The Lord has given us another year of growth. Throughout the world, the people of God have grown both in width and in depth. How many more children have been born and baptized this year? How much deeper is our knowledge and love for God? Christ Jesus came into the world to testify to the truth, and more have chosen to listen to his voice and belong to it.
Every year we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Church teaches her children of Christ by remembering the events of his life. Like a widow, she teaches her children by celebrating his birth, his mission, and his death. But the Bride of Christ is different than a widow. Though her beloved died, he also arose. He proved himself to be no ordinary man; neither in his love nor his power; he was also the Son of God. And so she teaches us of his resurrection; of his mission; of our salvation. She is a good mom; she makes sure that her children know their savior.
Today we learn that our savior is King. God the Father did not make himself King, but chose this identity for his Son. We see how loving our Father is. To his Son, God has given all authority, power, honor, and glory in heaven; and his kingdom will never end. The greatest mission there was, God gave to his Son. It was a difficult mission. He would be sent into a world of greed, of jealousy, and of hate. His mission was to open a path of forgiveness and renewed life to humankind. He would have to do this in a way that people chose to return and give themselves again to God freely. He would have to touch men’s hearts. Not with violence, but with love.
Love would have to face hate. And this was the difficulty. Love would endure the pain that hate inflicts. Once hate saw the blood of love on its hands, its hearts would soften. The mission the Father gave the Son was difficult, but he performed it to perfection. We accept Christ as King, because he showed us the extent of his love on the Cross. Even after we murdered him, he offered us not only forgiveness but new life through his death, baptism and the gift of his own Holy Spirit. He truly is a King worthy of complete devotion; he shares all he has with us.
This includes sharing with us the very same mission that he was given. As God the Father was good in giving Christ the highest of missions; Christ himself invites us to participate in his glory, in his kingship. We are sent… with him, through him, and in him to face hate with love. We face it firstly within ourselves, for this dialogue occurs between our own spirit and flesh. When we face it with others, we do so with the knowledge of our own struggle. We are not Christ; we point others to Christ. We don’t have saving truth; we share the truth we are receiving with others. Only his love and truth is perfect and saving. This is an attitude that Christ is King of our lives.
Year after year we celebrate the events of Christ’s life. From his birth to his ascension in heaven. We learn not only of him, but his mission, and his way of furthering that mission. Charity, sacrifice, patience, forgiveness. More and more he wins over our hearts; more and more we help him with his mission; more and more we share in his kingship. We thank God the Father for giving us a King of Love; our Mother the Church for sharing with us the truth of her spouse; and Christ Jesus our King for suffering and dying so that we might see and understand.