Theme: CHRIST THE KING: A KINGDOM OF TRUTH AND LIFE, HOLINESS AND GRACE, JUSTICE, LOVE, AND PEACE
- Daniel 7:13-14;
- Psalm 92 (93): 1-2. 5. R/ v. 1;
- Apocalypse/Revelation 1:5-8
- John 18:33-37
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King and today is the Last Sunday in Ordinary Time. We celebrate the feast of Christ the King on the Last Sunday of the Liturgical Year, because we believe that at the end of the world, Jesus Christ will come a second time to be King of the universe! He will win over all and he will rule over all! This is the meaning of the end of the world. The end of the world is not the end of the physical world, but the end of the world is the end of the evil world!
Last Sunday Pope Benedict XVI told us not to believe in predictions of the end of the world. Today there are those who believe that the world will end on the 21st of December 2012, that is, next month! Films and documentaries have been promoting the belief that the ancient Mayan calendar predicts that the world will end on the 21st of December this year! 90,000 people are expected to gather at Guatemala City in Central America on the 21st of December for the end of the world! (Daily Express, 20th November 2012, p. 15)
Again, the end of the world is not the end of the physical world, but the end of the evil world. The end of the world is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ as King of the universe! He will win over all and he will rule over all as King of the universe!
The gospel today tells us that Jesus Christ is king, but he is not king of this world, that is, he is not a political, nationalistic and military king! He is king of truth and life, holiness and grace, justice, love, and peace! (Preface of Christ the King)
He is king to bear witness to the truth that the kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven is not a political, nationalistic and military kingdom; but a kingdom of truth and life, holiness and grace, justice, love, and peace!
Pilate and the Jews did not believe this truth. They rejected Jesus. They rejected peace (shalom) and that is why they are still fighting wars up to this very day! Thank God, they have agreed on a truce with “Hamas” yesterday after eight days of fighting in Gaza! Let us pray that the peace will last!
The second reading tells us about the First Coming of Jesus and the Second Coming of Jesus! In his first coming, Jesus established the kingdom of God by his death and resurrection and by washing away our sins with his blood!
In his second coming, when his kingdom will be completed, perfected, fulfilled and fully realized, Jesus will come on a cloud in power and glory and all will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the races of the world will mourn over him!
Finally, the second reading tells us that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega (Rv 1:17; 2:8; NJB), that is, the beginning and the end, the A and the Z. That is, in the beginning everything was created through him, with him and in him, and in the end everything will be saved through him, with him and in him! Indeed Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of all things!!
- The first reading also tells us that at the end of the world, Jesus will come on a cloud. He will be made king by God his Father and all the nations will become his servants! And his kingdom will be eternal. His kingdom will not pass away! His kingdom will not be destroyed! Thus we read in the first reading:
“And I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man. He came to the one of great age and was led into his presence. On him was conferred sovereignty, glory and kingship, and men of all peoples, nations and languages became his servants. His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty which shall never pass away, nor will his empire be destroyed.” (Dn 7:13-14; SM)
The responsorial psalm is a hymn of praise to God, the king of the world, whose decrees are eternal!
The responsorial psalm has three stanzas. The first and second stanzas tell us that God is the king of the world (vv. 1-2). The third stanza tells us that God’s decrees are eternal (v. 5). (NJBC)
Thus the response of the responsorial psalm:
“The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.” (Ps 92 (93): 1; SM)
Today in the Eucharist, we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and we eat his body and drink his blood, and the Risen Lord will give us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will help us to prepare for the end of the world, that is, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, by prayer, by doing God’s will, by doing good works, and by detaching ourselves from the world! A happy and holy Sunday to all of you!
Words of Spirit and Life 
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