With the Feast of Christ the King which we celebrate this weekend, we come to the end of the liturgical year of the church. It is fitting on the last Sunday to proclaim the “last” thing, that is, Christ as Lord and King of the whole of creation. We believe that one day, in God’s good time, this will come to pass. The world and universe as we know it will be transformed and Christ will rule in love over everything. What a wonderful thing to contemplate and to hope for. But while we and perhaps many generations after us wait for that day, there is a question that it forces us to answer today. Is Christ truly King of my life? Do I give Him permission to reign in my heart and my life? When I make
the many decisions I must arrive at each day, do I make them with reference to His truth, mercy, generosity and love? Do I ever exclude Him from my family life, my work life, my school life? There is an old saying that “Christ is King of everything, or He chooses to be king of nothing”. While that may sound harsh, it captures the reality that Christ is not truly Lord of our lives if we hold things back from Him. The question of Sunday Mass is a good example of what I mean. When Christ says “Do this in memory of me”, He is specifying for His followers the commandment, “Keep holy the
Lord’s day”. He doesn’t say, do this when it’s convenient, do it if your child doesn’t have a soccer game or a cheerleading competition, do it when you’re not on vacation or only when it’s not a perfect day for skiing or the beach. He means that each and every week worship with the church community must be a joyful priority for us because it is there that He intends to draw us closer to Himself by word and sacrament. As we reflect on the kingship of Christ over our own life, let us pray for the grace to let Him truly rule. If we wish to be counted in his Kingdom at the end, then we must let Him be King now.
