Christ The King

8:30 Mass Homily

Today is The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.  It has great significance – great meaning for today and our future.

My homily is divided into two parts. The first is about this feast’s background, our Church’s past response to extreme evil, and an important date we just honored – Veterans Day. The second is about the inside of this church and a choice we might make. 

First, why and when was this feast created? This Solemnity is known as an “idea feast” because it doesn’t mark a significant event in the life of Jesus, but it honors him as our Savior. This feast was created almost 100 years ago in 1925 by Pope Pius XI whose pontificate lasted from 1922-1939. Pius wanted to combat and counteract political systems that encouraged nationalism and were influenced by secularism and atheism. The horrible consequences of World War I was just one reason for this feast. By creating this Solemnity the Pope affirmed the rule of Christ over persons, families, society, states, and even the whole universe. 

When establishing this feast, Pope Pius said: “The manifold evils in the world were due to the fact that the majority of men had thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law out of their lives; and the majority of men had insisted that Christ and his law had no place either in private affairs or in politics.” Hmmm.  Now that should sound familiar to all of us. 

Pius also said, “As long as individuals and states refused to submit to the rule of our Savior, there would be no really hopeful prospect of a lasting peace among nations. Pius instructed the faithful to seek "the Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ."

That’s what Pope Pius had hoped, but he was faced with a horrific philosophy and attitude and, as it turned out, an extremely evil man. In the same year, 1925, Adolf Hitler published his book, Mein Kampf, meaning My Struggle or My Battle. In his book, Hitler divided humans into categories based on physical appearance, establishing higher and lower orders, or types of humans. According to Hitler, at the top was the Germanic man with his fair skin, blond hair and blue eyes. Hitler referred to this type of person as an Aryan he considered the supreme form of human, or master race.  

It’s no wonder Pope Pius XI wanted the Church to have more influence and control over politics. Hitler’s written and spoken words revealed the nature of his character and his blueprint for Germany's future. Mein Kampf served as a warning to the world, but it was a warning that was mostly ignored. Hitler’s blueprint led to World War II, the Jewish Holocaust, and other unspeakable atrocities. 

As an aside, we should prepare for what might happen in 2025 just 3 years from now on the 100th anniversary of this extremely racist and anti-Christ book. It’s important to remember that Hitler loathed Christianity and hated Judaism. The devil was at work through him and his followers and is still working evidenced by the growing numbers of Neo-Nazis found in the United States and around the world. Neonazis seek to re-establish Nazi ideology to promote hatred and white supremacy, and to attack racial and ethnic minorities. 

I highlight this history because Veterans Day was just over a week ago on November 11. Two million American soldiers served in Europe in the war against the Nazis and authoritarian rule. Our military men and women saved the world from Hitler who conquered all of Europe and sent millions of its population to gas chambers. Our military still stands guard. God bless these many men and women.  

It up to us civilians – and certainly us Catholics – not to put them at risk by encouraging and submitting to authoritarian and anti-democratic behavior at home and abroad. If we put those who guard us at risk, then we demean our Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. We risk making it almost meaningless. 

Now, to my second part.  Today’s responsorial psalm’s refrain was: “The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.” This church we call Christ the King is robed in majesty. Look around us at the windows that circle the pews like a colorful belt covered with images and meaning.  The definition of majestic is having or showing impressive beauty or dignity.  

Clearly, this church is robed in majesty – beauty and dignity. We start with the Annunciation, then the Nativity to your left and we end with the Resurrection, the Appearance of Jesus at Emmaus, and the Ascension of Jesus. Half way in between over the entrance door, at let’s say 6 o’clock, we see Christ the King with his crown, a staff and a globe topped with a cross. At 12 o’clock behind and above me, we find the window with Jesus beautifully dressed and seated with crown and scepter. He is robed in majesty. There he is: Christ our King.

However, we should look above that window to where he is portrayed in the way he images what we worship – the Son of man, tortured and killed in a hideous way by the Roman Empire and certain Jewish religious leaders who feared his influence on their power and the people they subjugated and oppressed. Jesus does not look like he’s robed in majesty hanging on that crucifix.  He was crushed by the powerful.

That’s what unbridled power can provide – the ability to crush one’s enemies – those who would speak against the powerful and corrupt, like Jesus speaking against the scribes and Pharisees – the hypocrites. Our Gospel reading tells of powerful Pontius Pilate confronting Jesus and condemning him to hang and die on the cross. The Empire feared him and others like him who pushed back against imperial rule – the Kingdom of Caesar. 

So what do we choose, or perhaps better asked: “What do we prefer – the throne or the cross?” Let’s look up at Jesus on the cross. We see our suffering servant. We get the resurrection with the cross.

Now let’s look lower at the window with Jesus on the throne. We see our king because, after all, he sought to bring the kingdom of God to earth as it is in heaven. Unlike actual kings with power and wealth and who lord over others using force and killing to get their way, Jesus is a king like no other. He is not a king according to the ways of the world. Instead, he reigns in our minds and hearts. He is our Alpha and Omega – our first and our last.

Jesus is our King of Hearts. He is the holy card we must always play in the challenging and difficult game we call life when the greatest demand on us is to love God and one another.

Deacon David Pierce