Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 11-23-03, Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King

Reading I
Dn 7:13-14

As the visions during the night continued, I saw
one like a Son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
when he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship;
all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 93:1, 1-2, 5

R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O Lord.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed;
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

Reading II
Rev 1:5-8

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father,
to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will lament him.
Yes. Amen.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God,
"the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."

Gospel
Jn 18:33b-37

Pilate said to Jesus,
"Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?"
Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?"
Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here."
So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?"
Jesus answered, "You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

From: Revelation 1:5-8

Address and Greeting

[5] And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born of the
dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood [6] and
made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen. [7] Behold, he is coming with the
clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all
tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

[8] "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who
was and who is to come, the Almighty."

Commentary:

5-6. Three messianic titles taken from Psalm 89:28-38 are given a new
meaning in the light of fulfillment of Christian faith and applied to
Jesus Christ. He is "the faithful witness" of the fulfillment of God's
Old Testament promises of a Savior, a son of David (cf. 2 Sam 7:14; Rev
5:5;), for it is Christ who has in fact brought about salvation. That
is why, later on in the book, St John calls Jesus Christ "the Amen"
(Rev 3:4)--which is like saying that through what Christ did God has
ratified and kept his word; St John also calls him "Faithful and True"
(Rev 19;11), because God's fidelity and the truth of his promises have
been manifested in Jesus. This is to be seen in the Resurrection, which
made Jesus "the first-born from the dead", in the sense that the
Resurrection constituted a victory in which all who abide in him share
(cf. Col 1:18). Christ is also "the ruler of kings on earth" because he
is Lord of the world: this will be clearly seen when he comes a second
time, but his dominion is already making itself felt because he has
begun to conquer the power of sin and death.

The second part of v. 5 and all v. 6 are a kind of paean in praise of
Christ recalling his great love for us as expressed in his words,
"Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for
his friends" (Jn 15:13). Christ's love for us knows no bounds: his
generosity led him to sacrifice his life by the shedding of his blood,
which redeemed us from our sins. There was nothing we could have done
to redeem ourselves. "All were held captive by the devil", St Augustine
comments, "and were in the thrall of demons; but they have been rescued
from that captivity. The Redeemer came and paid the ransom: he shed his
blood and with it purchased the entire orb of the earth" ("Enarrationes
in Psalmos", 95, 5).

Not content with setting us free from our sins, our Lord gave us a
share in his kingship and priesthood. "Christ the Lord, high priest
taken from among men (cf. Heb 5:1-5), made the new people 'a kingdom of
priests to his God and Father' (Rev 1:6; cf. 5:9-10). The baptized, by
regeneration and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are consecrated to
be a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, that through all the works
of Christian men and women they may offer spiritual sacrifices and
proclaim the perfection of him who has called them out of darkness into
his marvelous light (cf. 1 Pet 2:4-10)" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium",
10).

7. Christ's work is not finished. He has assembled his holy people on
earth to bring them enduring salvation, and he will be revealed in all
his glory to the whole world at the end of time. Although the text
speaks in the present tense--"he is coming with the clouds"--this
should be understood as referring to the future: the prophet was seeing
future events as if they were actually happening (cf. Dan 7:13). This
will be the day of final victory, when those who crucified Jesus,
"every one who pierced him" (cf. Zech 12:10; Jn 19:37), will be
astonished by the grandeur and glory of the crucified One. "The Sacred
Scriptures inform us that there are two comings of the Son of God--one
when he assumed human flesh for our salvation in the womb of a virgin;
the other when he shall come at the end of the world to judge all
mankind [...]; and if, from the beginning of the world that day of the
Lord, on which he was clothed with our flesh, was sighed for by all as
the foundation of their hope of deliverance; so also, after the death
and ascension of the Son of God, we should make that other day of the
Lord the object of our most earnest desires, 'awaiting our blessed
hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God' (Tit 2:13)" ("St
Pius V Catechism", I, 8, 2).

Commenting on this passage of the Apocalypse, St Bede says: "He who at
his first coming came in a hidden way and in order to be judged (by
men) will then come in a manifest way. (John) recalls these truths in
order to help the Church bear its suffering: now it is being persecuted
by its enemies, later it will reign at Christ's side" ("Explanatio
Apocalypsis", 1, 1).

The joy of those who put their hope in this glorious manifestation of
Christ will contrast with the pains of those who reject God's love and
mercy to the very end. "Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn,
and they will see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory" (Mt 24:30).

8. The coming of the Lord in glory, the climax of his dominion, is
guaranteed by the power of God, the absolute master of the world and
its destiny. Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the
Greek alphabet; here they are used to proclaim that God is the
beginning and end of all things, of the world and of history; he is
present at all times--times past, present and future.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: John 18:33b-37

The Trial Before Pilate: Jesus Is King

[33b] Pilate said to Him (Jesus), "Are You the King of the Jews?" [34] Jesus
answered, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you
about Me?" [35] Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief
priests have handed You over to me; what have You done?" [36] Jesus
answered, "My kingship is not of this world; if My kingship were of this
world, My servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews;
but My kingship is not from the world." [37] Pilate said to Him, "So You
are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was
born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.
Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

Commentary:

33-34. There is no onus on Pilate to interfere in religious questions,
but because the accusation leveled against Jesus had to do with
politics and public order, he begins his interrogation naturally by
examining Him on the main charge: "Are You the King of the Jews?"

By replying with another question, Jesus is not refusing to answer: He
wishes to make quite clear, as He has always done, that His mission is
a spiritual one. And really Pilate's was not an easy question to
answer, because, to a Gentile, a king of the Jews meant simply a
subverter of the Empire; whereas, to a Jewish nationalist, the
King-Messiah was a politico-religious liberator who would obtain their
freedom from Rome. The true character of Christ's messiahship
completely transcends both these concepts--as Jesus explains to the
procurator, although He realizes how enormously difficult it is for
Pilate to understand what Christ's Kingship really involves.

35-36. After the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the
fish, Jesus refused to be proclaimed king because the people were
thinking in terms of an earthly kingdom (cf. John 6:15). However,
Jesus did enter Jerusalem in triumph, and He did accept acclamation as
King-Messiah. Now, in His passion, He acknowledges before Pilate that
He is truly a King, making it clear that His kingship is not an earthly
one. Thus, "those who expected the Messiah to have visible temporal
power were mistaken. `The kingdom of God does not mean food and drink
but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit' (Romans 14:7).
Truth and justice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. That is the
kingdom of Christ: the divine activity which saves man and which will
reach its culmination when history ends and the Lord comes from the
heights of Paradise finally to judge men" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is
Passing By", 180).

37. This is what His kingship really is: His kingdom is "the kingdom of
Truth and Life, the kingdom of Holiness and Grace, the kingdom of
Justice, Love and Peace" (Preface of the Mass of Christ the King).
Christ reigns over those who accept and practise the truth revealed by
Him--His Father's love for the world (John 3:16; 1 John 4:9). He
became man to make this truth known and to enable men to accept it.
And so, those who recognize Christ's kingship and sovereignty accept
His authority, and He thus reigns over them in an eternal and universal
kingdom.

For its part, "the Church, looking to Christ who bears witness to the
truth, must always and everywhere ask herself, and in a certain sense
also the contemporary `world', how to make good emerge from man, how to
liberate the dynamism of the good that is in man, in order that it may
be stronger than evil, than any moral, social or other evil" (John Paul
II, "General Audience", 21 February 1979).

"If we (Christians) are trying to have Christ as our king we must be
consistent. We must start by giving Him our heart. Not to do that and
still talk about the kingdom of Christ would be completely hollow.
There would be no real Christian substance in our behavior. We would
be making an outward show of a faith which simply did not exist. We
would be misusing God's name to human advantage. [...]. If we let
Christ reign in our soul, we will not become authoritarian. Rather we
will serve everyone. How I like that word: service! To serve my king,
and through Him, all those who have been redeemed by His blood. I
really wish we Christians knew how to serve, for only by serving can we
know and love Christ and make Him known and loved" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ
Is Passing By", 181-182.

By His death and resurrection, Jesus shows that the accusations laid
against Him were based on lies: it was He who was telling the truth,
not His judges and accusers, and God confirms the truth of Jesus--the
truth of His words, of His deeds, of His revelation--by the singular
miracle of His resurrection. To men Christ's kingship may seem
paradoxical: He dies, yet He lives for ever; He is defeated and is
crucified, yet He is victorious. "When Jesus Christ Himself appeared
as a prisoner before Pilate's tribunal and was interrogated by
him...did He not answer: `For this I was born, and for this I have come
into the world, to bear witness to the truth'? It was as if with these
words [...] He was once more confirming what He has said earlier: `You
will know the truth and the truth will make you free'. In the course
of so many centuries, of so many generations, from the time of the
Apostles on, is it not often Jesus Christ Himself that has made an
appearance at the side of people judged for the sake of the truth? And
has He not gone to death with people condemned for the sake of the
truth? Does He ever cease to be the continuous spokesman and advocate
for the person who lives `in spirit and truth'? (cf. John 4:23). Just
as He does not cease to be it before the Father, He is it also with
regard to the history of man" (John Paul II, "Redemptor Hominis", 12).

FEAST OF THE DAY

Jesus is king of all creation, and ruler of the Kingdom of Heaven, a
kingdom of truth, life, holiness, grace, justice, love and peace. This
feast we celebrate today reminds us that Christ did not come to
establish a new nation on Earth but to open the kingdom of heaven
to all. Jesus made this fact evident in many places throughout the
Gospels. Christ opened this kingdom by dying and rising again.

The Solemnity of Christ the King was instituted by Pope Pius XI in
1925. It was instituted in order to reassert the authority of our Lord to
rule all the nations, the Church, and the human race. This feast
celebrates Jesus' triumphal resurrection from the dead and His
opening of the Kingdom of Heaven to all mankind. The Solemnity of
Christ the King calls us to unity, and to strive to attain the heavenly
kingdom which has Christ as its ruler.

Jesus was condemned and crucified as King of the Jews, but his
death and resurrection allowed him to open the Kingdom of Heaven,
a kingdom more powerful than any earthly nation and a kingdom that
encompasses the entire human race.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Go to your adoration as one would go to Heaven, to the divine
banquet. Tell yourself, "in four hours, in two hours, in one hour our
Lord will give me an audience of grace and love. He has invited me;
He is waiting for me; He is longing for me." -St. Peter Julian Eymard

TODAY IN HISTORY

1970 Pope Paul VI issued a decree limiting the age of cardinals
eligible to vote for a new pope to 80 and younger.

TODAY'S TIDBIT

The Solemnity of Christ the King is always celebrated on the final
Sunday of the Liturgical Year. This feast reminds us that Jesus
ultimate place is reigning over heaven and earth at the right hand of
the Father. This theme is highlighted by the readings of preparation
of the end times where Christ will come again that are read in the
final weeks of the Liturgical Year.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for all missionaries and for Christians living in areas
where they face persecution.

The Word Among Us

Sunday, November 23, 2003

Meditation
John 18:33-37

Christ the King

It’s the end of the month, and the rent is due. Suddenly, you hear a loud knock at the door and a voice shouting, “This is the landlord, and I want my money!” You look out the window and see it’s not really your landlord. This isn’t the person who takes care of your home. You don’t owe this fellow anything at all! When Jesus said that his kingdom is not of this world, he made it clear that the citizens of his kingdom—you and I—don’t have to hand over any part of our lives to the false claims of the kingdom of this world. Often, however, we cringe in fear of the “false landlord” who wants to rob us. And the only way out of this fear is through greater allegiance to our true King, Jesus. How can we get to know our true King better? By living in the truth and by stepping out into this world knowing that we belong to another world.

When he died on the cross, Jesus brought a whole new reality into the world: the joy of being citizens of heaven and coheirs of the kingdom of God. Now, each of us is called to witness to the love that is freely offered to everyone who takes Jesus as their King. Jesus is coming again in the fullness of his kingdom, and he has sent his Spirit to help us prepare the world for his return. When we speak up for the gospel or care for those who are hurting, we are making the world ready. A smile and a hello, a word of encouragement from the gospel, an expectant promise of prayers of intercession—actions like these can reveal the truth of God’s love to the people around us.

The Holy Spirit wants to work through every one of us to bring the world closer to the kingdom that Jesus inaugurated by his death and resurrection. As we pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” we join with Jesus to usher in and reveal the realm for which all of us were born.

“Jesus, my King, show me how I can help bring your kingdom into this world more fully. You are the truth that makes life complete. Let me be a witness to this truth.”

One Bread, One Body

<< Sunday, November 23, 2003 >>

Christ the King

Daniel 7:13-14
Revelation 1:5-8

Psalm 93
John 18:33-37

View Readings

“SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM” (see Mt 6:33)

“Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus. ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ he asked Him. Jesus answered, ‘Are you saying this on your own, or have others been telling you about Me?’ ” —John 18:33-34

The prophet Daniel, in visions during the night, “saw One like a son of man coming” to God’s throne where He received a kingdom which will never pass away (Dn 7:13-14). Jesus is the Fulfillment of this prophecy. He is the King of kings (see Rv 1:5).

Will you accept Jesus as your King? To do so, you must:

“Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mk 1:15, our transl).
Seek first His kingdom (Mt 6:33). Building His kingdom must be the priority of your priorities.
Choose to be a subject of King Jesus by submitting your will to Him in everything (see 1 Cor 15:27-28).
Joyfully sell all you have to purchase the precious pearl of God’s kingdom (see Mt 13:45-46).
Make “a radical choice” to “give everything” to King Jesus (Catechism, 546).

It is humanly impossible to choose to be in God’s kingdom. We have too much selfishness and too little love. Nevertheless, like the good thief, we can receive God’s grace to dethrone ourselves and accept Jesus as our King. Today, on this feast of Christ the King, by grace accept Jesus as your King on His terms.

Prayer: Jesus, “remember me when You come into Your kingdom” (Lk 23:42, our transl).

Promise: “See, He comes amid the clouds! Every eye shall see Him, even of those who pierced Him.” —Rv 1:7

Praise: Praise our crucified and risen King! Come, King Jesus! Maranatha!

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	Are You Running from the Truth?
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Sunday, November 23, 2003

The Feast of Christ the King

Jn 18:33-37

A very smooth advertising executive died and, by some administrative error, went straight to heaven. However, when he arrived at the gates, St Peter had some bad news for him. "I'm terribly sorry," he said, "but our new wing isn't finished yet and we've had to set some quotas. Unfortunately, our quota for advertising and P R people is already filled. So you'll just have to wait outside, unless you can persuade one of your colleagues to leave."

"Just give me a few hours," the ad man responded smoothly. And off he went. Before the day was over, every single ad executive in the whole of heaven had departed. St Peter was stunned, "How did you do it?"

"Piece of cake," replied the ad executive. "I just started a rumor that the devil was looking for a new ad agency."

"By the way," he continued, "I won't be staying either. You never can tell about those rumors!"

We all talk baloney at times. It's part of being human. But we can really get ourselves in trouble when we start believing our own baloney. And that's what we do more often than we'd care to admit. Think of all the stories we've told ourselves and sold ourselves over the years.
- She'll never find out.
- I'll get started first thing tomorrow.
- Nobody will notice.
- Just one more time, and I'll have enough.
- Who needs him!
- We'll wipe 'em out, and then everything will be fine.
- I know they'd want me to have it.
- I'm sure God doesn't mind.
- Once I get that, I'll be set for life.

Those lines sound familiar, don't they. They should, because we've probably said most of them, and believed them - partly - and walked around with our eyes squeezed shut, to keep out the truth. And worst of all, we've gotten angry when people have challenged us - angry when they've spoken up like the child in the nursery story, "Excuse me, sir, but the emperor has no clothes."

That's exactly how Jesus ended up condemned and in chains before Pilate in Sunday's Gospel. When Pilate asked, "What have you done to get yourself in so much trouble?" Jesus answered, "I told the truth." Now why would his telling the truth make so many people so angry and so fearful that they'd be willing to kill him to shut him up? Because deep down inside, where lies can't live, they knew Jesus was right about them and about life. They knew that if they let his truth into their hearts, even for an instant, they'd have to change their lives from top to bottom. And they were afraid that that kind of change was just too much for them - afraid it would spoil what little happiness they'd been able to squeeze out of life.

They'd got it just backwards, because ironically, the lies we sell ourselves in our frightened search for happiness guarantee that we'll always be sad. That's because the lies that fear makes us live by always build up walls and cut us off from our best selves, from one another, and from the God who loves us.

Jesus has given us an alternative. It's the only way of living that works, the only way of living that will bring us happiness. That's why we call it "the truth." The truth is this: If we make love our sole priority, and put real muscle into our loves, the walls built by lies and reinforced by fear will come tumbling down. And we'll have the only joy that lasts.

Is loving like that really possible for us? Not on our own! But what we're celebrating on the feast of Christ the King is that we're not on our own. We have at our side - and on our side - the Lord Jesus, who has triumphed over all earthly powers and over death itself. And with him there, all things are possible.
So let us look our lies and our fears, large and small, straight in the eye, and call them by name, and bid them farewell. For we have seen Christ our savior; we have taken him as our Lord; and we have no need to lurk in the darkness anymore. We have embraced the truth, and it has set us free.

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