.
Fr. Mark