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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.

We are at the penultimate Sunday in our current Liturgical Year. And the end of a liturgical season is a great time to ponder on the end of time, as well as our own end. The cosmic events spoken of in our First and Gospel readings this weekend are not intended to generate or even validate speculations as to the hour when these would happen, but to call us to focus on Jesus who is the Lord of history, and in whom human history has been and is being redeemed. Whereas the first reading from Daniel speaks of events during the tyrannical reign of Antiochus IV, and the gospel could have been a prediction of events to precede the destruction of Jerusalem, they both serve to encourage the people that God is Lord of history, and that he is at work even in the worst of situations.

Charity and obedience are on display in the First Reading for this weekend’s liturgy. The widow, a poor person by the standards of the day, one who had little means to care for herself and her son, becomes for all ages, an example of selfless generosity. She was charitable to the prophet, perhaps because he was a prophet. But the Lord rewards her generosity of spirit. The jar of flour did not go empty and the jug of oil did not run dry, as the Lord had foretold through the prophet. When we act charitably, we must do so with all our hearts...