Gospel
Luke 23:35-43
At that time the leaders jeered at Jesus, saying: “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”The soldiers mocked him too, and when they approached to offer him vinegar they said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”Above him there was an inscription: “This is the King of the Jews.”One of the criminals hanging there abused him. “Are you not the Christ?” he said. “Save yourself and us as well.”But the other spoke up and rebuked him. “Have you no fear of God at all?” he said. “You got the same sentence as he did, but in our case we deserved it: we are paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus,” he said “remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
“Indeed, I promise you,” he replied “today you will be with me in paradise.”
Homily
This Sunday is the last Sunday of the Liturgical year, we can call it “the old year Sunday” of the church and as on most old year’s days it is a good custom to reflect on the way that we have lived the past year. The feast of Christ the King is always the Feast of the last Sunday of the year and the church invites us, in the light of the readings of the Mass for this feast, to consider and to reflect upon our understanding and use of power.
We must understand, first of all, that Kings in Gospel times were not constitutional monarchs. They were absolute monarchs with all that being an absolute monarch implied. They literally had power over the lives of all their subjects. The Gospel however shows us a King, but not a King with absolute power, for at that moment in his life, he had none at all.
What we do see is a man with absolute mastery over himself, being jeered at by all and sundry, yet standing and then hanging with total dignity and not letting himself be bowed by the abuse heaped upon him.
Here we do not see a man cringing in fear, or begging for mercy or cursing his tormentors. Rather we see a man who in his moment of agony, still had it in him to pastor someone who was undergoing the same suffering. He tells the thief crucified with him, “Indeed, I promise you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
History is full of examples of people who died for their ideals. The thousands in the Middle East on either side of the ideological divide, who daily give their lives, attest to this.
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In Jesus however, what we see is not only the power of an ideal, but the power of a relationship. Jesus could stand with absolute mastery over himself, and indeed over those who tormented him because of his relationship with God, his Father.
It is this relationship which allowed Jesus to use his power over nature, over demons, over sicknesses, not for himself but for others, so that even in his agony, he could still pastor the repentant thief. This power never crushes; it always builds up, because it is essentially the power of love. Today then we celebrate this power and those who practiced and practice it.
We remember Ghandi and his policy of non violence standing, clothed in his homespun dhoti, before the power of the British Empire and conquering it.
We remember Nelson Mandela securing freedom for his people and securing a country that did not let blood flow in vengeance, we remember Mons. Romero, in El Salvador and Teresa in Calcutta. They all stood before very powerful hostile forces and conquered. Why? Not simply because of the power of their ideals but much more because of the power flowing from their relationship with God.
As we reflect on the power of Jesus, we look at our use of power. So often unlike Jesus and the examples above, we have used it to crush others, to gain benefits for ourselves, but our world will never change if we continue to use power as it is so widely used today.
As disciples of Jesus we have to develop and continue the tradition that Jesus and the heroes of our faith have passed down to us. We have to ensure that it passes on to those who follow us. I suppose, at the end of it all, it depends on each one of us to discover the power that flows from our relationship with God, and then use this power for the good of those around us. This is my wish for you as we end our liturgical year and begin a new one.
Prayer
All powerful King, I desire to be your subject. As my King I desire to give You all honour and glory but I am so often weak and let the values of the world take precedence over yours. Help me with your grace to be your faithful subject, striving to build a deep relationship with You and serving You in others. Amen
