This is a strange
choice for the Gospel reading today. This passage seems like a pretty strange
choice to me. After all, this is Christ the King Sunday. This is the Sunday
that begins the final week of the liturgical year. This is the last Sunday
before Advent and a new year of grace. And this Gospel just seems like a
strange choice.
The reading from the
prophet Daniel and the reading from the book of Revelation seem like good
choices. They speak about power and glory and kingship and majesty and victory.
This are the things I want to hear about on Christ the King Sunday. These are
the words from the Lord that I want to hear. I want to hear about Jesus’ power
and glory and kingship and majesty and victory over the forces of evil and
darkness and violence. I want to hear the words of comfort that Jesus will
conquer the darkness of the world by the light of his power and his glory. I
want to hear about the judge of the nations who separates the good from the
bad, the righteous from the unrighteous, and the saints from the sinners. That
is what I want to hear about on Christ the King Sunday.
And yet the Gospel
shows us Jesus before Pontius Pilate. Jesus is on trial. He is captive. He is
suffering and rejected. Jesus is a man of sorrows. Is this really the image of
the victorious king? Is this really the sign of power and authority and victory
that we want to see on Christ the King Sunday? I want to see Jesus in his power and today we
meet him in weakness.
But isn’t that where
Jesus meets us? Is it not when we are captive in sin that Jesus comes with the
promise of his mercy? Is it not when we are bound in sorrow that Jesus comes with
the promise of the resurrection? Is it not when we are suffering and rejected
by the powers of the world that the Lord Jesus comes to meet us with the
promise of our acceptance in him? In our weakness we meet the King of Glory. In
the midst of our trials the Lord Jesus comes to meet us. He comes to meet us in
the humility of one who suffers. He comes to conquer the bitterness in our
hearts by the power of his bitter sufferings.
This is a good Gospel
passage for today. This is good news on the Christ the King Sunday for you and
for me. Our King is not so far away. He meets us in our weakness. We meet him
in his humility.
In a few weeks we will
meet him in a manger. In a few minutes we will meet him in bread and wine transformed
by the power of his Word. Amen.
Preached
at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe NC
