Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Lk 23: 35-43
And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Kingdom of Peace and Justice
Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. There is something powerful, I think, about declaring as a community that we have no king, no ruler, but God himself. At a time when the national discourse of the United States is inundated with tribal demands of our allegiance, isn’t it freeing to be reminded that we are called to love and serve God alone and in him find our true identity? The kingdom proposed by our readings and liturgical prayers today is one of peace and justice, truth and life, holiness and grace, an eternal kingdom in which no one seeks to sow division or manipulate others for their own gain. We are not called to sit on the sidelines and wait for that kingdom to be built. We are called to do our part, no matter how small, every day, brick by beloved brick.
—Fr. Louis Hotop, SJ, serves in ministry to migrants in the Brownsville (Texas) Diocese on the U.S.-Mexico border. He is a member of the Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province.
Kingdom of Peace and Justice
Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. There is something powerful, I think, about declaring as a community that we have no king, no ruler, but God himself. At a time when the national discourse of the United States is inundated with tribal demands of our allegiance, isn’t it freeing to be reminded that we are called to love and serve God alone and in him find our true identity? The kingdom proposed by our readings and liturgical prayers today is one of peace and justice, truth and life, holiness and grace, an eternal kingdom in which no one seeks to sow division or manipulate others for their own gain. We are not called to sit on the sidelines and wait for that kingdom to be built. We are called to do our part, no matter how small, every day, brick by beloved brick.
—Fr. Louis Hotop, SJ, serves in ministry to migrants in the Brownsville (Texas) Diocese on the U.S.-Mexico border. He is a member of the Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you who are king over all creation, reign within my heart. Grant me the strength and grace to do my small part to build your kingdom today by serving my brothers and sisters in imitation of you, with gentleness and love, sincerity and truth, placing all things within your hands, trusting in your divine providence to guide me. Amen.
—Fr. Louis Hotop, SJ