Feast of Christ the King

Pope Pius XI universally instituted The Feast of Christ the King in 1925 in his encyclical Quas Primas. Pope Pius connected the denial of Christ as king to the rise of secularism. At the time of Quas Primas, secularism was on the rise, and many Christians, even Catholics, were doubting Christ's authority, as well as the Church's, and even doubting Christ's existence. Pius XI, and the rest of the Christian world, witnessed the rise of dictatorships in Europe, and saw Catholics being taken in by these earthly leaders. Just as the Feast of Corpus Christi was instituted when devotion to the Eucharist was at a low point, the Feast of Christ the King was instituted during a time when respect for Christ and the Church was waning, when the feast was most needed. In fact, it is still needed today, as these problems have not vanished, but instead have worsened.
The Pope hoped the institution of the feast would have various effects. They were:
    1. That nations would see that the Church has the right to freedom, and immunity from the state (Quas Primas, 32).
    2. That leaders and nations would see that they are bound to give respect to Christ (Quas Primas, 31).
    3. That the faithful would gain strength and courage from the celebration of the feast, as we are reminded that Christ must reign in our hearts, minds, wills, and bodies (Quas Primas, 33).

Today, the same distrust of authority exists, although the problem has gotten worse. Individualism has been embraced to such an extreme, that for many, the only authority is the individual self. The idea of Christ as ruler is rejected in such a strongly individualistic system. Also, many balk at the idea of kings and queens, believing them to be oppressive. Some even reject the titles of "lord" and "king" for Christ because they believe that such titles are borrowed from oppressive systems of government. However true these statements might be (some kings have been oppressive), these individuals miss the point: Christ's kingship is one of humility and service. Jesus said:

    You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to become great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:42-45, NAB). and

    Pilate said to Jesus, "Are you the King of the Jews?"... 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 (John 18:33b, 36-37).

Thus, Jesus knew the oppressive nature of secular kings, and in contrast to them, he connected his role as king to humble service, and commanded his followers to be servants as well. In other passages of Scripture, his kingdom is tied to his suffering and death. While Christ is coming to judge the nations, his teachings spell out a kingdom of justice and judgment balanced with radical love, mercy, peace, and forgiveness. When we celebrate Christ as King, we are not celebrating an oppressive ruler, but one willing to die for humanity and whose "loving-kindness endures forever." Christ is the king that gives us true freedom, freedom in Him. Thus we must never forget that Christ radically redefined and transformed the concept of kingship.

A Cry that stopped God!

Lk 18: 35-43
Ah! There is nothing surprising in it... Because, from the beginning, God could not stand the cry of man. When ever man cried, God stopped His business to attend the cry of him. When God confronted Cain after the first assassination in human history, one of his concern was this cry: "Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground" (Gen.4:10). That concern of God for human being continued to the New Testament and in fact the very reason for God becoming man was to attend to the "cries" of man. And that is why Lk 18:40 is a very significant one for us: "Jesus Stopped..." The cry of a blind man for mercy forced a "stop" from the Son of Man!

The blind beggar in the Gospel behaves in a strange way perhaps: he does not ask for alms today... rather, he is seeking God's mercy. And he is not bothered about the reaction of the crowd - that is quite normal to the beggars. They just do not bother about what is spoken about them. Lk 18:38 -"Then he cried out" and 39 - "he cried out all the more..." talks about how he encountered the Lord. And this cry prompts Jesus to "stop". God stops at the cry of a "nobody in the society".  What a comforting and consoling assurance it is that we have a God who stops to listen to our supplications and petitions. Our God never leaves us unheeded...

Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom

When I was doing my graduate studies, one day there was an animated discussion in our English literature class. The point of discussion was a verse from the Bible, Sirach 1:14, "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom". Some of the students argued that if we were children of God and if God were the Father, why should one be afraid of God. Bible is perhaps wrong... some said! Some of the faithful Christians in the Class said it had to be understood in the same sense that we all hold our parents with a "respectful fear". But the detractors were not convinced. If that were the case, why finer words like "Love, reverernce, or respect" were not used instead of "fear", because the term "fear" shows God in a negative frame, they argued.

 Then I got a thought in my mind and I said, "the scripture is right when it says, Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and once one is wise, there is no more fear". The beginning is from the fear of the Lord. From this state of fearfulness or respect, a child of God grows into the freedom of the Children of God. It was much later, I realised the deeper meaning of what I have uttered there in the class that day!

When a Child is born it encounters the world with a cry... leave alone the physical reasons for that involuntary act of the new born, "cry" is associated with fear, pain and trauma. The newborn is indeed frightened of the new atmosphere and it cannot but cry. If it does not, it is understood that it is no more alive. From this traumatised cry, the infant gradually grows into the loving protection and freedom of its family. It's a gradual process. It takes days togehter for the infant  to recognise the parents and later on all others in the family and the world around it.

Same is the case with a Child of God too. It definitely begins with the fear of the Lord. And without this foundation of the "Fear of the Lord", one would be nothing more than a "Dead thing" for one's world around. The Judge in the Gospel (Lk 18:1-8) fails to have any concern for the humanity because the scripture says, "He neither feared God..." His act of giving justice to the Widow is not out of his love for humanity, but out of concern for his own peace of mind. What becomes clear for me from the scripture is this: No matter what ones' educational qualifications are (eg. the Judge in the Gospel), one fails to be "wise" until one's foundation is rooted on the "Fear of the Lord".

Maranatha

Lk: 17:20-36 - A Reflection

The second coming of the Lord is perhaps the most certain thing to happen but its designated time is the most uncertain thing for a faithful of Christ. The question was raised to the Lord himself Lk 17:20 - "And the Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God was to come". And His answer was (Lk 17:24), "As lightning flashes from one end of the sky to the other..." Also in 17:26 Jesus tells, "As it was in the day of Noah, so will it be on the day the Son of Man comes."


What does it mean for us today? The Lord invites us to the promise of Life - the life in the presence of the Lord Himself. LK 17:33 gives the catagorical statement: " Whoever tries to save his life will lose himself, but whoever gives his life will be born again". The world fails to discover the meaning of this promise. We live in a world that is extremely  profit oriented. People refuse to take up anything that would incur a loss for them. Every mornig a person wakes up with the thougts of making a few extra bucks for meeting the ever increasing demands of himself and his family and frantically seeks what is most profiatable for him.


Look back into the beginning of our day - this day. What were our prime concerns for this day? What happens with most of us today is that we seek God's assistance in all that we do so that we may be successful in our endeavours. Here again, we are led by our profit motive, our thirst for success. But, perhaps a more serious question that we should be asking ourselves everyday is, whether we are doing what the Lord wants us to do. We need to have a re-look into our strategies for each day, based on the message of the Gospel - if my attempt is to seek my profits and save my life, it's definite: I will lose it; rather, if I have the generosity to give up my profits and my life for the benefits of someone who need them... the Lord's promise is still standing and valid. Lord, let me grow into that generosity of will...

My Grace is Enough for You

Life Just Isn't

Life isn't about keeping score.  It's not about how many people call you and it's not about who you've dated, are dating or haven't dated at all.  It isn't about who you've kissed, what sport you play, or which guy or girl likes you.  It's not about your shoes or your  hair or the color of your skin or where you live or go to school. In fact, it's not about grades, money, clothes or colleges that accept you or not.  Life isn't about if you have lots of friends, or if you are alone, and it's not about how accepted or not accepted you are.  Life just isn't about that.

But life is about who you love and who you hurt.  It's about how you feel about yourself.  It's about trust, happiness and compassion. It's about sticking up for your friends and replacing inner hate with love.  Life is about avoiding jealousy, overcoming ignorance and building confidence.  It's about what you say and what you mean.  It's about seeing people for who they are and not what they have.

Most of all, it is about choosing to use your life to touch someone else's in a way that could never have been achieved otherwise. These choices are what life's about.

-- Unknown