Christ the King: the beginning and the end

On November 27, 2011 a new liturgical year begins with the words of the prophet Isaiah: “O Lord, your are the king (father), we are the clay, you are the king (potter); we are the work of your hands.”  (Is. 64:8).  On November 20, 2011 the church concludes the liturgical year with a specific feast, called Christ the King.  Americans have a tough time with the concept of a king.  After all, we never had one.  Yet, Catholics proclaim a King, whose dominion is based on love, truth, and compassion.

It is important to know that at least three denominations (Lutherans, United Methodists, and Roman Catholics) observe the last Sunday of the liturgical year under the title of Christ the King.  This feast, however, is Roman Catholic in its origin.  The tradition goes back to the 19th century when British, Americans, Spaniards, French, German, Russians, and Japanese were at war or about to go to war somewhere.  In the midst of these conflicts, Pope Leo XIII issued an unusual encyclical letter, “Annum Sacrum”  (May 25,1899), in which he dedicated the world to Christ the King, the real King.  Twenty six years later, after the great war had devastated Europe, Pope XI offered another reminder of Christ’s kingship.  In his encyclical “Quas Primas” (December 11, 1925) he established the feast of Christ the King to be celebrated on the last Saturday of October.  When the Roman Catholic Church revised the Calendar in 1969 this feast was moved permanently to the last Sunday of the liturgical year.  The biblical references develop the concept of being a king, the way Jesus really was.  For instance the prophet Ezekiel points out (Ch. 4) to the shepherd-king.  The Israelite community measured the wealth of the shepherd by the size and the health of the sheep.  Sheep and goats were source of clothing (wool), shelter (hair-blanket), milk, butter, cheese, and meat.  Goatskins were used as containers for water and wine.  Sheep and goats had to be led by the shepherd to food and drink, and protect them from other animals.  In the New Testament, when Saint Paul wrote his first letter to the people of Corinth (54-57) points out to Christ the King, being the new Adam leading us to life, while the first Adam brought us death.  The Gospel outlines beautifully the kingship of Jesus by the  DOING-MINISTRY, rather than the TALKING-MINISTRY.  “You did it for me and to me.”  It is clear in our century that the talking ministry is less effective than the doing ministry and the Being-Ministry.  I really believe that it is time to combine the doing and being together.  The great theologian Karl Rahner once said: “The mystic is not a special kind of person.  Every person is a special kind of mystic.” We all know that we become active and contemplative by giving meaning to our lives in serving others and growing with others.  The gospel uses the expression: feeding the hungry and giving water to the thirsty.  Service in our Christian journey is not a hobby, a job, but rather a ministry and ambition for the privilege to serve.  As we all know, there is a big difference between hobby and ambition.  There were some students applying for admission to a college in the psychological field and they were asked to fill out a questionnaire (anything new?).  Among the questions asked were: “What is your hobby?” and “what is your ambition?”

A student answered: my hobby is taking apart my alarm clock and my ambition is to be able to put it back together.