Gospel Reflection for 20th November 2016

The Feast of Christ our King

There was a time when most countries in the world were ruled over by a king or a queen. When these died, their children inherited their thrones and the royal family line continued. Today, however, there are very few countries where kings or queens rule their country by divine right. At the time of Jesus, those who belonged to royal families and households lived above and beyond the people they controlled and ruled over.

Jesus had none of the wealth, riches or palaces of a king. He had none of the power, prestige or privileges that went with being born into a royal family. Jesus was born in an animal shed in small unimportant town. The first people who came to see him when he was born were not presidents, general or other royalty. They were shepherds, who were the poorest of people. But they knew who he was.

Jesus did not surround himself with important or powerful people. He did not sit with and eat with people of influence and wealth. He made friends with the lame, the deaf and the blind. He sat and ate with people who were ignored and rejected. He spoke to and spent time with people who were seen as outcasts and sinners; the widows, the lepers, and a Samaritan woman at a well. It is worth remembering that it was the blind who saw Jesus, if the deaf who heard him and it was the lame who followed him. They knew he was.

When we pray the Creed, we say, his kingdom will no end. When we pray the Our Father, we pray may your kingdom come. Just as Jesus is as very different sort of King, his kingdom is equally different. His kingdom is not based of power or control. The kingdom of God is based on love, mercy forgiveness, justice and peace, and concern for the poor. Even while dying on the cross between two thieves, Jesus offer forgiveness and eternal life to one is poor. This is the gospel image of royalty, the king and criminal who go together into paradise.

If Jesus is a king and we are brother and sisters, then we belong to a royal household. Because if this, we also have the responsibility of doing all we can to cooperate with Jesus and each other to make his kingdom a reality here and now. The Kingdom of God will reach its fullness at the end of time, but it begins here and now in our time. If we pray your kingdom come, what are we doing about to make it a reality?

• Michael Moore OMI