Homily for November 26, 2006

By Fr. Stephen Jarrell

Christ the King

 

 

INTRODUCTION

A.     Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain made an announcement recently that she will be making a visit to the U.S. next May to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the establishment of Jamestown.

B.     Kings and Queens rarely make the headlines these days.

C.     But they have gotten a lot of attention in the movies.

  1. Think of all the heart-stopping heroes in The Lion King and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
  2. In each of these stories, their courage, compassion, and faithfulness are celebrated.

 

 

CHRIST OUR KING

A.     In truth, we have a King—Jesus Christ—who surpasses in goodness and glory all of these.

  1. In the Book of Revelation (Rev. 1), he is described as the “faithful witness” and the one who “loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.”
  2. He is also identified as the “Alpha and Omega”—the beginning and end of our lives.
  3. The Book of Daniel (Dan. 7) says: “All peoples, nations, and languages serve him…and his dominion shall last forever.”
  4. We rightly honor Christ our King in today’s liturgy.
  5. But we also need to honor him daily by living in ways that prove his dominion over us.

 

B.     When the apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation, it was during a time of persecution.

  1. The Roman Emperor Domitian insisted that he be revered as Lord and God.
  2. Statues of his likeness were erected throughout the empire.
  3. Many Christians refused to burn incense in worship before his likeness.
  4. The apostle encouraged Christians to proclaim their loyalties to a greater King—Jesus Christ, “ruler of the kings of the earth.”

 

C.     Today’s feast asks us:

  1. To whom or what do we give our allegiance?
  2. What holds dominion over us?
  3. At what altars do we burn incense and bow down in worship—the media, the marketplace, work, ourselves?

 

 

 

D.     Today’s Gospel (Jn. 18) depicts Jesus standing before Pilate.

  1. There is great drama in the conversation, and one can imagine how Pilate is threatened by the suggestion that Jesus might consider himself to be a king.
  2. Jesus did not deny he was a king, but he said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world.”
  3. This doesn’t mean that Jesus’ kingdom exists only in heaven.
  4. Remember that in John’s Gospel, the word “world” has special significance.
  5. It refers to those who choose to live in darkness and falsehood.
  6. Jesus tells Pilate, “I came into the world to testify to the truth; everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
  7. To be a faithful disciple of Christ and his kingdom is to be a servant of the truth.
  8. To allow the truth of the Gospel to shape our lives.
  9. To allow the light of his truth to cast an honest light on how we live.
  10. That truth leads us to act in our world and to shape it according to God’s plan.

 

 

CONCLUSION

A.     At every Mass we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come.”

  1. We aren’t just praying about the end of the world or Jesus’ second coming.
  2. We are also praying for God’s reign to be with us here and now.

 

B.     In truth, we know God’s rule is not established everywhere on this planet—it’s up to us to make that happen.