Pastor's Letter -- November 21, 2021

Dearly beloved parishioners,

When you hear the title “King” what comes to mind? What themes does this title elicit for you? For some of us it might be themes of Kingdom, power, dominion, authority, subjugation, the list goes on; depending on the experiences of some, it might also suggest tyranny. For many western and modern minds, the idea of a king, who is a sovereign, and who reigns over a kingdom might be alien. But it is not strange to some from developing or even theocratic countries as some of these countries currently have kings. Our celebration of the Kingship of Jesus this weekend acknowledges first that Jesus is king. However, it contrasts the reign of Jesus with those of earthly rulers. Whereas earthly kings only rule for a time, Christ’s kingship is an everlasting one, and has no end. Whereas human Kings might rule by means of brute force, Jesus rules not by means of force but by love. His is a kingdom of peace, truth and justice. And all of us who long to be in that kingdom some day are called to embrace these values of the kingdom.

In my experience, I have found that as one grows in the Christian life one might have to interrogate, adjust or reject some of one’s previously held beliefs about God. It takes humility to admit that some of our prior notions of God might be inaccurate, faulty or plain defective. Most of these come from our life’s experiences of some “God figures” in our lives. These could be our parents, teachers, pastors or other Christians. My faith leads me to declare that God is like no one I have ever encountered. Although human beings might possess certain attributes that could be said to be of divine origin, there is no single person who embodies all the qualities of God. No matter how good our experience of anyone might have been, they still fall short in relation to God who is “Goodness” itself. If my idea of God is informed by my experience of beautiful things, I must still admit that they are nothing compared to God who is “Beauty” itself. The most truthful person on earth still pales in comparison to God who is “Truth” itself. The idea I am trying to communicate is that God is utterly different, utterly Other, and utterly unlike whatever we experience with any human being here on earth. When we say God is Father, we must not equate him with our experience of our earthly fathers. Scripture tells us he is the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name… (Ephesians 3:15)

I found the below article on this weekend’s celebration of the Universal Kingship of Jesus from the USCCB website very helpful.

On the last Sunday of each liturgical year, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, or Christ the King. Pope Pius XI instituted this feast in 1925 with his encyclical Quas primas (“In the first”) to respond to growing secularism and atheism. He recognized that attempting to “thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law” out of public life would result in continuing discord among people and nations. This solemnity reminds us that while governments come and go, Christ reigns as King forever. During the early twentieth century, in Mexico, Russia, and some parts of Europe, militantly secularistic regimes threatened not just the Catholic Church and its faithful but civilization itself. Pope Pius XI’s encyclical gave Catholics hope and—while governments around them crumbled—the assurance that Christ the King shall reign forever. Jesus Christ “is very truth, and it is from him that truth must be obediently received by all mankind” ( Quas primas, 7).

Christ’s kingship is rooted in the Church’s teaching on the Incarnation. Jesus is fully God and fully man. He is both the divine Lord and the man who suffered and died on the Cross. One person of the Trinity unites himself to human nature and reigns over all creation as the Incarnate Son of God. “From this it follows not only that Christ is to be adored by angels and men, but that to him as man angels and men are subject, and must recognize his empire; by reason of the hypostatic union Christ has power over all creatures” ( Quas primas, 13).

The Church calls us to acknowledge Christ’s kingship with our whole lives: He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls, or to use the words of the Apostle Paul, ‘as instruments of justice unto God.’ - Quas primas, 33

Today, religious freedom for many people means that we can believe whatever we want in private, but when we enter the public square or the marketplace, we may not speak of anything that relates to our faith. However, the Church acknowledges the reign of Christ, not only privately, but publicly. This solemnity encourages us the celebrate and live out our faith in public. “Thus by sermons preached at meetings and in churches, by public adoration of the Blessed Sacrament exposed and by solemn processions, men unite in paying homage to Christ, whom God has given them for their King” ( Quas primas, 26).

For Christians, when our faith is repeatedly marginalized in public life, we can fall into the habit of compartmentalizing our lives. We love Jesus in our private lives, but we shrink from acknowledging the kingship of Christ in social life. When we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, we declare to the world and remind ourselves that Jesus is the Lord of the Church and of the entire universe.

(Solemnity of Christ the King: Background usccb.org)

May Jesus bless you, and may Our Lady protect you! With blessings from my heart,