Christ the King Solumnity (Year C)
20th November 2022 (Sunday) Readings and Reflection
Dear Brothers and Sisters, we are on the Solumnity of the Christ the King. Today's gospel reflection is on the theme Christ is the King!
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Reading of the Day
First Reading: 2 Samuel 5:1-3
In those days: All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, "Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, 'You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel."" So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.
Psalm 122:1-2, 4-5 (R. see 1)
Response: Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced when they said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the Lord."
And now our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem. Response
It is there that the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord.
For Israel's witness it is
to praise the name of the Lord.
There were set the thrones for judgment,
the thrones of the house of David. Response
Second Reading: Colossians 1:12-20
Brethren: Give thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Gospel : Luke 23:35-43
At that time: The rulers scoffed at Jesus, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews." One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise."
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Main Theme: Christ the King!
Indicative: Christ is the king of the universe. But it is not in terms of power and subjugation. Rather it is in terms of love and animation{alertSuccess}
1. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King with great joy and honour. This Sunday marks the last Sunday of the ordinary liturgical year as we will step into the holy season of Advent from next Sunday. This placement at the end of the ordinary year can indicate something significant: our whole life with all its ordinariness culminates in the kingship of Christ. We find our end and fulfilment under the reign of Christ. Our entire life must be geared and oriented toward Christ the Lord.
2. The concepts of king, kingship, and kingdom are not strange to us. History has seen a great many kings and kingdoms, both benevolent and malevolent, both just and unjust, righteous and wicked, promotive and destructive. But when we say and celebrate Christ as King, there is an enormous difference.
3. One obvious and explicit difference is he is a king with no demarcated territory of the kingdom. There are no boundaries. There are no disparities or inequalities. It is a boundless, boundaryless kingdom. It is a way of life. It is open to all and embraces all. There is equity and justice. There is no hierarchy of higher or lower, no scope for subjugation and suppression. There is no division and discrimination. There is no partiality or favouritism.
4. There is no aggression or violence. There is no death and destruction. There is no falsity and deception. There is no manipulation and corruption. There is no ruthless seeking power and popularity. Rightly, he is a king of hearts. He is the king of souls. He is the king of communities and families. He is a spiritual king.
5. Thus his kingdom is not a location or domain. It is a reign and ambience of love, justice, mercy, joy, and peace. It is a reign of truth and authenticity, loyalty and commitment. It is where one readily makes himself “the first to become the last and the servant”. It is the divine reign where one “serves and not craves to be served”. It is where one loves selflessly even to the extent of “dying for the other”. It is where one seeks relentlessly the will of God. It is where one can affirm courageously, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, let everything happen according to your holy word and will”.
6. In sum, Christ is king when and where he reigns with his virtues and values. Where there is love and not hatred, peace and not violence, reconciliation and not retaliation, forgiveness and not grudge, altruism and not egoism, truth and not duplicity, humility and not arrogance, unity and parity and not division and discrimination, magnanimity and not malice, generosity and not jealousy, purity and not pollution – there and then is Christ the king, his kingship and kingdom.
7. Today, many followers of this unparalleled and unique king sadly “profane” and “secularise” their king because they themselves are such, stung by high profanity and mundanity. They forget that they are citizens of a spiritual kingdom and not a temporal one. They forget that it is a spiritual reign and not a material domain or gain. They forget the very fact that they are only members and subjects and not the king or master themselves. They ignore the very pillars of this kingdom and build petty kingdoms with worldly pillars and ingredients.
Imperative: Time is ripe now to demolish all the false kingdoms based on money, manipulation, and deception, corrupt power and lording authority, discrimination, and aggression, malice, and destruction. Let our prayer be sincere: “Let your Kingdom come!” {alertSuccess}
Video Reflection
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