Yes, Christ Is Our King Series

Christ the King 2017

Restoring All Things

Extraordinary Form

From the Epistle of Blessed Paul to the Colossians: Beloved, May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation; 16 for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent. 19 For in him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

From the Holy Gospel according to St. John: Pilate entered the praetorium again and called Jesus, and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me; what have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingship is not of this world; if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews; but my kingship is not from the world.” 37 Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.”

Today’s first collect tells us the intention of Almighty God: “who has wished to restore all things through [His] beloved Son.” That is, we all know, the mission statement of our parish, as it was the vision and motto of our patron, St. Pius X. We pray today that the families of nations separated by the wound of sin would be brought together under the dominion of Christ the King.

It was God’s intention from the beginning that human beings, made in His image and likeness, would have the love and unity characteristic of the Blessed Trinity. Our first parents messed that up. In our fallen state, family life was disordered. There was hostility between man and woman, between parents and children. God called Abraham and Sarah to obedience, and they obeyed. From this one man and woman of faith God wanted to create a people who would think rightly, worship rightly, and draw all humankind to that just living and right worship. But, time and time again, Israel failed. They even lost their temple and their homeland, and by the time of Christ they were on the verge of losing them again. They even rejected their own God-made-man in Jesus, despite His pleas, His encouragement, and His miracles. But Jesus, as He died on Calvary, won them, and us, forgiveness, gave us His Mother and enabled all to have a new life in His Holy Spirit. As St. Paul wrote, He delivered us from the power of darkness, and is bringing us, body, soul and spirit, into the kingdom of the Son of God.

Our Lord calls us to true joy, which is achieved through self-giving in the spirit of Jesus and Mary and the saints whom we will celebrate on November 1. He calls us to build families of faith and charity, with fathers and mothers committed to giving to each other and their children and the community, joyfully giving of themselves without reservation. It’s the immeasurable joy that is shared by all of us who make up the Mystical Body of Christ.

That’s what God wants to reproduce here at St. Pius X as we strive to renew all things in Christ, to build on earth the kingdom of Christ. When our neighbors encounter us in the town square, they should experience the same treatment we accord each other here when we worship, or get together in the family center, or work on a church project together. They should see us enthusiastically giving to the poor, advocating for those whom society marginalized, like the infants in the womb, immigrants, single parents. They should see us helping those who have lost a spouse or child or parent, as we do in our Stephen ministry. We should all be alert to others with needs–maybe a child who is being bullied or shunned at school. Our love of God and neighbor needs to be visible to others, so they will be attracted to Christ and His Church.