HOMILY FOR XXXIV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING) – 20TH NOVEMBER

Homily for the Solemnity of Christ the King

Theme: THE ETERNAL KINGSHIP OF CHRIST

By: Rev Fr Gerald Muoka

Homily for Sunday November 21 2021 

HOMILY FOR XXXIV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING) – 20TH NOVEMBER

HOMILY Theme: THE ETERNAL KINGSHIP OF CHRIST

By: Rev Fr Gerald Muoka.

 

R1 -Dan 7:13-14
R2 – Rev 1:5-8
GOSPEL – John 18:33-37

Pope Pius XI, who instituted the Solemnity of Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe in 1925, witnessed the turbulent times in the world’s history within the 20th Century:

(i) The First World War had just come to an end.

(ii) Secularism was on the rise

(iii) Dangerous dictatorships were emerging in Europe and beyond.

At this time, the Pope saw the respect and reverence for Christ’s authority waning in the midst of the unrest during the early part of the 20th century. In response, he set up this Solemnity with the intent to reaffirm and refocus faith and respect in the one, true and eternal kingship of Jesus. Pope Pius XI felt that nations would see that the Church has the right to freedom, and immunity from the state. Secondly that leaders and nations would see that they are bound to give respect to Christ. Finally that the faithful would gain strength and courage from the celebration, as we are reminded that Christ must reign in our hearts, minds, wills, and bodies.

Beloved in Christ, on this day, which marks the end of the Church’s liturgical year, the readings describe the enthronement of the victorious Christ as King in Heaven in all His glory. That is why, the Instituting Pontiff, Pope Pius XI proclaimed: “Pax Christi in regno Christi” (the peace of Christ in the reign of Christ), because Jesus the victorious king is the Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6). This means that we live in the peace of Christ when we surrender our lives to Him every day, accept Him as our God, Savior and King and allow Him to rule our lives.

Nevertheless, Daniel, in the first reading, tells of the mysterious Son of Man (with whom Jesus would later identify Himself), coming on the clouds, glorified by God, and given dominion that will last forever.

The second reading, places great importance and relevance to Christ’s kingship as the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last of all things.

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Whereas, Jesus in the Gospel reading, asserts before Pilate that He is a king and clarifies that that his kingdom “does not belong to this world.” He rules as King by serving others rather than by dominating them; His authority is rooted in Truth, not in physical force, and His Kingdom, the reign of God, is based on the Beatitudes.

*BIBLICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF CHRIST’S KINGSHIP
*
The testimonies of Jesus as the Messianic King was foretold by the prophets in the Old Testament and vastly proclaimed by the four Gospels. Below are some Manifestations of Jesus’ Kingship in the New Testament Scripture.

(i) At the Annunciation, the scripture says: “…and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the House of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there will be no end” (Lk 1;32-33). In fact, the Kingdom of God is the center of Jesus’ teaching (Mtt 2:3).

(ii) The testimonies of the Magi from the Far East came to Jerusalem and asked the question: “Where is the Baby born to be the King of the Jews? We saw His star… and we have come to worship Him” (Mt 2:2)

(iii) The testimonies of the Jews at the royal reception given to Jesus on Palm Sunday: “God bless the King, Who comes in the name of the Lord” (Lk 19:38

(iv) During the trial of Jesus described in today’s Gospel, Pilate asked the question:( “Are you the king of the Jews?” (Jn 18:33) Jesus replied: “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” (Jn:18:37)

(v) The signboard hung over Jesus’ head on the cross read: “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews.” Before his Ascension into Heaven, Jesus declared: “All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Me; go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations … (Mt 28:18ff).”

(vi) In Matthew’s Second coming judgement, we read that Christ the King will come in glory to judge us on the day of the Last Judgment (Mtt 25:35).

_*LIFE MESSAGES*_

(1) *NO REIGN (KINGDOM) LASTS UNTO ETERNITY EXCEPT CHRIST’S KINGSHIP*

Right from time immemorial, kingdoms and kings have risen and fallen. Empires and Emperors have emerged and vanished, yet Jesus’ dynastic terrain remains for ever. In Africa, we have had life presidents and those who have spent donkey years in offices:

a) Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, is currently the world’s longest-serving president.
He has been in office for 41 years since 1979.

b) Paul Biya, President of Cameron has been in office for 38 years since 1986

c) Sassou Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville has spent 36 years in office so far.

(d) Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has been in power since 1986

Yet, it must end one day. Where are the Caesars, Alexander the Great, Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler, Idi Amin of Uganda, Sani Abacha, Robert Mugabe, Idriss Derby of Chad and their empires? They have all gone and vanished. There is only one Kingship that is Eternal – “The Kingship of Jesus Christ.”

(2) *RULERS AND KINGS SHOULD ADOPT JESUS’ SACRIFICIAL AND SERVANT-LEADERSHIP STYLE*

Since every Kingship on Earth is a prototype of Jesus’ Kingship, leaders and rulers in various organs of the society should emulate the master’s sacrificial service and servant-leadership style, which is summed up in projecting and satisfying others before me.

(3) *WE MUST PLACE JESUS AT THE CENTRE AND SURRENDER ALL TO HIM AS OUR LORD, KING AND SAVIOUR*

If Jesus is truly our King, we ought to surrender our lives to Him every day. We can achieve this by giving priority to all Jesus taught in our daily choices, especially in making moral decisions. We should not exclude Christ our King from any area of our personal or family lives. In other words, Christ must be in full charge of our lives, and we must give Christ sovereign power over our bodies, our thoughts, our heart, and our will.

Finally, Adolph von Menzel has a famous partially finished art work in the Berlin Art Gallery. It is called, “Frederick the Great (a king) Addresses His Generals (soldiers) before the Battle of Leuthen in 1757.” Menzel painstakingly painted the generals (soldiers) first, placing them around the outside of the painting as a background and leaving a bare patch in the middle of the painting for the King. But Menzel died before he could finish the painting. So there is a painting full of generals but no king. We often spend much time enthroning the generals of insignificance in our lives and postpone inviting Jesus the King of Kings into our hearts till the last moment which is quite uncertain. As a result, many Christians die without putting Christ into the very center of their lives. The painting of our lives will never be complete until we place at its center Christ the King whose feast we celebrate today.

*BENEDICTIONS:*
MAY GOD BLESS US TODAY AND GIVE US THE DOCILE HEART SO AS TO ACCEPT THE MASTER JESUS AS THE LORD, SAVIOUR AND KING OF OUR LIVES. AMEN.

*GOD BLESS YOU!*
*HAPPY SUNDAY!*

 

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