Christ the King
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
Our Lady of the Rosary, NOLA
Take
a moment to consider the crucifix—a cross made of wood with a dead
body nailed to it. What's so special about Jesus' crucifixion? In the
world ruled by the Roman Empire, slaves, pirates, and rebels against
the empire were routinely crucified. It was considered a dishonorable
way to die. In 71 B.C., the Roman general, Marcus Licinius Crassus,
finally defeated the gladiator army of Spartacus the Thracian,
crucifying 6,000 rebellious slaves along the Appian Way. Just 17
years before this, the King of Judea, Alexander
Jannaeus, crucified 88 Pharisees who opposed his rule, and five
hundred years before this, King Darius I of Babylon crucified 3,000
of his political opponents. So, Babylonians, Jews, Romans all nailed
or tied men and women to wooden crosses as a form of torture and
execution. Why then do we make such a fuss about Jesus' execution?
What's so special about a cross with the body of Christ hanging on
it? Ask yourself on this Solemnity of Christ the King: how does
Christ rule as a king while hanging dead on a cross? How does he rule
in your life, your heart and mind?
We
can start an answer to the first question—how does Christ rule as a
king while hanging dead on a cross? —by turning to Paul and his
letter to the Colossians. Paul tells us that God delivers us from the
power of darkness—from ignorance, sin, and death—and then
transfers us from this world's domination over to the kingdom—to
the rule, the governance—of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, in whom
and through whom we have redemption. And what is this redemption? The
forgiveness of our sins. So, by forgiving our sins—apart from our
good works, apart from our good intentions—God grants us absolute
amnesty, free reign to abide in His kingdom as citizens and not only
as citizens but as heirs as well! If we accept, if we receive his
freely offered amnesty, we are “transferred” to another
jurisdiction, to another governing power: the rule of Christ the
King. And under his rule, we are brothers and sisters in the Holy
Family of God. We live under a new dispensation, a new and eternal
law of charity in hope with an abiding faith. Paul says, “. . .the
Father who has made [us] fit to share in the inheritance of the holy
ones in light.” And that is what we are here to do: share in the
inheritance granted us by the death of Christ on the cross and by his
resurrection from the tomb.
But
this is only a partial answer to our first question. Christ rules a
kingdom from his cross and an empty tomb, a kingdom to which we are
heirs. But how
does he rule? Who is he that he can do such a bizarre thing? We turn
to Paul again. He writes, “[Christ] is the image of the invisible
God. . .in [Christ] were created all things in heaven and on earth. .
.all things were created through [Christ] and for [Christ]. He is
before all things, and in [Christ] all things hold together. . .”
Through Christ, for Christ, and in Christ “all things hold
together.” All things. Including me and you. If “all things”
hold together in Christ, then it follows that Christ serves as the
organizing principle, the center, the underlying structure for all of
creation. He was “at the beginning” with the Father; he is with
us now, and he will be with us always. All of this tells us that
Christ is God, so when we look at the crucifix, we see God hanging
there. Dead. For us. And b/c Christ was both human and divine, we see
humanity hanging there as well. Human nature. What you and I are are
most fundamentally. Our natura,
our essentia.
But you and I aren't dead. We're alive. How does Christ rule from the
cross? He rules through the redeemed human nature that you and I
share. He rules—at least for now—through our free reception of
his sacrificial love. We are his body and blood, his hands and feet,
moving through creation.
That's
who are we: the body and blood of Christ, his hands and feet, moving
through creation. That is, that's who we are if and when we freely
receive his sacrificial love and make that love manifest. Look at the
criminal on a cross next to Jesus. The sign above Jesus' bloody head
reads, “This is the King of the Jews.” Luke tells us, “Now one
of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, 'Are you not
the Christ? Save yourself and us.'” In other words, prove your
worth, King of the Jews! Prove that you are who you say you are! He
almost dares Jesus to rescue them from their fate. The other
criminal, traditionally named Dismas, somehow understanding who hangs
next to him, rebukes the first, saying, “Have you no fear of God,
for you are subject to the same condemnation?. . .we have been
condemned justly. . .but this man has done nothing criminal.”
Seeing the scandal of Jesus' unjust execution, Dismas freely receives
Christ's sacrificial love: “Jesus, remember me when you come into
your kingdom.” In these two condemned men, we see all of humanity:
those who dare
Christ to save them from death and those who receive
his salvation into eternal life. To the latter, Jesus says, “Amen,
I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Earlier,
I asked you: how does Christ rule in your life, your heart and mind?
One way to answer this is to think of yourself as Dismas, hanging
next to Christ on your own cross. You have accepted death as
punishment for your sins, and yet, seeing Christ dying unjustly,
innocent of any sin, you call out, “Jesus, remember me when you
come into your kingdom.” He turns to you and says, “Amen, I say
to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” From that moment,
you are “transferred” to another kingdom to live under another
law, the law of charity in hope with an abiding faith. You are
pardoned, freed from the sentence of death, and let loose to thrive
as an heir to the heavenly kingdom. Christ rules in your heart and
mind as the sovereign of your every thought, word, and deed; as the
sole ruler of everything you are and everything you do. In you, we
see the hands and feet, the body and blood, the face of Christ.
Through you, we witness the reign of Christ the King on earth. And
with you, we live to bring to the fallen world the Good News of God's
freely offered mercy to sinners through His Christ. How does Christ
rule in our lives, our hearts and minds? If we receive him, he rules
by teaching us to be servants, serving in sacrifice.
By
a show of hands, how many of you have a crucifix? At home? On you? A
rosary, a necklace? Good! When you look at that crucifix, you see
Jesus hanging dead on a cross. From now on, see a king on his throne,
ruling your world, ruling you. See the prince of peace, dying to
bring his Father's peace to your world, to you. See your Savior
throwing open his arms to show you the vistas of Paradise, to guide
you through to your inheritance. See the Judge of the Last Judgment
showing you his Father's justice and then granting you His mercy.
Imagine yourself on a cross next to him. And imagine all the steps
you followed to get there. Look down, to the foot of your cross, and
take every step back to the beginning, back to the very first time
you said to Christ, “Remember me, Lord, when you come into your
kingdom.” From that moment on, Christ has ruled you and through
you. He has served you and through you he still serves. “Amen, I
say to you, today you [are] with me in Paradise.”
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