THE FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING, November 24, 2024
Our calendar year begins on January 1, and ends on December 31 each year. Our liturgical (Church year) calendar begins on the first Sunday of Advent, aand that happens about the last days of November or the early days of December, and ends on the feast of Christ the King, which is the feast we celebrate today.
In our gospel reading today we learn the historic background to the feast of Christ the King. The gospel story (John 18:33-37) tell us that Jesus is led into the court room of Pilate. Pilate asks him ‘if he is king of the Jews? Jesus asks him if he is asking with the understanding that he is opposed to Roman rule in Jerusalem or if he is simply as a religious leader. Pilate is on the defensive and simply said I am not a Jew and why have your religious leaders brought you into court. Jesus said I am a king, but my kingdom does not belong in this world and If it were my followers would protect me from false accusations. Jesus confirms that he is a king, that he was born to be a king, that his calling by God is to be a king that will bear witness to the truth, and that every person who is on the side truth believe in me and in my message.
How do we get from the questions by Pilate to the Feast of Christ the King? The feast itself was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925. Pius XI was pope 1922 until 1939. He was a very learned person, and he noticed that many of the larger countries in Europe were becoming very secular. In Russia, in Germany and Italy different forms forms of government – communism, Fascism, socialism were developing rapidly. These governments stressed the rights of the government and downplayed the role and rights of individuals. The dignity and sacredness of individual person was neglected. Pope Pius XI stanchly emphasized the rights of each person, their right to own property, their right to organize, their right to practice religions and their right to their personal dignity and freedom.
Pope Pius set us the Feast of Christ the King to emphasize that instead of loyalty to the state or government, each person would be to be loyal to Christ the King, and the Feast honoring Christ the King was set up as a reminder that we owe our loyalty to Christ the king.
On this feast of Christ the King, we are encouraged to think about Jesus as our king, that we owe him our loyalty, and our lives will center on Jesus as our king. Jesus would be our shepherd king, he would care for the people, and would be the center of our lives.
We learned from the first (Daniel 7:13-14) and second readings (Apocalypse 1:5-8) today, describing visions of the sacred authors, that the people lived at the mercy of those who were strong and influential. The visions of the sacred authors offered encouragement and hope to the people. Trusting in the understanding of a caring God and a compassionate Jesus, the people were encouraged to look to the future with hope.
This feast day offers us the same message of hope:
In times of struggle, or times of grief, or in times of illness, we are offered the message of hope from the present of Jesus as king of our lives.
For people living in times of war, destruction and loss, we can draw strength from Jesus, the center and hope of our lives.
For young people, often wearied by the social stresses in their lives, we say ‘trust in Christ your king.
May this feast-day be a time of peacefulness and encouragement.
[Submitted by Father David O’Connor, EMAIL: doconnor.natchez@gmail.com]
Father David O'Connor 10 Morgantown Road Natchez, MS 39120-2788
