Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Lectionary: 162
Lectionary: 162
In
those days, all the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said:
"Here we are, your bone and your flesh.
In days past, when Saul was our king,
it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back.
And the LORD said to you,
'You shall shepherd my people Israel
and shall be commander of Israel.'"
When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron,
King David made an agreement with them there before the LORD,
and they anointed him king of Israel.
"Here we are, your bone and your flesh.
In days past, when Saul was our king,
it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back.
And the LORD said to you,
'You shall shepherd my people Israel
and shall be commander of Israel.'"
When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron,
King David made an agreement with them there before the LORD,
and they anointed him king of Israel.
Responsorial
PsalmPS
122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5
R.
(cf. 1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Reading
2COL
1:12-20
Brothers
and sisters:
Let us give thanks to the Father,
who has made you fit to share
in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.
He delivered us from the power of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
Let us give thanks to the Father,
who has made you fit to share
in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.
He delivered us from the power of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
GospelLK 23:35-43
The
rulers sneered at Jesus and said,
"He saved others, let him save himself
if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God."
Even the soldiers jeered at him.
As they approached to offer him wine they called out,
"If you are King of the Jews, save yourself."
Above him there was an inscription that read,
"This is the King of the Jews."
Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying,
"Are you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us."
The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply,
"Have you no fear of God,
for you are subject to the same condemnation?
And indeed, we have been condemned justly,
for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes,
but this man has done nothing criminal."
Then he said,
"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
He replied to him,
"Amen, I say to you,
today you will be with me in Paradise."
"He saved others, let him save himself
if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God."
Even the soldiers jeered at him.
As they approached to offer him wine they called out,
"If you are King of the Jews, save yourself."
Above him there was an inscription that read,
"This is the King of the Jews."
Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying,
"Are you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us."
The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply,
"Have you no fear of God,
for you are subject to the same condemnation?
And indeed, we have been condemned justly,
for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes,
but this man has done nothing criminal."
Then he said,
"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
He replied to him,
"Amen, I say to you,
today you will be with me in Paradise."
Scripture
Study
November
24, 2013 Christ the King
This
Sunday is the 34th and last Sunday in Ordinary Time which, since 1970, has been
celebrated as the Feast of Christ the King. As we reach the end of the
liturgical year, the Lectionary calls us to examine the role of Jesus as King
of the Heavenly Kingdom and as King in our own lives. The first reading ties
the concept of Kingship with the notion of shepherding the people. The second
reading provides an example of an early Christian hymn of praise to our King
and Lord. The gospel connects Jesus' reign as King with His death on the cross.
It was precisely at His crucifixion that Jesus began His reign as King. What
relevance does Christ's Kingship have to our day-to-day lives? Do we make the
kingdom of God present to others where we are?
First Reading: 2 Samuel 5: 1-3
1 All the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said: "Here we are, your bone and your flesh. 2 In days past, when Saul was our king, it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back. And the LORD said to you, 'You shall shepherd my people Israel and shall be commander of Israel.'" 3 When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron, King David made an agreement with them there before the LORD, and they anointed him king of Israel.
NOTES on First Reading:
* 5:1 Here David makes a treaty directly with the elders of Israel and becomes head of both the northern and southern coalitions simultaneously. Seeking leaders from outside of the conflicting factions was a common way of resolving leadership crises such as had occurred in Israel. The tribes of Israel are united in David, their common leader and king.
* 5:2 "Leading out and bringing in" is the description of a shepherd's work. Thus David is portrayed as a pastoral leader, "the shepherd of Israel." He is clearly a prefigurement of Jesus the true "Shepherd of Israel."
* 5:3 This is one of several anointings of David. Each story describes the particular anointing that it portrays as if it were the first and only anointing of David. See 1 Samuel 16:1-13 and 2 Samuel 2:4.
Second Reading: Colossians 1: 12-20
12 Give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light. 13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16 For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18 He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
19 For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
20 and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross (through him), whether those on earth or those in heaven.
NOTES on Second Reading:
* 1:15-20 These six verses are an independent unit that constitute a primitive Christian hymn. Some have held that the hymn started out as a Gnostic hymn rather than a Christian one. Differences in style, vocabulary and thought between this hymn and the rest of Colossians as well as other Pauline letters indicate that the author of Colossians did not compose it. Rather, he adapted an all ready existing composition made up of "traditional" material. Many, perhaps most modern scholars hold that a disciple of the Pauline tradition of theological thought wrote Colossians. The background of the hymn includes Gen 1:1 and Prove 8:22 as well as Jewish ideas related to the Day of Atonement.
* 1:15-16 The theme here is the role of Christ in creation. This is a fairly direct allusion to the wisdom motifs in the Old Testament such as Prov 3:19; 8:22-31; Wis 7:22; 9:2-4. Christ is described as the image of God in Rom 8:29; 1 Cor 11:7; 15:49; 2 Cor 3:18. "Thrones, dominions, principalities or powers" are taken to be angelic beings in Colossians. Elsewhere they are taken to be earthly powers (2 Pet 2:10; Jude 8). The error of the Colossians may have been to consider them as rivals to or supplementary powers to Christ rather than as subject to Him. This would have come out of a Gnostic understanding applied to the complex Jewish angelology of the time. "Thrones" appears nowhere else in the New Testament as a name for angelic beings.
* 1:17 Reflecting the Wisdom speculations of the Hellenistic Jews, Christ is presented as preexistent. (See Wisdom 7:22)
* 1:18 The phrase, "the church", was added by a redactor (editor) sometime after the letter was initially written. The addition was intended to remove Christ from the context of Gnostic speculation.
* 1:19 Among the Gnostics, "fullness" meant the whole body of heavenly powers and spiritual emanations that came forth from God. If the letter was written to counteract the false teachings of the Gnostics then the writer is telling them that there is no other place to look for power, knowledge or God than Jesus. The fullness of God is in Christ.
Gospel Reading: Luke 23: 35-43
35 The people stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, "He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God." 36 Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine 37 they called out, "If you are King of the Jews, save yourself." 38 Above him there was an inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews." 39 Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us." 40 The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? 41 And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." 42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." 43 He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
NOTES on Gospel Reading:
* 23:35-39 There is a downward progression in the characters who humiliate Jesus: religious leaders soldiers criminal. Luke places titles of Jesus in the mouths of His enemies as taunts against Him but in each case there is an irony in that the statement meant as a taunt is in fact true (v 35, chosen one, Messiah; v 37, king; v 38, king; v 39, Messiah).
* 23:35 Luke, as he often does, expresses a contrast between the "people" who contemplate the meaning of the "last" events of Jesus life and the religious leaders who scoff at Jesus. The "people" will be inspired by what they see and will be moved to repent of their rejection of Jesus (23:13-25) while the leaders will remain hardened against Him. Psalm 22:7-8 and Wisdom 2:18 provide the Old Testament backdrop. The word, "saved" becomes a refrain of taunting repeated in Vs 37 and 39.
* 23:39-43 The story of the penitent thief is found only in Luke's gospel. The penitent sinner receives salvation through the crucified Jesus.
* 23:40 In this verse the repentant thief seems to be identifying Jesus with God.
* 23:41 The theme of Jesus' innocence is repeated.
* 23:42 Luke's theology of the cross is well expressed here. In Luke's thought, Jesus begins His rule as King by His death and resurrection. The repentant thief has faith that the dying Jesus is truly a king and can dispense pardon and mercy as only a king can.
* 23:43 Jesus declares the criminal free of his sin. Use of the word "today" is often symbolic in the gospel and refers not only to the today of the story's occurrence but also to the today of the story's being read. Jesus' words to the penitent thief reveal Luke's understanding that the destiny of the Christian is "to be with Jesus." For Luke this "being with Jesus" begins in the community with His table fellowship with sinners and in restoring the formerly unclean to their families and friends.
First Reading: 2 Samuel 5: 1-3
1 All the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said: "Here we are, your bone and your flesh. 2 In days past, when Saul was our king, it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back. And the LORD said to you, 'You shall shepherd my people Israel and shall be commander of Israel.'" 3 When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron, King David made an agreement with them there before the LORD, and they anointed him king of Israel.
NOTES on First Reading:
* 5:1 Here David makes a treaty directly with the elders of Israel and becomes head of both the northern and southern coalitions simultaneously. Seeking leaders from outside of the conflicting factions was a common way of resolving leadership crises such as had occurred in Israel. The tribes of Israel are united in David, their common leader and king.
* 5:2 "Leading out and bringing in" is the description of a shepherd's work. Thus David is portrayed as a pastoral leader, "the shepherd of Israel." He is clearly a prefigurement of Jesus the true "Shepherd of Israel."
* 5:3 This is one of several anointings of David. Each story describes the particular anointing that it portrays as if it were the first and only anointing of David. See 1 Samuel 16:1-13 and 2 Samuel 2:4.
Second Reading: Colossians 1: 12-20
12 Give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light. 13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16 For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18 He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
19 For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
20 and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross (through him), whether those on earth or those in heaven.
NOTES on Second Reading:
* 1:15-20 These six verses are an independent unit that constitute a primitive Christian hymn. Some have held that the hymn started out as a Gnostic hymn rather than a Christian one. Differences in style, vocabulary and thought between this hymn and the rest of Colossians as well as other Pauline letters indicate that the author of Colossians did not compose it. Rather, he adapted an all ready existing composition made up of "traditional" material. Many, perhaps most modern scholars hold that a disciple of the Pauline tradition of theological thought wrote Colossians. The background of the hymn includes Gen 1:1 and Prove 8:22 as well as Jewish ideas related to the Day of Atonement.
* 1:15-16 The theme here is the role of Christ in creation. This is a fairly direct allusion to the wisdom motifs in the Old Testament such as Prov 3:19; 8:22-31; Wis 7:22; 9:2-4. Christ is described as the image of God in Rom 8:29; 1 Cor 11:7; 15:49; 2 Cor 3:18. "Thrones, dominions, principalities or powers" are taken to be angelic beings in Colossians. Elsewhere they are taken to be earthly powers (2 Pet 2:10; Jude 8). The error of the Colossians may have been to consider them as rivals to or supplementary powers to Christ rather than as subject to Him. This would have come out of a Gnostic understanding applied to the complex Jewish angelology of the time. "Thrones" appears nowhere else in the New Testament as a name for angelic beings.
* 1:17 Reflecting the Wisdom speculations of the Hellenistic Jews, Christ is presented as preexistent. (See Wisdom 7:22)
* 1:18 The phrase, "the church", was added by a redactor (editor) sometime after the letter was initially written. The addition was intended to remove Christ from the context of Gnostic speculation.
* 1:19 Among the Gnostics, "fullness" meant the whole body of heavenly powers and spiritual emanations that came forth from God. If the letter was written to counteract the false teachings of the Gnostics then the writer is telling them that there is no other place to look for power, knowledge or God than Jesus. The fullness of God is in Christ.
Gospel Reading: Luke 23: 35-43
35 The people stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, "He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God." 36 Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine 37 they called out, "If you are King of the Jews, save yourself." 38 Above him there was an inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews." 39 Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us." 40 The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? 41 And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." 42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." 43 He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
NOTES on Gospel Reading:
* 23:35-39 There is a downward progression in the characters who humiliate Jesus: religious leaders soldiers criminal. Luke places titles of Jesus in the mouths of His enemies as taunts against Him but in each case there is an irony in that the statement meant as a taunt is in fact true (v 35, chosen one, Messiah; v 37, king; v 38, king; v 39, Messiah).
* 23:35 Luke, as he often does, expresses a contrast between the "people" who contemplate the meaning of the "last" events of Jesus life and the religious leaders who scoff at Jesus. The "people" will be inspired by what they see and will be moved to repent of their rejection of Jesus (23:13-25) while the leaders will remain hardened against Him. Psalm 22:7-8 and Wisdom 2:18 provide the Old Testament backdrop. The word, "saved" becomes a refrain of taunting repeated in Vs 37 and 39.
* 23:39-43 The story of the penitent thief is found only in Luke's gospel. The penitent sinner receives salvation through the crucified Jesus.
* 23:40 In this verse the repentant thief seems to be identifying Jesus with God.
* 23:41 The theme of Jesus' innocence is repeated.
* 23:42 Luke's theology of the cross is well expressed here. In Luke's thought, Jesus begins His rule as King by His death and resurrection. The repentant thief has faith that the dying Jesus is truly a king and can dispense pardon and mercy as only a king can.
* 23:43 Jesus declares the criminal free of his sin. Use of the word "today" is often symbolic in the gospel and refers not only to the today of the story's occurrence but also to the today of the story's being read. Jesus' words to the penitent thief reveal Luke's understanding that the destiny of the Christian is "to be with Jesus." For Luke this "being with Jesus" begins in the community with His table fellowship with sinners and in restoring the formerly unclean to their families and friends.
Meditation: "This
is the King of the Jews"
Do
you recognize that the Lord Jesus has been given full authority and power to
rule over the earth as well as heaven? Jesus was crucified for his
claim to be the Messianic King who would rule not only over his people Israel
but ultimately over all the nations as well. What is the significance or
meaning of Jesus' kingship for us? Kingship today seems antiquated, especially
in democratic societies where everyone is treated equal and free. God at first
did not want to give his people Israel a king. Why? Because God alone was their
King and they needed no other. Nonetheless, God relented and promised his
people that through David's line he would establish a kingship that would last
for eternity (Psalm 89:29). The Jews understood that the Messiah would come as
king to establish God's reign for them. They wanted a king who would free them
from tyranny and from foreign domination. Many had high hopes that Jesus would
be the Messianic king. Little did they understand what kind of kingship Jesus
claimed to have. Jesus came to conquer hearts and souls for an imperishable
kingdom, rather than to conquer perishable lands and entitlements.
When
Satan tempted Jesus during his forty day fast in the wilderness, he offered
Jesus all the kingdoms of the world (Matthew 4:8-9). Jesus knew that the world
was in Satan's power. And this was precisely why Jesus came – to overthrow
Satan's power and rulership over the earth. Jesus knew that the way to victory
was through submission to his Father's will and through the sacrificial
offering of his life upon the cross for the sins of the world. As Jesus was
dying on the cross, he was mocked for his claim to kingship. Nonetheless, he
died not only as King of the Jews, but as King of the nations as well. His
victory over the power of sin, Satan, and the world, was accomplished through
his death on the cross and his resurrection. Jesus exchanged a throne of glory
for a cross of shame to restore us from slavery to sin to glory with God as his
adopted sons and daughters. In the Book of Revelations Jesus is called King
of kings and Lord and lords (Rev. 19:16). Do you recognize Jesus
Christ as your King and Lord?
The
scriptures present us with the choice between two kingdoms – the kingdom of
light and the kingdom of darkness. The choice is ours. Which kingdom do you
serve? God's kingdom remains forever because it is built on the foundation of
God's eternal love and justice. To accept Jesus as Lord and King is to enter a
kingdom that will last forever where righteousness, peace, truth, and love
dwell. Is your life submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?
"Lord
Jesus Christ, you are my King and there is no other. Be the Lord and Master of
my heart. May all that I do be pleasing to you and serve the best interests of
my neighbor as well."
SOLEMNITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST THE KING
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24, LUKE 23:35-43
(2 Samuel 5:1-3; Psalm 122; Colossians 1:12-20)
(2 Samuel 5:1-3; Psalm 122; Colossians 1:12-20)
KEY VERSE: "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise" (v 43).
READING: After Jesus was arrested, Pontius Pilate questioned him, asking, "Are you the King of the Jews?" [John 18:33]. Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world" (v 36). Then Pilate handed him over to be crucified on a hill outside of the city of Jerusalem named "Calvary" or the "Skull Place" ("Golgotha" in Aramaic). Over Jesus' head was an inscription: "This is the King of the Jews" (Latin: INRI - Iesus Nazorean Rex Iudaeorum). Jesus prayed to his Father to forgive those who acted out of ignorance. The crowds watched passively while the leaders and soldiers mocked him, asking, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, the chosen one" (v 35). Jesus was crucified between two criminals (only Luke reports their words). One of the men reviled Jesus. The second criminal confessed his own guilt and asked to be remembered when Jesus came into his kingdom. Jesus assured the condemned man that he would receive salvation that very day. What seemed to be a defeat in the eyes of the world was a victory in God's sight.
REFLECTING: What does Christ's kingship mean to you in today's world?
PRAYING: Jesus, remember me when I come into your kingdom.
Let us go rejoicing to the house of
the Lord.
The Eucharistic celebration of Jesus as king opens with such words as power, divinity, wisdom and strength before moving on to speak of truth and life, holiness and grace, justice, love and peace, to convey the essence of his reign. In the gospel, we read of the inscription above Jesus as he died. The reign of Jesus in the world, extending as it does from creation to redemption, touches our lives both through his divine kingship and the mockery of being labelled King of the Jews in death. Ultimately, his kingship is not a matter of power and might but of bestowing on all nations the gifts of unity and peace. We pray today that troubled people of the world will open their lives to his reign.
www.churchresources.info
November 24
St. Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions
St. Andrew was one of 117 people martyred in Vietnam
between 1820 and 1862. Members of this group were beatified on four different
occasions between 1900 and 1951. Now all have been canonized by Blessed
John Paul II.
Christianity
came to Vietnam (then three separate kingdoms) through the Portuguese. Jesuits
opened the first permanent mission at Da Nang in 1615. They ministered to
Japanese Catholics who had been driven from Japan.
The king
of one of the kingdoms banned all foreign missionaries and tried to make all
Vietnamese deny their faith by trampling on a crucifix. Like the priest-holes
in Ireland during English persecution, many hiding places were offered in homes
of the faithful.
Severe
persecutions were again launched three times in the 19th century. During the
six decades after 1820, between 100,000 and 300,000 Catholics were killed or
subjected to great hardship. Foreign missionaries martyred in the first wave
included priests of the Paris Mission Society, and Spanish Dominican priests
and tertiaries.
Persecution
broke out again in 1847 when the emperor suspected foreign missionaries and
Vietnamese Christians of sympathizing with a rebellion led by of one of
his sons.
The last
of the martyrs were 17 laypersons, one of them a 9-year-old, executed in 1862.
That year a treaty with France guaranteed religious freedom to Catholics, but
it did not stop all persecution.
By 1954
there were over a million and a half Catholics—about seven percent of the
population—in the north. Buddhists represented about 60 percent. Persistent
persecution forced some 670,000 Catholics to abandon lands, homes and
possessions and flee to the south. In 1964, there were still 833,000 Catholics
in the north, but many were in prison. In the south, Catholics were enjoying
the first decade of religious freedom in centuries, their numbers swelled by
refugees.
During
the Vietnamese war, Catholics again suffered in the north, and again moved to
the south in great numbers. Now the whole country is under Communist rule.
Comment:
It may help a people who associate Vietnam only with a 20th-century war to realize that the cross has long been a part of the lives of the people of that country. Even as some people ask again the unanswered questions about United States involvement and disengagement, the faith rooted in Vietnam's soil proves hardier than the forces which would destroy it.
It may help a people who associate Vietnam only with a 20th-century war to realize that the cross has long been a part of the lives of the people of that country. Even as some people ask again the unanswered questions about United States involvement and disengagement, the faith rooted in Vietnam's soil proves hardier than the forces which would destroy it.
Quote:
“The Church in Vietnam is alive and vigorous, blessed with strong and faithful bishops, dedicated religious, and courageous and committed laypeople.... The Church in Vietnam is living out the gospel in a difficult and complex situation with remarkable persistence and strength” (statement of three U.S. archbishops returning from Vietnam in January 1989).
www.americancatholic.org“The Church in Vietnam is alive and vigorous, blessed with strong and faithful bishops, dedicated religious, and courageous and committed laypeople.... The Church in Vietnam is living out the gospel in a difficult and complex situation with remarkable persistence and strength” (statement of three U.S. archbishops returning from Vietnam in January 1989).
LECTIO: CHRIST
THE KING (C)
Lectio:
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Jesus the King of the Jews
A King different from the kings of the earth
A King different from the kings of the earth
Luke 23, 35-43
Opening prayer
Shaddai, God of the mountain,
You who make of our fragile life
the rock of your dwelling place,
lead our mind
to strike the rock of the desert,
so that water may gush to quench our thirst.
May the poverty of our feelings
cover us as with a mantle in the darkness of the night
and may it open our heart to hear the echo of silence
until the dawn,
wrapping us with the light of the new morning,
may bring us,
with the spent embers of the fire of the shepherds of the Absolute
who have kept vigil for us close to the divine Master,
the flavour of the holy memory.
Shaddai, God of the mountain,
You who make of our fragile life
the rock of your dwelling place,
lead our mind
to strike the rock of the desert,
so that water may gush to quench our thirst.
May the poverty of our feelings
cover us as with a mantle in the darkness of the night
and may it open our heart to hear the echo of silence
until the dawn,
wrapping us with the light of the new morning,
may bring us,
with the spent embers of the fire of the shepherds of the Absolute
who have kept vigil for us close to the divine Master,
the flavour of the holy memory.
1. LECTIO
a) The text:
35 The people stayed there watching. As for
the leaders, they jeered at him with the words, 'He saved others, let him save
himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.' 36 The soldiers mocked him
too, coming up to him, offering him vinegar, 37 and saying, 'If you are the
king of the Jews, save yourself.' 38 Above him there was an inscription: 'This
is the King of the Jews'. 39 One of the criminals hanging there abused him:
'Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us as well.' 40 But the other spoke
up and rebuked him. 'Have you no fear of God at all?' he said. 'You got the
same sentence as he did, 41 but in our case we deserved it: we are paying for
what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.' 42 Then he said, 'Jesus,
remember me when you come into your kingdom.' 43 He answered him, 'In truth I
tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.'
b) A moment of silence:
Let us allow the voice of the Word to resonate within us.
Let us allow the voice of the Word to resonate within us.
2) MEDITATIO
a) Questions:
- The people stayed there watching. Why do you
never take a stand concerning the events? Everything that you have lived,
listened to, seen… you cannot just throw it away only because an obstacle seems
to make it difficult? Move, do something!
- “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself”. How many attempts and threats with God in prayer. If you are God why do you not intervene? There are so many innocent people who suffer… If you love me, do what I tell you and I will believe you… When will you ever stop dealing with the Lord as if you knew more than He what is good and what is not?
- Jesus, remember me. When will you see in Christ the only TODAY who gives you life?
- “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself”. How many attempts and threats with God in prayer. If you are God why do you not intervene? There are so many innocent people who suffer… If you love me, do what I tell you and I will believe you… When will you ever stop dealing with the Lord as if you knew more than He what is good and what is not?
- Jesus, remember me. When will you see in Christ the only TODAY who gives you life?
b) Key for the reading:
Solemnity of Christ, King of the Universe. We
would expect a passage of the Gospel of those which are more luminous, and
instead we find ourselves before one of the darkest passages… The amazement of the
unexpected is the most suitable sentiment to enter into the heart of today’s
feast, the amazement of the one who knows that he cannot understand the
infinite mystery of the Son of God.
v. 35. The people stayed there watching, as
for the leaders, they jeered at him with the words: “He saved others, let him
save himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” Around the Cross
are gathered together all those who have met Jesus during the three years of
His public life. And, here, before a Word nailed on the wood, are revealed the
secrets of the heart. The People who had listened to and followed the Rabbi of
Galilee, who had seen miracles and wonders, are there watching: the perplexity
on the faces, thousands of questions in the heart, the disillusionment and the
perception that everything ends like this!? The leaders go through all that has
happened while they say the truth concerning the Person of Jesus: the Christ of
God, the Chosen One. They ignore God’s logic even if they are faithful
observers of the Hebrew Law. That very despicable invitation: Let him save
himself… indicates the hidden purpose of their actions: salvation is won
by oneself by the observance of the commandments of God.
vv .36-37. The soldiers mocked him too, coming
up to him, offering him vinegar, and saying: “If you are the King of the Jews,
save yourself”. The soldiers who have nothing to lose in the religious
field, get fierce against him. What do they have in common with that man? What
have they received from him? Nothing. The possibility to exercise, even if for
a short time, the power on someone cannot be allowed to fall! The power of
possession is intertwined of evil and they claim the right of derision. The other
one, defenceless, becomes the object of their enjoyment.
v. 38. Above him was an inscription: This is
the King of the Jews. Truly, a mockery the tablet of their own guilt:
Jesus is guilty for being the King of the Jews. A guilt which in reality is no
guilty. In spite that the leaders had intended, in all ways, to crush the
royalty of Christ, the truth is written by itself: This is the King of the
Jews! This one, not any other! A royalty which goes across the centuries and
asks those going by to stop and fix their thought on the novelty of the Gospel.
Man needs someone to govern him, and this someone can be only a man crucified
out of love, capable to stand on the wood of condemnation so as to be found
alive at the dawn of the eighth day. A King without a sceptre, a King capable
of being considered by all a criminal but without rejecting his love for man.
v. 39. One of the criminals hanging there
abused him: Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us as well!”. One
can be on the cross for diverse reasons as also, for diverse reasons one can be
with Christ. Being near to the cross divides or unites. One of the two who were
near Christ insults, provokes, ridicules or derides. The objective is always
the same: Save yourself and us as well! Salvation is invoked as a flight from
the cross. A sterile salvation, deprived of life, already dead in itself. Jesus
is nailed to the cross, this criminal is hung on the cross. Jesus has become
one same thing with the wood, because the cross is for him the scroll of the book
which unfolds to narrate the wonders of the divine life which is surrendered,
given without any conditions. The other one is hung as a fruit, rotten by evil
and ready to be thrown away.
v. 40. But the other spoke up and rebuked him:
“Have you no fear of God at all? You got the same sentence as he did. The
other one, being close to Jesus, acquires again the holy fear and makes a
discernment. Can the one who lives next to Jesus reproach one who is there, two
steps away from life and does not see it, and continues to waste it to the
end?. Every thing has a limit, and in this case the limit is not fixed by
Christ who is there, but by his companion. Christ does not respond, the other
one responds in his place, recognizing his responsibility and helping the other
one to read the present moment as an opportunity of salvation.
v. 41. “In our case, we deserve it, we are
paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong”. Evil leads
to the cross, the serpent had guided to the forbidden fruit hanging on the tree.
But which cross? The cross of one’s own “reward” or the cross of the good
fruit. Christ is the fruit which every man or woman can get from the tree of
life which is in the middle of the garden of the world, the just one who has
never done any evil except love until ad finem.
v. 42. And then he said: “Jesus, remember me
when you come into your kingdom”. It is a life which is fulfilled and is
enclosed in an invocation incredibly dense in significance. A man, a sinner,
conscious of his own sin and of the just condemnation, accepts the mystery of
the cross. At the feet of that throne of glory he asks to be remembered in the
Kingdom of Christ. He sees an innocent who is crucified and he recognizes and
sees beyond what appears exteriorly, the life of the eternal Kingdom. What an
acknowledgement! The eyes of the one who has known, in one instant, to get the
life which was passing by and which was proclaiming a message of salvation even
if in a shocking way. That culprit, criminal deserving death, insulted and ridiculed
by all those who had had the possibility of knowing him closely and for a long
time, receives his first subject, the first one he wins over. The Scripture
says, damned is the one hanging on the wood. The damned innocent becomes
blessing for the one who deserved condemnation. A political and earthly
tribunal, that of Pilate, a divine tribunal, that of the cross, where the one
condemned is saved in virtue of the consuming love of the innocent Lamb.
v. 43. He answered him: “In truth I tell you,
today you will be with me in paradise”. Today. The only word which bursts
into the new life of the Gospel. Today. Salvation has been accomplished, it is
no longer necessary to wait for any Messiah to save the people from their sins.
Today. Salvation is here, on the cross. Christ does not enter into his Kingdom
alone, he takes with him the first one who has been saved. The same humanity,
the same judgment, the same luck, the same victory. Jesus is not jealous of his
filial prerogatives, immediately he has pulled away from the distance
separating him from the Father and from the death which could not escape nor
had a way out. Wonderful the kingdom which was inaugurated on Golgotha.. ..
Someone has said that the good thief committed the last robbery of his life, he
robbed salvation… And it is. For those who move with the things of God! How
much truth, instead, in contemplating the gift which Christ gives to his
companion of the cross. No robbery, no theft! All is a gift: the presence of
God is not bargained or traded! Much less being always with him. Faith is what
opens the door of the Kingdom to the good thief. Good because he knew how to
name justly that which his existence had been and saw the Saviour in Christ.
Was the other one evil? Neither more nor less than the other one perhaps, but
he remained beyond faith: he was looking for the strong and powerful God, the
powerful God in battle, a God who places things in their place and he did not
know how to recognize him in the eyes of Christ, he stopped at his powerlessness.
c) Reflection
Christ dies on the Cross. He is not alone. He
is surrounded by the people, by the strangest persons, the hostile ones who
throw on him their responsibility of lack of understanding, the indifferent
ones who do not get involved except for personal interest, those who do not
understand as yet but who, perhaps, are better disposed to allow themselves to
be questioned, since they think they have nothing to lose, like one of the two
criminals. If death is to fall into nothingness, then human time becomes
anguish. If, instead, it is to wait for the light, then human time becomes
hope, and the space of the finite opens a passage to tomorrow, to the new dawn
of the Resurrection. I am the way, the truth and the life. .. how
true are these days, the words of Jesus, words which enlighten the darkness of
death. The way does not stop, the truth is not turned off, life does not die.
In those words “I am” is enclosed the royalty of Christ. We journey toward
a goal, and to attain it cannot mean to lose it… I am the way… We
live from truth, and truth is not an object, but something which exists: “Truth
is the splendour of reality – says Simon Well – and to desire truth is to
desire a direct contact with reality in order to love it”. “I am the
truth… Nobody wants to die, we feel deprived of something which belongs to
us: life, and then, if life does not form part of us, it can not hold us to
itself… I am the life… Jesus has said it: “He who wants to save his
life, will lose it, but the one who loses his life for me, will find it”. Is
there some contradiction in the terms or rather secrets hidden to be revealed?
Do we remove the veil from what we see in order to enjoy what we do not see?
Christ on the cross is the object of everybody’s attention. Many think of him
or are even at his side. But this is not sufficient. The closeness which saves
is not that of those who are there to deride or to mock, the closeness which
saves is that of the one who humbly asks to be remembered not in the fleeing
time but in the eternal Kingdom.
3. ORATIO
Psalm 145
I shall praise you to the heights, God my
King,
I shall bless your name for ever and ever.
Day after day I shall bless you,
I shall praise your name for ever and ever.
I shall bless your name for ever and ever.
Day after day I shall bless you,
I shall praise your name for ever and ever.
Great is Yahweh and worthy of all
praise,
his greatness beyond all reckoning.
Each age will praise your deeds to the next,
proclaiming your mighty works.
his greatness beyond all reckoning.
Each age will praise your deeds to the next,
proclaiming your mighty works.
Your renown is the splendour of your
glory,
I will ponder the story of your wonders.
They will speak of your awesome power,
and I shall recount your greatness.
I will ponder the story of your wonders.
They will speak of your awesome power,
and I shall recount your greatness.
They will bring out the memory of your great
generosity,
and joyfully acclaim your saving justice.
Yahweh is tenderness and pity,
slow to anger, full of faithful love.
and joyfully acclaim your saving justice.
Yahweh is tenderness and pity,
slow to anger, full of faithful love.
Yahweh is generous to all,
his tenderness embraces all his creatures.
All your creatures shall thank you, Yahweh,
and your faithful shall bless you.
his tenderness embraces all his creatures.
All your creatures shall thank you, Yahweh,
and your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your
kingship
and tell of your might,
making known your mighty deeds to the children of Adam,
the glory and majesty of your kingship.
and tell of your might,
making known your mighty deeds to the children of Adam,
the glory and majesty of your kingship.
Your kingship is a kingship for ever,
your reign lasts from age to age.
Yahweh is trustworthy in all his words,
and upright in all his deeds.
your reign lasts from age to age.
Yahweh is trustworthy in all his words,
and upright in all his deeds.
Yahweh supports all who stumble,
lifts up those who are bowed down.
All look to you in hope
and you feed them with the food of the season.
lifts up those who are bowed down.
All look to you in hope
and you feed them with the food of the season.
And, with generous hand,
you satisfy the desires of every living creature.
Upright in all that he does,
Yahweh acts only in faithful love.
you satisfy the desires of every living creature.
Upright in all that he does,
Yahweh acts only in faithful love.
He is close to all who call upon him,
all who call on him from the heart.
He fulfils the desires of all who fear him,
he hears their cry and he saves them.
all who call on him from the heart.
He fulfils the desires of all who fear him,
he hears their cry and he saves them.
Yahweh guards all who love him,
but all the wicked he destroys.
My mouth shall always praise Yahweh,
let every creature bless his holy name for ever and ever.
but all the wicked he destroys.
My mouth shall always praise Yahweh,
let every creature bless his holy name for ever and ever.
4. CONTEMPLATIO
Lord, it sounds strange to call you King. One
does not get close to a King easily… And, instead, today I find you sitting
beside me, in the ditch of sin, here, where I would never have thought to find
you. Kings are in palaces, far from the difficulties of the poor people. You,
instead, live your Lordship wearing the worn out clothes of our poverty. What a
great feast for me to see you here where I went to hide myself so as not to
feel the indiscreet looks of human judgment. On the edge of my failures whom
have I found if not you? The only one who could reproach me for my incoherence
comes to look for me to sustain me in my anguish and in my humiliation! What
great illusion when we think that we should come to you only when we have
attained perfection… I would want to think, that you do not like what I am, but
perhaps, it is not exactly like that: I do not like what I am, but for you, I
am alright, because your love is something special which respects everything in
me and makes of every instant of my life a space of encounter and of gift.
Lord, teach me not to get down from the cross with the absurd pretension of
saving myself! Grant that I may know how to wait, at your side, the TODAY of
your Kingdom in my life.
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