Christ the King
November 24, 2013
First Reading: 2 Samuel 5:1-3
All the tribes of Israel then came to David at Hebron. ‘Look’ they said ‘we are your own flesh and blood. In days past when Saul was our king, it was you who led Israel in all their exploits; and the Lord said to you, “You are the man who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you shall be the leader of Israel.”’ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a pact with them at Hebron in the presence of the Lord, and they anointed David king of Israel.
Psalm: Psalm 121:1-5
Second Reading: Colosians 1:12-20
We give thanks to the Father who has made it possible for you to join the saints and with them to inherit the light.
Because that is what he has done: he has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son that he loves, and in him, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.
He is the image of the unseen God
and the first-born of all creation,
for in him were created
all things in heaven and on earth:
everything visible and everything invisible,
Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers –
all things were created through him and for him.
Before anything was created, he existed,
and he holds all things in unity.
Now the Church is his body,
he is its head.
As he is the Beginning,
he was first to be born from the dead,
so that he should be first in every way;
because God wanted all perfection
to be found in him
and all things to be reconciled through him and for him,
everything in heaven and everything on earth,
when he made peace
by his death on the cross.
Gospel: Luke 23:35-43
The people stayed there before the cross watching Jesus. As for the leaders, they jeered at him. ‘He saved others,’ they said ‘let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.’ The soldiers mocked him too, and when they approached to offer vinegar they said, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.’ Above him there was an inscription: ‘This is the King of the Jews.’
One of the criminals hanging there abused him. ‘Are you not the Christ?’ he said. ‘Save yourself and us as well.’ But the other spoke up and rebuked him. ‘Have you no fear of God at all?’ he said. ‘You got the same sentence as he did, but in our case we deserved it: we are paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus,’ he said ‘remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ ‘Indeed, I promise you,’ he replied ‘today you will be with me in paradise.’
Reflection
By Nats Vibiesca
Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer is here again.
There are times that I do not know anymore what to do with my stubborn pimple.
It’s always hanging around my nose. I’ve tried already the art of pricking.
I’ve experimented also on some scientifically proven formulated soap. Avoided
peanuts and indulge more on bananas. Still,
Rudolf keeps me company. Right just in its favourite location: the tip of my
nose. Please transfer somewhere else I helplessly pleaded on this teeny-weeny-itchy
pimple. Yet it won’t leave me.
Just like a temptation, it keeps coming
back. But temptations are cleverer than my stubborn pimple. Temptations
transform to various forms that is not easy to detect or see. Temptations do
not have a favourite place. It always strikes anywhere at any time. Chances
are, one will realize the temptation after falling into it. Then, we confess
our sins, do penance, promise to amend our life, and do reparation for the sins
committed. We even strike our breast during the Mass to show sincere
reconciliation with God. But not long enough we commit the same mistake and
fall on the same sins. This time we intensify our reparation for our sins. We
attend recollection, retreat, and other spiritual activities. We do our best to
be good and to live a holy life, only to find ourselves stumbling again on the
same sins. It’s a vicious cycle that we don’t know how to break it.
On
our own, it seems impossible to break the habit of sin. We must rely on the
grace of God. Like in the Gospel, Jesus as a king, grant royal pardon to the
repentant criminal to obtain eternal life in paradise. It is only through total
dependence on God that we become strong over temptations and defeat bondage of
sins. If we have tried everything to resist temptations and renounce sins but
still fail… our last hope, in fact our only hope, is to ask Jesus—our King, to
remember us sinners and bring us to paradise. It is through accepting Jesus as
our king that we may imitate his kind of royalty. Jesus’ love is contagious and
when we received his love, we also share love to those who needs it.
Prayer
Dear Jesus, our only King and Lord, we ask You to bless us by forgiving our sins as we hope to obtain Your promise of eternal life in heaven. Give us always the courage to accept our shortcomings and confess to You our weaknesses so that You will shower us with the blessings we need to obtain salvation. Amen.
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