Feast of Christ the King
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. As we celebrate Christ the King, we celebrate what is, but also long for what is to come. We see this even in our Lord’s description of His kingdom. In the Gospel according to St. Mark, in the very first chapter, Christ says, “‘This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand.” In the Gospel according to St. Luke, in chapter 21, the same Christ says, “‘behold, the kingdom of God is among you.’” And yet, as we heard today, Christ also says in the Gospel according to St. John, “‘My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants [would] be fighting to keep me from being handed over…. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.’” So, which is it? Is the kingdom at hand and even among us, or is it not here?
But, and you don’t have to look hard to realize this next point, we’re not living in the fullness of the kingdom. Our bodies do not always obey our souls, which do not always obey the will of God. Love is distorted to mean delight or even license; justice is often available to the highest bidder and is applied differently if you have money and/or power than if you don’t; civil unrest, battles, and wars still plague our cities, State, nation, and world. Sorry, Belinda Carlisle, but heaven is not a place on earth. And yet, as followers of Christ live the Gospel, heaven does break into earth more and more, and the kingdom establishes itself more perfectly. When we love to the best of our ability with the love of God, the kingdom grows. When we proclaim the truth of the Gospel, the truth that the Church continues to unpack throughout the centuries, the kingdom grows. When we not only give each other his or her due, but also help others to thrive, the kingdom grows. When we are able to pray for our enemies and do good to those who persecute us, the kingdom grows. This is not to say that we are the ones who bring about the kingdom; that work is always primarily the work of God, with which we participate. The approach that we have to usher in the kingdom tends to go wrong pretty quickly, due to our own sinfulness. Just look at the approach taken in Central America which sought to bring about the kingdom, but which ended up being Marxist regimes that oppressed the people and led to class warfare and societal instability.
It is Christ who brings about His own kingdom, and He will fully establish His reign at the end of time, when His angels will separate the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the chaff, and will cast down the beast and its followers for eternity in Hell. That will be a dies irae for those who work against God, and the battle will be swift and decisively victorious for Christ.
It will be decisive because Christ already decisively conquered on a tree. His sacrifice, re-presented for us in an unbloody manner on this altar, was the defining battle of all time, when Satan was conquered once-for-all, and sin and death were trod underfoot. So Christ already achieved victory, but that victory has not been extended in totality yet. And that is why we wait.
And as we wait, we show if we want to be victorious in Christ, or conquered with the ancient foe. We demonstrate whether we prefer to serve in heaven or reign in hell. Our actions are our response to the invitation of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God. Are we going to the wedding feast of the kingdom, or do we find excuses why we cannot attend?
If we wish that kingdom to spread, if we wish to cooperate in spreading that kingdom, then it begins here. If Christ is the kingdom of God in its fullness, then when we receive Holy Communion worthily, the kingdom of God is among us and even within us. Coming to Mass, offering ourselves with the host and the wine, and then receiving in a state of grace the Eucharist allows the kingdom of God to be planted inside of us at least each week, or even every day. The more that we receive the Eucharist in a state of grace, the more likely it is that we will respond to spreading that kingdom in our lives at work, at home, on vacation, at sporting events, etc.
That kingdom also spreads most easily through the domestic church, the family. When parents demonstrate love, the children learn to do the same. When children and parents tell the truth, God’s kingdom is strengthened among them. When parents make sure that every member of the family has the ability, not only to survive but to thrive, the justice of the Kingdom of God grows. When children learn how to say “I’m sorry” when they have done wrong, and when children see their parents apologize for their sins in confession and in the home, Christ’s kingship is established more and more. And then those children are more likely to do the same in the homes and families that they make for themselves. And the kingdom spreads even more.
If you wish to help the kingdom God, then love, not only your neighbors, but also your enemies. If you wish to help the kingdom of God, tell the truth, be honest in contracts. If you wish to help the kingdom of God, stand up for what is right, no matter how unpopular it may be, correct with charity, when appropriate, and administer discipline as your state calls you. If you wish to help the kingdom of God, admit when you’re wrong, and forgive when others have wronged you. It will help show the “already” of the kingdom, and will allow us to persevere in the “not yet,” until Christ reigns fully, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
