The King

Feast of Christ the King C-2 (Thirty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time C-2)

Entrance Antiphon Cf. Ps 85 (84):9 The Lord speaks of peace to his people and his holy ones and to those who turn to him.

Collect Stir up the will of your faithful, we pray, O Lord, that, striving more eagerly to bring your divine work to fruitful completion, they may receive in greater measure the healing remedies your kindness bestows. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Scripture today: 2 Samuel 5:1-3; Psalm 121; Colossians 1:12-20; Luke 23:35-43

And the people stood watching and the rulers with them derided him, saying: He saved others; let him save himself, if he is Christ, the chosen one of God. And the soldiers also mocked him and approached him offering him vinegar, saying: If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. There was also an inscription above him written in Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. And one of those robbers who were hanging there as well insulted him, saying: If you are the Christ, save yourself and us. But the other rebuked him, saying: Do you not fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we are justly sentenced, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done no evil. And he said to Jesus: Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to you, this day you will be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:35-43)

The King It is difficult for the modern period to appreciate how feared the Turkish military might was in the West prior to and during the Reformation period. Many regarded the Turks as close to invincible. However, the tide turned with Lepanto. The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Spain (including its territories of Naples, Sicily and Sardinia), the Republic of Venice, the Papacy, the Republic of Genoa, the Duchy of Savoy, the Knights Hospitaller and others, defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire. The engagement was a significant defeat for the Ottomans, who had not lost a major naval battle for more than a century. While this did not stop the military and naval efforts of the Islamic forces, it constituted a decisive turning point. Especially critical for them was the loss of most of their composite bowmen, which, far beyond ship rams and early firearms, were the Ottoman's most fearsome weapon. British historian John Keegan notes that the losses in this highly specialised class of warrior were irreplaceable in a generation, and in fact began the demise of this particular tradition for the Ottomans. Historian Paul K. Davis has argued that this defeat stopped the Turkish expansion into the Mediterranean, and confidence grew in the West that Turks, previously unstoppable, could be beaten. The slow military decline of the Islamic world can be dated as beginning at Lepanto. Now, what is the purpose of my mentioning this? I use all this merely as an image, a dim analogy to illustrate an aspect of the defeat of sin and Satan effected at Calvary. Up to the intervention of God in choosing for himself a special people to prepare for the coming of the Messiah, the forces of Satan and sin were unbeatable. The Spirit of God continued to hover above the waters and move within the nations, but sin and death had entered the world, and the world awaited a Redeemer. Finally the King of kings arrived, and at the commencement of his public ministry he was confronted by his dark Opposite. The battle was joined, and at Calvary the victory went entirely to the King. It spelled defeat for his Opposite, but till the end, his hateful Opponent will struggle to snatch all he can.

In our Gospel today (Luke 23:35-43), the King of kings hangs from his Cross, jeered as one in ignominious defeat — but it was the greatest victory the world has ever seen. The forces of sin were broken. It will never be the same again, even though Satan and sin will struggle and skirmish unremittingly till their inglorious end. Christ’s reign is still under attack by the evil powers, even though they have been defeated definitively by Christ’s Passover at Calvary. Until everything is subject to him, the pilgrim Church of which we are members, travail while awaiting the full revelation of the triumph of the Kingdom. That is why Christians pray, above all in the holy Eucharist, to hasten Christ’s return by saying to him, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22: 17,20). It is why the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer is that God’s Kingdom will come. It has come in the person of Jesus Christ, but its fullness and perfection is still coming, and the forces that were defeated still fight to get what they can before the end arrives. Let us not be snatched from the hand of the King, then! Entry into the Kingdom is effected by entry into union with Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is found in his Church of which he is the living Head. But according to the Lord, the present time is the time of the Holy Spirit and of witnessing to Jesus, and is a time of “distress.” It is marked by the trial of evil which does not spare the Church. That is to say, while our King has conquered, and while his perfect victory will assuredly come, it is still a time of waiting and watching. Ever since the Ascension, Christ’s coming in glory has been imminent, even though, as he himself said, “it is not for you to know times and seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority” (Acts 1:7). This final coming of the King of kings and Lord of all lords could be accomplished at any moment, even if both it and the final trial spoken of by our Lord are delayed. The kingdom will not be fulfilled by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only through the Cross and through God’s own victory over evil. Though beaten, Satan sustains his hate-filled efforts till the Last Judgment when God will entirely prevail.

Today is the feast of Christ the King, King of kings and Lord of lords. On him has been conferred all authority in heaven and on earth. The field is won, but the enemy fights on, getting what he can before being overtaken completely at the last. So we must every day take our stand with our King, with him who has loved us to the end. We must resolve to serve him and to follow him, doing all we can to make disciples of all the nations so that he will be acknowledged as the King. Let Jesus Christ reign, then! To him be the power and the glory forever! He once hung from the Cross, defeated, but entirely the Victor. He will come again as Lord and Judge, and then his kingdom will have no end. Let us stand by him then, and give every day to him.

(E.J.Tyler)

Further reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church, no.2855-2856 (The Final Doxology); 1130 (The Sacraments of Eternal Life); 671-674 (The Glorious Advent of Christ).

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A Second Reflection: (Luke 23:35-43)

The Example of Dismas Today we have before us the thought of Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords, hanging on the cross. There from the cross he invites us recognize him as our King, the King who redeemed us on his cross. We are sinners in need of redemption, and in today’s gospel we have a marvellous model in the one who died at his side. He has popularly been given the name of Dismas, the Good Thief. I invite you to meditate on Dismas turning to Jesus as his King. Jesus was on the cross dying for the sins of mankind, while Dismas was on the cross, suffering for his own sins. He said to the other criminal that the two of them deserved what they got, but that Jesus had done nothing wrong. He recognized that he was a sinner and accepted as deserved the sufferings he was undergoing. He feared God. Between the two criminals was Jesus who was suffering for the sins of Dismas himself and for the whole world. But notice this: Dismas recognized that the dying Jesus was the Messiah, and he turned to him as his King. How did he come to do this?

Our Lord said on one occasion, “No one comes to me unless the Father draws him.” We remember what our Lord said to Simon Peter on another occasion: “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in Heaven.” Dismas was led to recognize Jesus by God the Father, who led him by a grace to which he responded. So he turned to Jesus, and what a wonderful request this dying criminal then made! He said to him “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He recognized that Jesus, dying on the cross, was the long awaited Messiah, the King, who would establish God’s kingdom. And he recognized that this dying Messiah was about to enter his Kingdom! And he also witnessed to the greatness of Jesus in what he said about him to his fellow criminal: This man has done nothing wrong! Then turning to Jesus he asked him to remember him when he came into his kingdom. He asked for the gift of salvation from Jesus. He was the first fruit of the Crucifixion. Jesus said to him, “Indeed, I promise you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” By contrast, the other criminal joined in the abuse of Jesus. Lacking a sense of sin and a fear of God, he did not recognize Jesus as the Redeemer, nor did he ask for salvation. We do not know whether he was saved, but we are absolutely certain that Dismas was.

\ Today on the feast of Christ the King, let us think of Jesus our King nailed to the cross, winning for each of us a place in his kingdom. Let us turn to him in the manner of Dismas, acknowledging that we are sinners, and asking him to lead us to holiness and to a place in his kingdom. Let us daily struggle for Jesus against the world, the flesh and the devil, and reach heaven in company with all others whom God places in our way. Let us make Jesus our King.

(E.J.Tyler)

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