Christ the King

One

Today is the Feast of Christ the King.

The word Christ is the Greek translation of the word Messiah: the Anointed One, the King. Jesus is so intrinsically King that the title “king” has actually become his name: Jesus Christ, Jesus King. And by calling ourselves Christians, we label ourselves as followers of the King, as people who recognize Jesus as their King. But if we are to appreciate this feast, then we must trace its origin to the Old Testament.

In 1 Samuel the Israelites came to the Prophet Samuel saying, “We want a King to govern us like all the other nations.” Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “They have rejected me from the start, no matter what I have done for them.”

Pope Benedict XVI writes, “God did not intend Israel to have a king. The king was a result of Israel’s rebellion against God …The law was to be Israel’s king, and through the law, God himself…”

Then God said to Samuel, “Therefore, give them what they want – give them a king. But first warn them what an earthly king will be like.” And Samuel said to the people, “These will be the rights of the king who is to reign over you. He will take your sons and assign them to his chariotry and cavalry, and they will run in front of his chariot. He will use them as leaders of a thousand and leaders of fifty; he will make them plough his farmland and harvest his harvest and make his weapons of war and the gear for his chariots. He will also take your daughters as slaves. He will take the best of your fields, of your vineyards and olive groves and give them to his officials…and you yourselves will become his slaves…The people refused to listen to the words of Samuel. They said, 'No! We want a king!” 

This was not God’s will for them, but God respects our freedom and lets us make really stupid choices. 

Two

Now we come to the Gospel for the Feast of Christ the King.

Some ordinary guy, Dismas, made some really stupid choices, so stupid and wrong he has been sentenced to death by crucifixion. And when we meet him at this moment, he is dying on a cross. This was the result of a long series of really bad choices. 

But as he hangs there, he turns to his left and sees another man crucified next to him. That man has an inscription over his head that reads, “This is the King of the Jews.” This is beyond imagination. The King of the Universe, God himself, came all the way from heaven and descended right into Dismas’ dismal situation to be crucified with him. 

And the King of the Universe turns to his right and says to him, “Dismas, don’t be afraid, do not despair, I am with you, I can work this out for your best, just trust me.” And Dismas cries out, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingly power.”

“Today” Jesus replied, “you will be with me in paradise.” 

Three

This is what our King Jesus does! He writes straight with our crooked lines. 

He descends into all the bad choices, all the missteps and mistakes, all that is out of our control, and everything that is not our fault. And if we place our trust in him and surrender to him, he will turn all things to good for those who love him! And I mean all things! No exceptions.

Pope Benedict writes, “If we look closely, we shall discover that this is the usual form of the divine activity in relation to mankind. God does not have a fixed plan that he must carry out; on the contrary, he has many different ways of finding man and even of turning his wrong ways into right ways... This, then, is God’s kingship—a love that is impregnable and an inventiveness that finds man by ways that are always new. 

“For us, consequently, God’s kingship means that we must have an unshakeable confidence. For this is still true and is applicable to every single life: no one has reason to fear or to capitulate. God can always be found. The Feast of Christ the King is not, therefore, the feast of those who are under a yoke but of those who are grateful to find themselves in the hands of him who writes straight on crooked lines.” Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Co-Workers of the Truth

Four

Don’t catastrophize! 

Both Dismas and the other guy who was crucified (tradition calls him “Gestas”) were in a pretty bad situation, one that looked hopeless.

They reacted in very different ways. 

Gestas lost his head, mocked Jesus, and cursed at him in anger, frustration, and despair. I don’t know what happened to him, but it doesn’t seem very good.

Dismas, on the other hand, didn’t catastrophize the situation. He didn’t blow up, or curse at God. He didn’t blame someone else for his problems. And he didn’t give up hope.

Dismas kept his head, turned and saw Jesus, and said basically, “This is my fault, it’s totally out of control, and I can’t fix it. Jesus, I surrender to you, take care of everything!”

When it really couldn’t get worse, Dismas trusted in Divine Providence and surrendered to Jesus. And God worked it all out in his favor. 

This is why we can always be at peace, we can always be content. Because God in his Providence is watching over and guiding everything. 

Most importantly, God is guiding all things that happen so that through them He can bring us what we really need, Jesus. 

God brought Jesus to Dismas when it looked really bad. No matter what you are going through, God will bring Jesus to you if you keep your head.

Five

Since Jesus is our King, then we too should make this the pattern of our lives: to write no one off, to try to reach them again and again with the inventiveness of an open heart. 

I don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise me if everyone had written off Dismas. But not our King Jesus. He went in search of him and it was messy, and it cost him dearly, it cost him his life. Oh, and by the way, Dismas was responsible for the death of Jesus, just as all of us sinners are.

So, is there a spouse or child or sibling that we have written off because they have hurt us, or time and time again they’ve made stupid or sinful choices and refuse to learn? Are they far from God? Have they rejected your initiatives to help them to Jesus?

Just as God has forgiven us and been merciful to us we must do so for them.

Have we forgiven them? Do we pray and offer sacrifice for them? Do we seek them out in friendship to spend time with them as a bridge to their return to God?

Jesus went in search of Dismas, and it was messy, and it cost him something. How about you?