It’s amazing to think that that next week is Advent and
that, in just one month, it will be Christmas. And it may be a little too soon
to talk about Christmas, but today’s feast, Christ the King, has everything to do
with Christmas and, conversely, Christmas has everything to do with Christ the
King. In fact, today’s solemnity even has to do with the Epiphany!
But first, Christmas.
On Christmas, we will celebrate the birth of our King,
Jesus Christ. Born under the cover of darkness, in an historic yet forgotten
town of Bethlehem, Jesus is praised by the angels who sing with us and the
shepherds:
Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let
earth receive her King!
Yes, let earth receive her king!
But her King, she did not receive. The inns rejected Him.
Herod, a king, would not travel a mere five miles to visit Him. And Pontius
Pilate (who we see in the Gospel), did not know a King when he saw one. Spurred
on by the Jews, Pilate, instead of giving a crown of glory, gave Jesus a crown
of thorns. With Pilate, we seem to ask:
What child is this?
Do we not know?
This, this is Christ the King whom shepherds
guard and angels sing!
So why did Jesus come as a little one, an infant, a babe?
Because He wants to be held. He is not a threat; He is pure, innocent, good …
vulnerable … Yes, He is vulnerable to us. (Oh,
Pilate! Do you not know?)
Maybe that is an invitation to us. Jesus does not want us
to fear, but to come close, like those shepherds on Christmas night, and to
receive Him whose kingdom and glory are still hidden. Jesus may appear weak,
but that is only for your benefit: that you may not be afraid – or ashamed – to
approach and to hold.
*
I also said that today’s Solemnity of Christ the King also
connects to another feast: the Epiphany.
On the Epiphany, January 6th, the twelfth day
of Christmas, three wise men visit Jesus.
Whereas Herod would not travel a short distance, the three
wise men (also known as the Three Kings) travel over a thousand miles to visit
Jesus.
We three kings of Orient are. Bearing gifts, we’ve traverse afar.
When they arrive, they see the humble beginnings of Our Lord:
a stable, a poor woman (Mary) and her husband, Joseph. There is no apparent
glory here except for the star overhead – which was everything to these
Chaldean philosophers.
But far from venting their disappointment at the poverty
before their eyes, the kings open the treasures that they have brought. And
more, inspired by the light (not of the star, but of faith), the three kings
pay Jesus homage. They genuflect, they kneel, they lay prostrate.
King forever, ceasing never, over us all to
reign.
The three kings return their kingship to the source of
their kingship: Jesus the King. They are not threatened like Herod was by this
new king. They want His dominion ceasing never.
And what is “dominion”? It is the “dom” of the word “kingdom.”
It is to grant access and, more, rule – power, authority, control. The kings want Jesus to rule over them, to have
all power and authority, wisdom and might over their lives. They are lost
without Him – why else leave home and go on a journey of over a thousands miles
if not because they were missing something?
Yes, rule over us, Infant King!
*
Christmas and the Epiphany are the beautiful beginnings –
the Alpha – to today’s Solemnity – the Omega.
At the end of all time, the Infant King will not come
with invitation or mercy, but with compulsion and justice. All people – “even
those that pierced Him” will know Him and worship.
For those that have enjoyed His rule, His dominion here
on earth, Jesus’ coming will be expected and eagerly received.
Come thou long-expected Jesus!
This is the true advent – the true coming (adventus) for which we wait and long for
-- when those who mourn will be comforted; those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness will be satisfied; and those who are pure in heart will finally
see God.
For those who have held the Infant King and welcomed His
reign in their hearts and homes, the dies
irae – the Day of Wrath – will be the day when their King finally reveals
the glory only enjoyed by glimpses at the Transfiguration and Ascension.
And all will be judged. But only some will be judged by
their Beloved, their Friend, their Everything.
But for those that have not held Him, not fallen
prostrate before Him, oh! Lord, may souls hear your call before it is too late!
Repent! For the Kingdom of God is at hand!
No more than an arm’s length. That’s how far Jesus is
from you – at His furthest. In Holy Communion, He will be closer to you than
you are to yourself. And yet. How far will you be from Him? Will you draw
close?
*
Remember what we pray before we receive our King today.
We pray:
Our Father, who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…
We pray that our King may draw close and that the glory
of heaven and its peace may break through and break apart the darkness of this
world.
Peace.
St. Catherine of Siena says: “Without war, there is no
peace.” Peace, then, is the fruit, perhaps the gift, of the war having been
won. Today’s Solemnity, begun at Christmas under cover of darkness with but a
small celestial nod, reveals the campaign against darkness that our Lord now
brings:
If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting…
Jesus came quietly, softly,
Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all
is bright…
And the shepherds came. And the three kings. And the angels.
An the victory over hearts was subtle, hardly perceived
save that
They went home by another route
But a change nevertheless.
Yet someday, those attendants – those holy angels and the
holy shepherds and saints (some martyrs, some virgins) – will come with our
Lord among the clouds. And we will see them and their glory, the glory of the
Lord, conquering this world, making it their own. There will be no more kingdom
of darkness, but only the Kingdom of Light and Love and Peace.
And that Kingdom is hand. Do you not perceive it?
Come, let us adore Him. … Christ, the Lord!
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit. Amen.
