Daily Gospel Reflection
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November 24, 2019
And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah[a] 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 there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? 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 have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
On this, the Feast of Christ the King, I need to believe there is an immense healing power in both the question asked by the criminal on the cross and in Jesus’s response.
The man’s request is a simple one: a plea to be remembered. Christ’s response is equally direct and reassuring: the man will be with him in paradise. I think equally important what is not said in this exchange. Jesus does not correct the man’s desire, does not suggest that more will be required to join him. Indeed, it seems that being remembered is enough for salvation. I also think it’s no accident that the central mechanism of the Eucharistic prayer is an exhortation to remember. To bring the body and blood of Christ into the world, the act is a memorial one: “Do this in memory of me.”
My grandmother passed away very recently, and I have found myself contemplating the first time that she obviously forgot who I was. Leaning on my aunt’s arm, she looked at me and smiled warmly, much as she always did. Then she turned to my aunt and asked, “Who is that young man?”
It felt as if our shared experiences blinked halfway out of existence, their significance halved by their loss to her. There were few moments from then on that I could be sure that she remembered me. I struggled with this.
“Who is that young man?”
Who was I, what was our relationship, without her memory of all of it?
In retrospect, it is easier for me to see the answer in the Eucharist. In this central act of remembrance, the Body of Christ and the Communion of Saints create the space where all can live on together. I am a member of that Body and so is my grandmother. In the ritual of the Mass, we celebrate all those who make up the Body of Christ and we look ahead to the coming reign of Christ the King, when all will be brought together. In the end, in the eschaton, when Christ enters the fullness of his reign, we will both remember and be remembered.
Prayer
Jesus our Savior and King, you reign from no lavish throne or exclusive palace, but rather showcase your power in humble submission upon the wood of a cross. Yours alone is the glory for all ages, and yours is the name we exalt above every other name. Enfold us into your gentle rule where charity and compassion greet us on the way to your eternal kingdom. Have mercy, we pray. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Today’s feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, is a recent addition to the Catholic liturgical calendar. Pope Pius XI instituted this feast in 1925 to help the Church respond to rising secularism and atheism in the world.
In his papal encyclical, Quas Primas (In the First), in which Pope Pius XI inaugurates the feast of Christ the King, Pope Pius wrote, “Oh, what happiness would be ours if all people, individuals, families, and nations, would but let themselves be governed by Christ!” Pope Pius XI cites the precedent for introducing new feast days into the liturgical calendar: the Church sees a pressing need for the culture around it to be reminded of some particular aspect of the Catholic faith. The feast of Corpus Christi was instituted when devotion to the Eucharist was waning. "So, too," Pius XI notes, "the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was instituted at a time when men were oppressed by the sad and gloomy severity of Jansenism, which had made their hearts grow cold, and shut them out from the love of God and the hope of salvation."
Pius XI cites his reasons for establishing the feast of Christ the King as the widespread prevalence of relativism and anti-clericalism. He desires to remind the world that Christ—and his Church—are truly Lord over all. As Catholics wrestle with the crisis of leadership in our church hierarchy and episcopacy today, this feast day can perhaps serve as a testament of our own faith in Christ as the leader of our church in whom we can place our trust completely. Christ, as the ruler of the universe, will guide his Church with his providence, and the human leaders of our church ought to model themselves after his example.
The feast of Christ the King always falls on the last Sunday of the church year—a new liturgical year begins next Sunday with the start of Advent. This feast is a fitting way to send us into Advent, the season of preparing our hearts to better recognize and receive God who comes to us in the person of Jesus. Today, we remember that Jesus will come to us at the end of time to usher in the fullness of God’s kingdom, and it reminds us to recall that Jesus comes to us every day as well.
The Gospel readings for this feast in the three year Sunday lectionary cycle always serve to subvert our understanding of kingship from the perspective of earthly power. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus reminds us that we will be judged based on how we serve–or fail to serve–those in greatest need. In John's Gospel, Jesus tells Pilate, "My kingdom does not belong to this world," as he prepares for the way of the cross. In Luke's Gospel, Jesus hangs on the cross and mercifully promises salvation to the common criminal crucified next to him. These readings show us that the kingship of Christ overturns the systems of power, wealth, and force which rule over the world. The kingship of Christ belongs to the Kingdom of God which he inaugurates through his self emptying love.
Our featured image is of a statue of Christ the King, which stands atop the tower of the Eck School of Law. The reliquary chapel in Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart contains pieces of the crown of thorns worn by Jesus during his passion, as well as pieces of clothing that he wore during his life.
On this feast of Christ the King, let us allow Christ to reign in our minds, our wills, our hearts, and our bodies!