This Sunday is the Feast of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. King of the Universe. It’s the end of our liturgical year, making next Sunday the beginning of Advent. We end one year by looking at the very purpose of Christianity, only to begin the next by asking for Christ to be reborn in our lives, our world, and our hearts. In the first reading, we see an image of David being made the king of Israel. In it the people say to him, we are your bone and your flesh. We as Christians 2000 years later use this imagery a lot. We talk of the Church as Jesus’ body and blood. We too, like the Israelites, are citizens of the Kingdom of David. Jesus is the King forever on the throne, an eternal Kingdom that we pray for at each Mass when we say “thy Kindom come, thy will be done.”
It should also remind us that being citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven is more than just being subjected to laws or commands. This phrase reminds us that we are in a Covenant relationship with God. That our citizenship is more than just a contract or a ruler with subjects, but rather a marriage vow. “At last flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone.” (Adam upon seeing Eve). As Christians, we are not just being given the grace of God giving himself to us, but the opportunity to give ourselves completely back to Him. That’s powerful. Most of the religions of the time displayed Gods who simply demanded and followers who sacrificed to meet their demands. Our God says being a citizen means being an active participant in a relationship. “I give you all of me, and you give me all of you.” No boundaries, no barriers, the Body of Christ and Jesus Christ Himself united as one. That should change us, change how we act, how we behave, how we look.
What does it mean to be an active citizen though? It means more than just saying a single prayer, or just being baptized. It means that we too are saying through our faith that we believe Jesus is the one spoken to when the Lord said ‘You shall shepherd my people Israel and shall be the commander of Israel.’ That means we must listen to God as He guides us through His Church. That the Scriptures, Tradition, and Magisterium all work together to be the voice of God speaking to us here and now, showing us how to behave as men and women in this Kingdom. A kingdom that is supposed to look different, be set apart. With all the things going on politically, it is a painful reminder that we Christians tend to vote like the rest of the country. The polls show that if you look at Catholic voters, in particular, you don’t see left or right-leaning voting bases… you instead see people who vote just like the rest of the country. So much so that many times they simply look at Catholic voters and say OK this is what it’s gonna look like in the end.
It goes much the same with the rest of our lives too. The shows we watch, the music we listen to, the way we behave in public. Many Christians look just like everyone else in the world. How then can we as Catholics reclaim our identity as members of the body of Christ? How can we truly live our lives in a way that says we believe everything the Church teaches? The Sacraments first and foremost. Going to confession and Mass frequently sets the tone for the rest of our lives. Maybe even more importantly, it sets the tone for the end of our lives. I saw a meme yesterday that really hit home for me as a man who really loves food. Dr. Greger said “If you keep eating each meal like it’s your last… it’s going to be your last.” That’s good advice for life in general, isn’t it?
I wrote just the other day about how Jesus’ bucket list was to wash the feet of His Disciples. Jesus was heading to Jerusalem to live out today’s Gospel. To hang on a cross and die for our sins, for our punishment. He didn’t then say to us “OK, I’ve done the lifting the heavy work, now you take it easy and enjoy yourself.” Instead, He said, “Take up your cross and follow me” and again “Can you drink the cup which I drink?” Our lives should be lived in a way that shows the beatitudes to those who see us, in a way that shows us putting others first (washing their feet when we are facing our own struggles and fears.) Spiritual poverty puts others before us, as the famous quote of JFK goes “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what can you do for your country?” Often we are too busy asking what God can do for us (prosperity Gospel) than what we can do for God (and others). So then what does life look like on the cross? It involves us doing the lifting, the suffering, the dying… that others might turn to us and express hope. That they may see in our daily lives something that makes them hope for their own salvation, that they might turn to you and say “remember me in your prayers, I want to go to heaven too.”
In the end, yes Jesus did all the work on the cross. He died for us, for our sins. Our suffering though, our offering to Christ has value. It is united to Christ in the Mass, in the Eucharist, who takes the things we can truly express as imperfect, and unites them with the work of the Christ to make an acceptable sacrifice to God, our Heavenly Father. So we should come to Mass with that in mind. Going to Confession beforehand, preparing ourselves by reading the readings, praying and meditating on them. Then spending time in silent adoration as we wait for the Mass to begin, that we too might offer ourselves to God completely. That’s what participating in the Mass is all about. We aren’t just offering the gifts of the bread and wine, but everything we have and all that we are to join in with Christ… because we are members of His Body. Then we receive Him to allow Him to further change us, to help us to grow to be even more like Him, including in our suffering and giving… in hopes that one day we too might be united with Him in His Kingdom.
Next time you step up to receive Jesus Christ, Body, Soul and Divinity, in the little white host of the Eucharistic Sacrifice… remember that Amen you are about to speak is pregnant with meaning. It is you speaking in front of the entire Host of Heaven, agreeing that not only do you believe the host is truly Jesus Christ, but that you believe everything His Church teaches here on earth. Then we are supposed to go forth proclaiming that message, living it out in a way that the world says: “Their different.” But also in a way that they start to wonder how they can have that difference in their life too. Faith. Hope. Charity. May we on this day receive a supernatural gift of those virtues in abundance, that we too might experience the peace and joy that surpasses all understanding.
See you on “New Years” (First Sunday in Advent), God willing.
A reflection on the readings for November 24th, 2019: The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe