King with a Difference
Introduction
- Today is the end of liturgical year, with the celebration of Christ the King. The journey through the liturgical year covers all the important mysteries of the redemption, starting from advent and ending with the second coming of Jesus as King and Judge.
- It was very solemnly celebrated in olden days with processions and lots of other celebrations but nowadays its popularity is diminishing. It may be because of the over influence of preparation for Christmas or lack of understanding of the concept “King” in the present times since there are no more kings that rule the nation. Any way it is a very important feast to be celebrated.
- Let us look into the uniqueness of Jesus, The King.
Content
- A King whose friends are poor
o Usually the kings are accompanied by the noble and rich men of the country. But Jesus was always with the poor and who were in search of their basic needs.
o Usually the noble and rich do the recommendation for the ordinary people in front of the king or rulers. In the case of Christ the King, the poor does the recommendation. “God hears the cry of the poor and rescue them” (Ps 34:17), (Lk 1:46-55).
o God destroys the proud and self righteous (Lk 1:46-55).
- A King who walks in front
o Usually the place of the king in a battle is at the back. First he would let the ordinary soldiers wage war and “die”. But in the case of Jesus He always stands at the front in the war against evil and to protect his people. In the Garden of Gethsemane when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, he told the disciples to go and be safe. He was all alone to fight the battle against the evil and he won the battle for us through the resurrection.
o Whenever we feel that our way of life is blocked by some hindrance (anxiety, fear, problems of life, etc.) let us pray to Jesus, our King who walks ahead of us and removes the blocks from our way.
- A Servant King
o Usually the servants wash the hands and feet of the King. But in the case of Jesus He washed the feet of the apostles. He showed us a model of service to follow. How can we serve our brothers and sisters? The answer is clearly given in today’s gospel. The ways to serve are; (seven corporal works of mercy)
1. Feeding the hungry
2. Giving drink to the thirsty
3. Clothing the naked
4. Sheltering the homeless
5. Visiting those in prison
6. Taking care of the sick
7. Burying the dead (it is added later as the seventh corporal work of mercy)
o Bl. Chavara, the founder of our congregation once told to the religious members, ‘if you do not do any of these virtues in any of the day in your life, that day is not counted in your book of life’.
Conclusion
o Let us be the citizens of God’s Kingdom by practicing the corporate virtues in our life, at least one virtue a day. By this we would be preparing our place in heaven.
o We adore a King who is the friend of poor. Let us be poor and simple in our life by avoiding pride. Remember that God hears the cry of the poor.
o Pray to God that let He walk in front of us in our ways of life. He will remove the evil powers from our ways and protect us.
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