CHRIST THE KING

CHRIST THE KING 

Once there lived two evil brothers and one of them died. So, the other went to the priest and said, “Here is million dollars and please say that my brother was a saint in your funeral homily”. The priest accepted the money and at the funeral, he said that the man who died was very evil. He abused his wife and children and he treated people badly and even killed and stole money from others. Then there was a pause and looked at the people and said, “But comparing his living brother, he was a saint”. 

Friends in Christ Jesus, 

Today the Holy Catholic Church celebrates the feast of ‘Christ the king”. Christ is our cosmic king who loves us all equally. There is no partiality in His kingdom. You can be rich or poor; sinner or saint; holy or unholy, His love towards you will never change. He is always after that one sheep that is lost.  

Once our teacher gave an unfinished statement that read, “If you were a king....and asked us to finish the sentence. And I wrote, “If I were a king, I would treat everyone as king”. I came up with that statement because of Christ. The king who was born like you and me, began to treat everyone king. You are so special in His kingdom. 

Once a king as he was returning to his palace, saw a poor beggar suffering in the cold and looked at him and said, “I see you suffering in the cold and wait here and I will send some sweater and comforter for you”.  

The king went to his palace and completely forgot of what he said to the old man outside. The next day as he was going out remembered about his promise and took some clothes for the old man who suffering in the cold. But unfortunately, the old man died of cold weather and he had a note in his hand. The king took the note that read, “Your majesty, I had been living outside in the cold weather over thirty-five years and the weather never bothered me at all. But yesterday you said that I was shivering and was cold and I believed it and was waiting for your help. You never came back and I died because of you. 

There were so many kings lived in those days and even today, we call them politicians, who make promise after promise but never keep them. They lead people to different reality. But on the other hand, there is a king who keeps His promise and does everything well for humanity. Yes, Christ the cosmic king does great things for us. 

1. Christ the cosmic king said, “I am your servant and I came to serve and not to be served”. In the time of Jesus, servants were not treated well. The owner of the house used to call everyone by name and even he would call his dog with proper name but not the servants. Servants were treated as subhuman, no name and no dignity. But Christ the king accepted to be a servant and thus He washed His own disciples’ feet. As He lowered Himself, God exalted Him above all else. He is our cosmic king and His kingdom has no end.  

2. Christ the king said, “I am the Good Shepherd and I lead my sheep to everlasting life” He calls us by name and feeds us with finest of all. Yes, He feeds us with unconditional love and unlimited forgiveness. 

3. In today’s gospel, as Christ the king was hanging on the Cross, a thief is stealing his heart saying, “ Please remember me in your kingdom” and Christ says that that would be with Him in paradise. 

Conclusion: 

His kingdom is heaven and where there is love, there is God and where there is God and that’s called heaven. So, let us extend our love and experience heaven every day. God bless.