- On this Sunday we will celebrate
and honor Jesus as King of the
Universe.
- The liturgical year began with
the baptism of Jesus and ends with the celebration of Jesus Christ the
King of the Universe.
- The young carpenter from
Nazareth went to the river Jordan with the other men from his town to be
baptized by John, and afterwards he begins a dangerous and unorthodox preaching according to the religious, civil
and political authorities of his people.
- This young man hears the voice
of the Father who after his baptism tells him "You are my beloved
Son."
- This young man after his death
and resurrection has been established Lord of the living and the dead. It has been revealed to us who he
really is.
- He is the Son of the eternal Father, the Second Person of the Trinity, the creating Word of God, though whom all things were made .
FIRST READING : 2 Sm 5:1-2
ü This passage narrates how David was
established as king over Israel.
ü King David is highly exalted and
praised in the Scriptures. He is presented as a friend of God, a holy man but also a sinner. A warrior against the
neighboring peoples to defend his own kingdom, and at the same time the tender singer
of the wonders of God. Although a sinner he is also considered to be a just man.
ü Of his appointment as king of Israel
we find several texts in the Scripture:
1 Sm 16:1-13; 2Sm 5:1-3; 1Cr 11:1-3; Sal 78: 70-72.
ü A mutual covenant is made between David and the people.
ü Before closing the covenant, the
agreement, they remind David that in the
time of Saul he, David, was the one that
won the victories.
ü David, who was taken from the flock
of his father by Samuel to be anointed king over Israel, hears the elders of his people telling him
that he has to be the shepherd of his people.
ü As a shepherd he will be also a
leader. What a beautiful image of a
chief who is a shepherd, like Jesus has been.
ü The leader or the chief according to
the Scriptures is a shepherd, someone who takes care of his people, serves his
people, does not overpower his people but he gives his life for his people
RESPONSORIAL
PSALM 122:1-2.3-4.4-5
LET US GO REJOICING TO
THE HOUSE OF THE LORD
I rejoiced because they said to me
We will go up to the house of the Lord
And now we have set foot
within your gates, Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity
To it the tribes go up
the tribes of the Lord
According to the decree for Israel
to give thanks to the name of the Lord
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David
ü
This psalm sings
the fascination of the pilgrim as he or she approaches the holy city of Jerusalem.
ü
The city has the
external beauty of its construction, its buildings, which captivates the heart
of those who visit it.
ü
And the city has
also an inner beauty given by the peace and justice which is administered at
its doors.
GOSPEL Lk 23:35-43
We read what
happened between the criminals who were crucified with Jesus and Jesus.
The chief priests
insult him, the soldiers make fun of him, of his life, his preaching
They tempt him,
if you are who you say you are, save yourself.
If we remember a
little what we read at the beginning of Lent, Jesus was tempted by the evil spirit.
When Luke finishes to narrate the temptations of Jesus he says that the devil
left him for a time.
Now on this
cross, to which he is nailed, now that he has lost his strength, that he is
seen as a failure, now when he experiences the deepest abandonment from
everyone even the Father, it is the moment for the devil to come back and tempt
him again.
And he does it by
means of the people who surround him at this dark hour, the darkest hour of
human history.
One of the
crucified men he has on each side tempts him, you can, why don't you do it? Why don't you save
yourself and us?
This is the same
temptation as the temptation of the bread in the desert , if you are the Son
say to this stones ... why don't you use your power for your own good and ours ?
But the other man
who is suffering the same condemnation rebukes his companion, and reminds him
that they are punished because they did evil things but this man is
innocent.
How true it is that even the worst criminals and sinners have
the possibility to abandon the evil they do and come back to what is good, they
have the possibility of conversion, they only have to be willing to.
This man does not
understand quite well, how this young man from Nazareth can be a king, but he
believes it. What
did he see in that young man completely disfigured on the cross, that allowed him to discover in
him the Lord of the kingdom he preaches.
How really true
it is that God immediately welcomes us into his arms the moment we go back to
him.
Today you will be
with me in paradise. .
Happy thief, who
faithful to his "trade", stole paradise, the heart of our Redeemer
I transcribe
below something very beautiful that I have read in a commentary by Gianfranco
Ravasi:
Luke in the event of the two criminals narrated only
by him, makes the kingdom shine, the kingdom that is inaugurated by this
crucified man in a Spring day in Jerusalem. The only words that Jesus could pronounce like
a whisper have as its climax the symbolic word of Persian origin "paradise" which literally
means "garden of delights"
which is put in parallel with the word "kingdom"
pronounced by the thief. The image is taken from the oriental world with its
palaces surrounded by fascinating parks and rich fountains and exuberant vegetation, this image in the lips
of Jesus transport us to the first page of the Scripture, the Garden of Eden,
from where man was expelled and where he goes back now with the guidance of
Jesus Christ. Man has found again peace and the fullness of life, harmony and
happiness.
SECOND READING Col 1:12-20
v
In this liturgy, being a solemnity, the three readings have the same theme, which
is the kingship of Jesus Christ.
v
The first
paragraph is an invitation to give thanks to the Father for having granted us
to participate in the inheritance of the saints.
v
The Father has
freed us from the power of darkness and has introduced us into the kingdom of
his beloved son, in whom we have redemption of our sins.
v
These words
complement and explain what Luke has narrated about the Crucified Christ.
v
The second
paragraph describes who is this Son in whose kingdom we are introduced
Ø
He is the
visibility of the invisible God.
Ø
He is the first
born, the first in everything that exists
Ø
For Him, through
him and in Him all has been
created.
Ø
Everything finds
its cohesion in him.
Ø
He is the head of
the Church
Ø
He is the first
raised from the dead
Ø
The fullness of
being resides in Him.
Ø
And by Him
everything finds reconciliation, making peace in his blood, that means in his
life given out of love.
v
This is a really
beautiful description of the kingship of Christ, which Luke describes through
the story of the thief, the companion of the dying Jesus. Jesus until the end of his life is found among those
that are discriminated against, the little and poor and sinners.
v
All that we will read this coming Sunday is an
invitation to find again in the depth of our heart the answer to the question
Jesus asks us: Who do you say that I am? Who am I for you?
My
companion was suffering seeing how the Lord was having me so forsaken in this
affair and she was very amazed to see how I was throwing myself in the hands of
His Divine Providence
If hell's persecution was great, heaven's protection was
far greater. I experienced the visible protection of the Blessed Virgin and of
the angels and saints, who guided me through unknown paths, freed me from thieves
and murderers, and brought me to a place of safety without my ever knowing how.
Many times the word went out that I had been murdered, and good souls were
already having Masses said for me. May God reward them. Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the Claretian
Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 464.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CLARET, Antonio María Claret, Autobiografía.
PAGOLA,
José A. Following in the Footsteps of
Jesus. Meditations on the Gospels for Year C.
PARIS, María Antonia, Autobiografía
RAVASI, Gianfranco, Según
las Escrituras, Año C.
La Biblia de Nuestro Pueblo . Luis Alonso Schökel.
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