skip to Main Content

Christ the King 22

At the moment of the passing of loved ones, many people ask God: “why?”. And so he closes with his pain and loss in the past. And the ‘one of the criminals’ hanging on the cross seems to be saying to us: think about your future. Don’t ask: “why?“, but ask: ” for what?“. In this way, you will see a different perspective, full of hope. And you ask like the evangelical young man: ” Good Master , what must I do to receive eternal life?”   We are also well aware of the inscription that Pilate ordered to be placed over the head of Jesus of Nazareth in Greek, Latin and Hebrew:     ” This is the King of the Jews.”   What does this actually mean? Where is His kingdom?  During the Mass we profess: ” For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now forever.”   It is therefore about the eternal and universal kingdom, initiated by the coming of Jesus to earth.   The preface for today’s feast reminds us of this, specifying that it is about ” a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace,   a kingdom of justice, love and peace.”   What attitudes do we see at the foot of the cross? The most visible and affecting the greatest number of people is indifference, passivity: ‘the people stood and watched’. It is worth looking at your everyday life and seeing how we prefer not to see, not to empathise, not to help, not to develop. Because why make too much effort?  And finally, a different attitude is represented by one of the criminals who diminishes Jesus. He himself is unable to revise his life, his actions.   He looks as if, faced with death, he is trying to drown out remorse, feel better and seek his own justification. And at the same time he tried to shift the blame onto Jesus, who, despite his divine power, appeared helpless in his eyes.  From baptism we share in the royal mission of Jesus, which is linked to his incarnation. And it consists of bearing witness to the truth and being guided in life by love of neighbour. From here also flows a commitment to care for personal, inner freedom, but also to free one’s environment from sin and evil.  The fulfilment of the royal mission is also accomplished by supporting each other in crises, helping each other with domestic chores, accepting others as they are and being able to forgive. Let us be obedient to God, let us live a life of love on a daily basis, so that his kingdom can grow in our hearts and in our families.