Saturday, November 24, 2012
FEAST, CHRIST THE KING
NOVEMBER 25, 2012
FEAST, CHRIST THE KING
34TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – B
Dn 7:13-14 / Rv 1:5-8 / Jn 18:33b- 37
DANIEL 7:13-14
I continued watching the nocturnal vision: One like a son of man came on the clouds of heaven. He faced the One of Great Age and was brought into his presence. Dominion, honor and kingship were given him, and all the peoples and nations of every language served him. His dominion is eternal and shall never pass away; his kingdom will never be destroyed.
REVELATION 1:5-8
Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has washed away our sins with his own blood, making us a kingdom and priests for God his Father, to him be the glory and power forever and ever. Amen. See he comes with the clouds and every one will see him, even those who pierced him; on his account all the nations of the earth will beat his breast. Yes. It will be so. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, he who is, who was and who is to come: the Master of the universe.
JOHN 18:33B- 37
Pilate then entered the court again, called Jesus and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus replied, "Does this word come from you, or did you hear it from others?" Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingship does not come from this world. If I were a king, like those of this world, my guards would have fought to save me from being handed over to the Jews. But my kingship is not of this world." Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" And Jesus answered, "Just as you say, I am a king. For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is on the side of truth hears my voice."
REFLECTION
Today's feast is quite unique. We proclaim Christ as our "King." The problem is we have different ideas of what a "king" is and should be. Most of the kings we read about in history are not ideal leaders, majority of them are even tyrants. Because, as the British statesman, Lord Acton puts it, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Today's kings are ceremonial figures. Kingdoms ruled by kings with absolute power as a political system, after having been practiced in many countries for many centuries in the past, hardly exists. Today, we speak of kings and queens in the context of beauty pageant and fiestas, or to signify excellence in business. It is as if we could not give up the idea that somehow, when someone has reached a certain level of excellence, he is considered a king.
We yearn for someone we could trust absolutely. We long for a king, who would wield absolute power without ever abusing it. In other words, we dream of a person who would be utterly trustworthy, who would be utterly loving, wise, understanding, and good.
Today's Gospel reading shows forth such a man. He is Jesus of Nazareth. He fulfills all the conditions of an ideal king.
First of all, he is king by birth and origin, being the Son of God. Secondly, he can never be dethroned or impeached, since he now reigns at the right hand of God forever. Thirdly, his power can never be tyrannical, because it is not imposed; it is merely proposed to anyone who wants to accept it freely. Fourthly, his power is based only on self-sacrificial love.
Consequently, this king has no military, no political party, no propaganda machine, no police, no judiciary, and no prison. His only weapon, is truth -- that is, the revelation of what God is, a loving Father for all of mankind. As Jesus himself says, "The reason I was born, the reason why I came into the world, is to testify to the truth". And because of this, he can only appeal to those who are interested in the truth, those who have committed their lives to honesty in all its forms, to righteousness, to fidelity. That is why Jesus says, "Anyone committed to the truth hears my voice."
When Jesus was saying these words, he was standing in judgment before Pontius Pilate, looking in Pilate's eyes, appealing for him to choose the truth. Pilate did not. Instead of listening to the voice of his conscience, the voice of truth, he chose to silence Jesus and his conscience by condemning Jesus to death. But Jesus rose from the dead and now speaks to each one of us. And each one of us must decide for himself or herself whether or not Jesus is his or her king.
Now, that is a crucial decision, and a difficult one. To choose him as our king means that we give up making ourselves the center of things and that, instead, we make him the center of things. Do we want him to be our king day after day, at work, within our family, at school, in recreational activities, in business? Today Jesus is looking straight into our eyes and asking us, "Do you want me to be your king?" What shall be our answer to him?
Each one of us is in the process of deciding whether we'll accept God's love or reject it. Each one of us is in the process of deciding whether we'll live happily with God forever and ever. The choice is ours.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of Patrick K
… for the personal intentions of Pauline
… Birthday: Emma Thompsom
… In Thanksgiving: Frances Marie Gonzalez
… In Memoriam: Soterania C. Santiago
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Flora Tong
- Birthday: Dra. Zenaida G. Bagabaldo
- Birthday: Ma. Lucila C. Cruz
- Birthday: Sr Aurora Gucilla
- Wedding Anniversary: Glen & Dottie Jao
- Wedding Anniversary: Dino & Kelly Bate
- In Memoriam (+): Ria Magsaysay-Rosete
… for families who are in need of healing
… for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
**************************************************
These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:
+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+
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© 2012 Daily-Homily
FEAST, CHRIST THE KING
34TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – B
Dn 7:13-14 / Rv 1:5-8 / Jn 18:33b- 37
DANIEL 7:13-14
I continued watching the nocturnal vision: One like a son of man came on the clouds of heaven. He faced the One of Great Age and was brought into his presence. Dominion, honor and kingship were given him, and all the peoples and nations of every language served him. His dominion is eternal and shall never pass away; his kingdom will never be destroyed.
REVELATION 1:5-8
Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has washed away our sins with his own blood, making us a kingdom and priests for God his Father, to him be the glory and power forever and ever. Amen. See he comes with the clouds and every one will see him, even those who pierced him; on his account all the nations of the earth will beat his breast. Yes. It will be so. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, he who is, who was and who is to come: the Master of the universe.
JOHN 18:33B- 37
Pilate then entered the court again, called Jesus and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus replied, "Does this word come from you, or did you hear it from others?" Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingship does not come from this world. If I were a king, like those of this world, my guards would have fought to save me from being handed over to the Jews. But my kingship is not of this world." Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" And Jesus answered, "Just as you say, I am a king. For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is on the side of truth hears my voice."
REFLECTION
Today's feast is quite unique. We proclaim Christ as our "King." The problem is we have different ideas of what a "king" is and should be. Most of the kings we read about in history are not ideal leaders, majority of them are even tyrants. Because, as the British statesman, Lord Acton puts it, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Today's kings are ceremonial figures. Kingdoms ruled by kings with absolute power as a political system, after having been practiced in many countries for many centuries in the past, hardly exists. Today, we speak of kings and queens in the context of beauty pageant and fiestas, or to signify excellence in business. It is as if we could not give up the idea that somehow, when someone has reached a certain level of excellence, he is considered a king.
We yearn for someone we could trust absolutely. We long for a king, who would wield absolute power without ever abusing it. In other words, we dream of a person who would be utterly trustworthy, who would be utterly loving, wise, understanding, and good.
Today's Gospel reading shows forth such a man. He is Jesus of Nazareth. He fulfills all the conditions of an ideal king.
First of all, he is king by birth and origin, being the Son of God. Secondly, he can never be dethroned or impeached, since he now reigns at the right hand of God forever. Thirdly, his power can never be tyrannical, because it is not imposed; it is merely proposed to anyone who wants to accept it freely. Fourthly, his power is based only on self-sacrificial love.
Consequently, this king has no military, no political party, no propaganda machine, no police, no judiciary, and no prison. His only weapon, is truth -- that is, the revelation of what God is, a loving Father for all of mankind. As Jesus himself says, "The reason I was born, the reason why I came into the world, is to testify to the truth". And because of this, he can only appeal to those who are interested in the truth, those who have committed their lives to honesty in all its forms, to righteousness, to fidelity. That is why Jesus says, "Anyone committed to the truth hears my voice."
When Jesus was saying these words, he was standing in judgment before Pontius Pilate, looking in Pilate's eyes, appealing for him to choose the truth. Pilate did not. Instead of listening to the voice of his conscience, the voice of truth, he chose to silence Jesus and his conscience by condemning Jesus to death. But Jesus rose from the dead and now speaks to each one of us. And each one of us must decide for himself or herself whether or not Jesus is his or her king.
Now, that is a crucial decision, and a difficult one. To choose him as our king means that we give up making ourselves the center of things and that, instead, we make him the center of things. Do we want him to be our king day after day, at work, within our family, at school, in recreational activities, in business? Today Jesus is looking straight into our eyes and asking us, "Do you want me to be your king?" What shall be our answer to him?
Each one of us is in the process of deciding whether we'll accept God's love or reject it. Each one of us is in the process of deciding whether we'll live happily with God forever and ever. The choice is ours.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of Patrick K
… for the personal intentions of Pauline
… Birthday: Emma Thompsom
… In Thanksgiving: Frances Marie Gonzalez
… In Memoriam: Soterania C. Santiago
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Flora Tong
- Birthday: Dra. Zenaida G. Bagabaldo
- Birthday: Ma. Lucila C. Cruz
- Birthday: Sr Aurora Gucilla
- Wedding Anniversary: Glen & Dottie Jao
- Wedding Anniversary: Dino & Kelly Bate
- In Memoriam (+): Ria Magsaysay-Rosete
… for families who are in need of healing
… for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
**************************************************
These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:
+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GoogleGroup Address: http://groups.google.com/group/daily_homily
To subscribe from this free mailing service, send email to: dailyhomily@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe: daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
© 2012 Daily-Homily
# posted by F O O D F O R T H O U G H T @ 4:40 AM 
