The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Over the last two years, the Vatican has been in secret meetings. As intriguing this may sound, the purpose was reconciliation. The Vatican hosted meeting between the United States and Cuba to end five decades of political enmity. Finally on July 1, 2015, US and Cuba reestablished diplomatic relationship after more than fifty years. Just this week, news also broke that Cuba pardoned 787 prisoners in response to a call by Pope Francis to consider granting amnesty to prisoners. As usual, the entire issue has supporters and opposers. Most people had admired the Pope’s role but others have criticized him, saying, that the Church should stay out of politics.
What might be the connection between the Vatican secretly facilitating talks between two political enemies and the Feast of Christ the King? What does the church has to do with global geopolitical affairs? Everything! If Christ is indeed king of the universe, then no human endeavor is outside its realm. In fact, the establishment of this feast in 1925 by Pope Pius XI was as much a religious move as it was a geopolitical move. It was instituted between the two World Wars. It was the Church’s effort to reconcile and unite Europe under the banner of gospel values. In some ways the Church succeeded and in other ways she failed. The bottomline is this: the church has an obligation is to challenge the world with gospel values. Let us turn to the readings the Church has chosen for today, to understand the practical implications of the feast for us and the world.
1. The Cross Stand for Peace. The scene in the gospel reading describes the weakest and most powerless moments of Christ’s life - Jesus hanging on the cross. The cross and the person hanging on the cross stand for mercy, reconciliation and peace. Today, the greatest weapon of the Evil One is the opposite of what the cross stands for - disunity and strife. In families, between political parties, between liberals and conservatives, between Russia and the United States, between Christians and Muslims, between Muslims and Jews, between the rich and the poor, between white and black, between immigrants and citizens, between traditionalists and progressives – the cross of Christ continues to stand. We are Christians. We stand under the banner of the cross. If we are faithful disciples of Jesus, then, we must make sure that the humility, the self-sacrifice, the forgiveness, the mercy, and the reconciliation of Christ does not lose its power in today’s world. That is the very reason why this feast was instituted. This is what Pope Francis accomplished between the US and Cuba.
2. The Kingdom is the Heart of God. If Christ is King then Christ must have a Kingdom. Jesus said to the second criminal, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” What is this Kingdom? Where is this Paradise? The answer to these questions is simple: Christ’s Kingdom is the ever expanding and eternally loving heart of God. One day each of us hopes to find an eternal place in God’s eternal heart – this heart that beats with limitless love, life and peace. Christ has laid the way for us to get there – through the cross. We will find a place in God’s heart if today the humility, the self-sacrifice, the forgiveness, the love, and the reconciliation of Christ finds a place in our heart. Our heart must be an extension of God’s Kingdom. The human heart is God’s domain. The human heart is where God Kingdom reigns. The humility, the self-sacrifice, the forgiveness, the love, and the reconciliation of Christ must reign in our hearts. To the extent it does, Jesus says to us as well, “You will be with me in paradise.”
3. Kingdom of the Cross. There is yet another question that today’s gospel raises. “Why is Christ’s Kingdom so tightly tied up with the cross? Why is Christ not like any other king or today’s political leaders? The answer to this question can be found both in Christ’s silence and the breaking of his silence in today’s gospel. When the rules sneered at him, when the soldiers jeered at him and when the first criminal reviled him, Christ kept silent. He was willing to take all the sneering, jeering and reviling without retaliation. On the other hand, when the second criminal asked Christ to remember him in his kingdom, Christ broke his silence and offered him the Kingdom. Both in his silence and his speaking Christ showcased the dignity of the human person in its most fallen condition. In fact, Christ on the cross is an expression of God’s solidarity with people whose dignity is constantly stripped. Jesus’ conversation with the repentant criminal tells us that in our politics, in our economics, in our social planning and in our nation building, we simply cannot strip human persons of their human dignity. This is simply the way of Jesus.
The Feast of Christ the King is the most challenging feast in the liturgical calendar. As we celebrate this Eucharist, we remember that the Christ on the cross is also the Christ of the Eucharist. The King of the universe continues to give himself to us so that the kingdom of God will expand. As we participate in this Eucharist, may we also embrace the implications of the the King of the Universe hanging on a cross!
- Fr. Satish Joseph