Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today, we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. We proclaim Christ as our king and celebrate his kingship over us. We rejoice in our noble and royal character and pledge our loyalty to Christ our king and our Lord. The proclamation of the Kingdom of God was the vision and mission of Jesus. It is the vision and mission of the Church today and ours too. A kingdom is where the will of the king happens and not the will of the people. Kingdom of God is where the will of God happens - where justice, love and peace reign.

God is our King who, by his wisdom, established the cosmic order (Psalms 93, 96-99) and continues to govern it by his rule. We are created in this royal image of God (Genesis 1:26-28; Psalm 8) and commissioned to share in this royal mission. The concern for justice, love and peace are in fact primary obligations of kingship (Psalm 72). The kings, queens, counselors, and sages were blessed to be instruments of life, justice, love and peace and the total well-being, not only for Israel but for the world. All people are drawn into kingship to be at the service of life, justice, love and peace – the total well-being of humanity.

At our baptism, we were anointed “priest, prophet and king” which describes our character as a holy, noble, and royal people. Holy people must live holy lives; noble people must live noble lives and royal people must live noble lives. Lives of holiness, nobility and royalty are lived out in response to the simple, daily needs of ordinary people.

We are anointed to participate in the governance of the universe, to share in the royal mission of Jesus. To share in the royal mission of Jesus, we must desire, hunger and thirst to do the will of the Father, the will of God, our king, just as Jesus did. It is the will of the king that governs the kingdom. To share in the royal mission of Jesus, we must live noble lives, participate in the building of the kingdom, help create a safe environment where all people can live in peace and harmony, work for creating a world where justice and peace prevail, and tenderly care for the children, the orphans, the poor, the marginalized and the vulnerable in our communities.

The first reading of our mass today speak of the Babylonian exile as the consequence of the exploitation of innocent people by their leaders. People have suffered and were scattered and exiled from their home land and were forced to wander aimlessly like “sheep without a shepherd” in Babylon. Their leaders were not concerned about the well-being of the people. They used their power for personal gain. The prophet Ezekiel promised new beginnings when God would replace the unfaithful and irresponsible shepherds and God himself would lead his people, tenderly care for them, lead them home and re-establish them as his own people again.

To read more of this Sunday’s reflection, please click on the link below…