Let us walk together in the way of Christ our King who lives forever as an exemplary King with the attributes of a true King.
Selvaraj Soosaimanikam : Vatican
(Texts I. 2 Sam 5:1-3 II. Col 1:12-20 III. Luke 23:35-43)
At the beginning of the twentieth century, persecution was unleashed against the Catholic Church in Mexico. then, ‘Long Live Christ the King’ With the slogan ‘Christorus’ The group was fighting against the government. A key mentor of the group was Miguel Pro, a Jesuit priest. He was sentenced to death for this and the government issued an order to shoot him in front of the public. Fearing death, the government expected Reverend Miguel Pro to renounce his faith in Christ and apologize to the government for his actions anyway. So, the Mexican government invited all the country’s journalists to show this scene to everyone. But Reverend Miguel Pro, without any fear of death, carrying a cross in one hand and a rosary in the other, knelt down and spread his two arms, saying, ‘Long live Christ the King!’ He said boldly. Then his body fell into the lap of the earth as if pierced by bullets and gave up his life for Christ the king.
Today we are celebrating the feast of Christ the King after completing the common season. Now everywhere in the world extremism and terrorism, wars, divisions, divisions and problems are destroying the lives of thousands of people who want to live in peace, for position, for money and to occupy a luxurious life, competition, jealousy and enmity are rampant here day by day. Love, peace, truth and honesty have disappeared in the world due to the wrong calculations that people make about how to get into office, who can be cheated into office, and who can get into office. Today we are celebrating the feast of Christ the King in such a crisis.
If we look at the history of the world, we will understand that the reasons for the collapse of many empires are due to greed, gold, and feminism. Forgetting that I am sitting in this position for the interests of my people, the governments of this world are making enmity for the sake of their name and fame, causing war and migrating lakhs of people internally and to various foreign countries. Ukraine, Myanmar and Sri Lanka are great examples of this. During the election campaigns, we are witnessing the plight of people who make empty promises, bribe people with money, and stage unjust actions against women after coming to power. It is true that our nation of India is a great example of this. Our rulers today are self-interested people who turn their people into war criminals to save themselves.
But our Christ the King whom we celebrate is completely different from this, his life ethics tell us. Let us consider three important characteristics of our Christ the King. Firstly, our Christ the King is the supreme leader. A king or a leader must save his subjects and people at the risk of his life. Do not abandon them in times of crisis. Our Christ the King excelled in accepting all kinds of suffering and challenges. When they came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, If you are looking for me, let them go.” (John 18:8) says. Further A thief comes for nothing but to steal, kill and destroy. But I have come so that the sheep may have life, and that too may be fulfilled. I am the good one. A good shepherd will lay down his life for his sheep (Joh 10:10-11) highlights the leadership qualities that leaders should have.
Secondly, our Christ the King who bears the sorrows of the people. This is what we see in the book of Isaiah in the section ‘Thunpurum Messiah’. Indeed He has borne our burdens; He bore our sorrows; We thought that he was crushed and crushed by God and humiliated. He was wounded for our transgressions; Crushed for our wickedness; He was punished to give us full life; By His wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:4-5) we read. Among the leaders of this world who are destroying the lives of the poor, the needy, the destitute and the poor, we see our King Jesus looking for such people who have been pushed to the margins and lovingly embracing them. ‘I am for these people’ and ‘my government is for them’, he said boldly, and offered to bear their sufferings. “Come to me, all you who are heavy laden and weary, and I will give you rest. I am kind and humble. So take my yoke upon you and learn from me. Then your soul will find rest. Yea, my yoke shall not be pressed; My burden is light” (Mat 11:28) The words of our Christ the King are proof of that.
Such are the poor, the oppressed, the sick, and the sinners that adorn the kingship of Jesus. Inwardly they accept him as the real king. That is what we see in today’s Gospel. On the one hand, the cowardly act of the first criminal who does not accept the true kingship of Jesus, hides his guilt and condemns him. But at the same time, on the other hand, the supreme action of the other criminal who accepts his guilt, sin and weakness wholeheartedly and recognizes him as the true king. That is why he who does not reveal himself as a king to any ruler, “Jesus, remember me when you come into power” To the good applicant who applied, “I assure you that today you will be in a blissful home with me” He expresses his royal authority through the words.
Thirdly, our Christ King is the one who dissolves differences and unites all. Christ the King acts differently among our world leaders who give priority to high power leaders, industrialists, big money capitalists and the ruling class and give them great honor by rolling out the red carpet. During the theocracy, people from east, west, north and south would come and sit in the panthi (Luke 13:29) says. In other words, there is no difference between the poor and the rich, the rich and the poor, the high and the low, black and red, clean and dirty, this country and that country, there is a place for all those who get rid of their sinful state and believe in Christ the King in Jesus’ theocracy. This is what St. Pauldiar, “All of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or citizen, male or female; you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:27-28)
“Government has the honor to remove the morals and forget them” (Kural.384). It is said that it is the duty of a king to understand the government by formulating pure norms for the well-being of his subjects living in his shadow, and the king should make the society superior by removing the vices and improving the society by realizing the nature and needs of the people. In today’s first reading, all the people of Israel, who were affected by Saul’s irresponsible rule, offer to accept David as their king, who killed Goliath and saved them as a pious and devoted young man. Now let’s read the passage. All the tribes of Israel came to Ephron and said to David: “We are your flesh and blood. You were the one who led Israel even in the past when Saul ruled over us. ‘Thou shalt be the teacher of my people Israel; “Thou shalt lead Israel,” said the Lord unto thee. All the elders of Israel came to Ephron to see the king. King David made a covenant with them before the Lord in Ephron. They installed David as king of Israel (2 Sam 5:1-3). King David, who took over the throne at the age of thirty, led the people of Israel without fail for forty years. Therefore, let us firmly believe that our Christ King, who came in the line of David, will lead us forever in his light-filled theocracy of love, peace, justice and righteousness. This is “He hath freed us from the power of darkness, and brought us under the rule of his beloved Son.” (Colossians 1:13) St. Paul tells us in today’s second reading.
According to the saying, ‘In the way of the king, so are the citizens’, let us travel together in the way of our Lord Jesus, who will live forever as an exemplary king with the characteristics of a true king. In the way of Miguel Provive, who gave his life for Christ the King, let us say ‘Long live Christ the King!’ Let’s report that and live a life of testimony. Let us pray for that grace to our incomparable King Christ Jesus on this day.