May the peace of Christ reign in your hearts forever!
This weekend the Church celebrates the Solemnity, “Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.”
The first reading recalls King David as the most loved Israelite king. David’s life and leadership can only be understood in the context of his relationship with God and God’s chosen people. Divinely appointed and anointed by the Prophet Samuel, David manifested a zealous faith in God and was commissioned to be a shepherd to the people. David had his faults but he had a great love and honor for God. As the ruler of a kingdom, he regarded God as the highest authority and promoted God’s covenant among the people. King David knew and trusted God’s power over all human enterprise and relied upon God for daily assistance, especially when he fell into sin through human weakness. David knew God as almighty and merciful!
All kingdoms have royal families and members of the royal families are heirs of the wealth of the kingdom. The canticle from Colossians sings a hymn of thanksgiving to God who is source of all that is and to Christ, eternally one with the Father and the redeemer of all. The cause for this gratitude is that all the baptized, are part of his body the Church. They belong to a royal, eternal kingdom of grace, living in friendship with God. In this kingdom, everyone shares God’s gift of royalty and enjoys the assurance of God’s eternal love and mercy because Jesus reconciled everyone to God. No earthly kingdom or government in history can compare to that.
The Gospel depicts Jesus on the cross accomplishing the work of our salvation. This is truly a moment of divine love because he embraced this torture and death in our place. Furthermore, he forgave the one who asked for mercy, those who didn’t understand, and those who killed him. Jesus still offers this gift of divine love and mercy to those who call to him! Such is our King of Love and Mercy!
God bless you always! +++ Fr. Peter