Solemnity of Christ the King
Cathedral of Mary Our Queen
TV Broadcast and Live-streaming
November 24, 2024
A Better Kind of Politics
With Thanksgiving fast approaching, pundits are dispensing advice on how to handle divisive dinner table discussions about politics. Pope Francis has a better idea. He calls us to engage in “a better kind of politics” – a politics marked by dialog, fraternity, pursuit of human dignity, and concern for the common good. Wouldn’t that be nice? But how to get there?
Today’s feast, Christ the King, is a good place to start. For Jesus’ Kingdom, though not a worldly kingdom, has much to say to a world that often seems bent on self-destruction. To see this, let’s contrast Christ the King and his Kingdom with worldly regimes, those that are good, bad, and indifferent, – and let’s begin with this:
A Universal and Everlasting Kingdom
Earthly rule is fleeting and temporary. The mighty Roman Empire eventually collapsed. The Thousand Year Reich lasted twelve years. The crowned heads of Europe are mostly gone. Elected leaders serve at the will of those who elected them.
In the Book of the Prophet Daniel, we get a glimpse of God’s reign. One like a Son of Man – a prophetic reference to the Exalted Christ – receives from the Ancient One, that is, God the Father, “dominion, glory, and kingship.” – And what is this kingship like? Christ’s rule is universal, spanning every people, nation, and language. Christ’s rule is everlasting, with no beginning or end.
No one but the Lord rules the whole world and only the Lord’s rule lasts forever, and that’s a good thing, for no one is as wise, just, and loving as Christ the King. So, if we want a world more just, loving, and peaceful, let us keep our eyes fixed on God’s Kingdom of justice, love, and peace, and let’s never stop searching for and raising up virtuous leaders who will also keep their eyes fixed on the Kingdom of God . . . moving on.
Identity of Medium and the Message
Leaders are under scrutiny. It used to be the press. Now it’s everyone. Everyone scrutinizes leaders for falsehoods, exaggerations, & inconsistencies, for gaps between what leaders say, what they do, and who they are. We rightfully expect leaders to be men and women of integrity. But like it or not, they remain, as do we all, flawed and limited human beings.
But in Christ the King there are no limitations or gaps. There is no gap between what he says, what he does, and who he is. Jesus is the message he announces – “I am the way, the truth, and life.” He embodies the Kingdom of God he inaugurated. Identity between messenger and message – isn’t that what we’re longing for? Some say that Churchill epitomized Great Britain and, De Gaulle, France. But in only one Leader are the King and Kingdom identical, only one Leader is completely good, completely truthful, completely loving. Anyone who purports to lead or rule should look to Christ the King, and find in him the deepest source of integrity, truthfulness, and compassion.
The Master-Plan
When a political leader takes office, we ask, “What’s your plan?” We may or may not like the plan but one thing we don’t tolerate is the lack of a plan. A rudderless leader is likely to preside over a rudderless country.
Christ is the Lord of History who came to fulfill the Father’s plan to redeem the world that he had created in wisdom and love. Standing before Pilate, Caesar’s representative, Jesus says, “For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.” By coming into the world, by preaching the Good News and healing the sick, by laying down his life for us, then rising from the dead – and by remaining with us in the Church through Word and Sacrament – Jesus fulfilled God’s loving plan to save the world from itself. And throughout the upheavals of history, the plans of God’s heart stand from age to age . . . Those who lead, must plan, even as they grapple with challenges and crises. Perhaps a prayerful look at God’s master-plan would help! In it can be found much-needed wisdom, constancy, and perseverance, coupled with justice and love for the poor, the vulnerable, the struggling.
The King of Love My Shepherd Is
A world dominated by force will always be a world on the brink of war. We have only to think of the bloody conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. And if not a war of weapons, a war of words – we have only to watch the news. We’ve created a world of winners and losers, victors and the vanquished, and we wonder why there’s no peace – in the world or in our hearts.
Let us look to Christ the King, our Shepherd, the King of love. Even amid the glory of heaven, the Book of Revelation tells us, Jesus is pierced, wounded for our salvation, wounded for love of you and me and all the world! By dying and rising, he unleashed into the world a love stronger than sin and more powerful than death. If there is to be justice and peace in the world, let us and our leaders not ignore the Prince of Peace who conquered evil with love and death with life. Ours is a King who rules, not by force, but by truth, love, and mercy.
Citizens of the Kingdom
The Feast of Christ the King invites us, not so much to scrutinize our leaders as to look carefully into our own hearts and ask to what kingdom have we given our allegiance: The kingdom of this world in its many forms or the kingdom of God? Today Jesus says to us anew: “Everyone who belongs to the truth, listens to my voice.”
Let us listen to his voice, and then in the power of the Holy Spirit, acclaim Jesus as Lord: our Savior, our Shepherd, our King.