CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE - 34th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - C - 2022
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 Jordan River with the other men
from his town to be baptized by John, 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,
the Lord the Christ. Christ means anointed.
- The solemnity of Christ, King of the
Universe is a liturgical celebration fairly recent. It was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925
in response to the totalitarian and atheist governments that denied the rights
of God and of the Church Many martyrs from that time and after went to
their death shouting the profession of faith “Long live Christ the King.”
- However, if the litugical celebration is recent,
the meaning is not; we can say that it began with Chritianity since the
sentence Christ reigns means the same as what the first communties said “Jesus
is Lord,” central sentence of the apostolic preaching.
·
For more information on the meaning
of this Sunday we may go the Catechism of the Catholic Church number 671.
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 must 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, as 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
R.
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, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the
house 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.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
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 captivate the heart of those who visit it.
ü
And the city has 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 narrating the temptations of
Jesus, he says that the devil left him for a future opportune 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?
However, 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 must 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 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 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?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PAGOLA,
José A. Following in the Footsteps of Jesus.
Meditations on the Gospels for Year C.
RAVASI, Gianfranco, Según
las Escrituras, Año C.
SCHÖKEL, Luis Alonso. La Biblia de Nuestro Pueblo .
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