King Of The Universe

(8:30 Homily) Today we hear about important kings in the history of our Jewish and Christian faiths. King Saul and King David are mentioned in our first reading. In the Gospel we read that Jesus was called “King of the Jews” by Roman soldiers mocking him as he hung upon the cross. INRI is the Latin abbreviation for Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. This inscription is not found on the cross high above our heads, but it is found on the cross in our chapel.

Today is the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Pope Pius XI created this feast in 1925 post World War I in response to growing secularism and atheism. This feast was part of the Church’s successful effort to establish the sovereign nation of Vatican City in February 1929. Negotiations between the government of Italy and the Holy See began in 1926 and culminated in the Lateran Pacts – an agreement signed by Prime Minister Benito Mussolini.

Pius had concluded that in Mexico, Russia, and in some parts of Europe, militant and secular regimes threatened not just the Catholic Church but civilization itself. He tried to give Catholics hope that even though governments were crumbling, Christ the King would reign forever. Considering the state of world governments today with increased secularism and widespread atheism, we need that hope.

King of the Universe: that’s quite a gigantic realm for our Lord Jesus Christ because we know far more about the shape and size of the universe than we knew back in 1925 – almost 100 years ago. We know a lot more than during ancient times when Jews thought the universe consisted of the sky as a vault on mountain foundations with doors and windows that let in the rain.  

Consider our modern tools of space observation – the 1995 Hubble Space Telescope and NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope. The Webb Scope is giving us new views of lush, highly detailed skyscapes especially of our own Milky Way Galaxy where new stars continue to be formed within dense clouds of interstellar gas and dust. Creation within the universe is still on-going. It’s continuous – always has been and always will be. Perhaps we can find that comforting. At the beginning God didn’t just create and then go idle. God still creates with evolution being an important tool.

How big is the Milky Way? Consider this.  If our solar system – from the Sun to Pluto – was the size of a quarter, our Milky Way galaxy would be about the size of North America.  Now that’s perspective! Throw a quarter on the floor; that’s our solar system.

Consider that the universe has billions of galaxies. That makes us feel rather small – but incredibly unique as we human beings walk this planet and give thanks to God for our existence within the enormity of the universe with the number of stars in the universe being greater than all the grains of sand on all the beaches on our planet Earth. Mind boggling!  Next time we are at the beach take a handful of sand that contains about 10,000 grains. That count is only the number of stars we can see with the naked eye on a clear night.  Truly fascinating!

Again, today is the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. What is this kingdom in which all of us reside? It’s not a kingdom measured in square miles or light years like the Milky Way galaxy or the universe. Similar in a way to the size of the universe eternally bathed in light from billions of stars, this kingdom is eternal and universal. How do we know? What is this kingdom?

Listen closely to what Father Healey will say during this Mass. Right after we all say: “It is right and just,” we get a description of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. We will hear these words; “It’s an eternal and universal kingdom.” What’s more we will hear it is a “kingdom of truth and life…a kingdom of holiness and grace…a kingdom of justice, love and peace.”  

That’s quite a desirable kingdom.  Does that truth, holiness, justice, love and peace really exist?  We try to make it so as evidenced by our prayer: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” When we recite the Lord’s Prayer, we recognize the truth that the kingdom has not yet come, but we pray it comes, and soon. 

As the kingdom’s residents, how do we make it so – for it to come? We meet this Catholic responsibility by being Christ-like in our own personal universe: family, friends, in our community, in our nation, and in matters that are important to the world by promoting justice, love, and peace. 

Returning to the purpose of this Solemnity, I now repeat what I’ve read about this feast: The Church declares the kingship of Christ as a way of protecting herself and all of the mystical body from being subject to any oppressive earthly power or ideology that is opposed to the truth. 

To say that Christ is King means we cannot accept any earthly authority which goes against the truth of God’s love. It is because Christ is King that many people of deep faith have broken the laws of earthly authorities — a spectrum that ranges from totalitarian and fascist regimes, and liberal democracies.

Celebrating the feast of Christ the King is a way for us to assert that as Catholics we will not allow the values of our faith to be confined to the private sphere of our personal lives. The feast calls us to bring the values of our faith to bear on wider society, to raise our voices in the public realm on public affairs relating to human dignity and the common good. We must continue to do this.

I end with this story. There was a wealthy king who was quite sincere about religious matters and questions. One night the king was awakened by a fearful stomping on the roof above his bed.

Alarmed, he shouted, “Who’s there!” “A friend,” came the reply.  “I’ve lost my camel.”

The king, angered by such a ridiculous statement, screamed, “You fool! Are you looking for a camel on the roof?”

“You fool!” the voice answered.  “Are you looking for God while you wear silk pajamas and lie in a bed made of gold!”

These simple words, we are told, filled the king with terror. He rose from his sleep to become a very great saint. (end)

It’s long past time for we members of the Body of Christ to rise from our sleep, not be fools, and work to create a universe of truth, holiness, justice, love and peace.  If we don’t by tolerating lies, racist behavior, conflict and division – even hate – we will fail as servants to our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe. Perhaps it simply boils down to whether we prefer our king to wear a crown of thorns or a crown of gold. 

Deacon David Pierce