First Sunday of Advent (A)

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The Unknown Day and Hour   Lectionary: 1 Reading 1 -  Isaiah 2:1-5 Responsorial Psalm -  Psalm 122: 1-9 Reading 2 -  Romans 13:11-14 Alleluia -  Cf. Psalm 85:8 Gospel -  Matthew 24:37-44 '... Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.' Introduction  As we gather on this First Sunday of Advent , we also mark the beginning of the Church’s new liturgical calendar and a four-week preparation period leading up to Christmas. The word Advent comes from either of two Latin words, which simply mean “to come” (Ad-venire) or “to arrive” (Ad-ventus), and as early as the fourth (4th) century, Christians have had this special time of preparation towards Christmas. Of course, Advent is not merely a countdown to Christmas; Even as we begin the material preparations for the social celebration of Christmas, the liturgical celebrations of these weeks invite us to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus. But what does the co...
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The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Cycle B)

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The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Lectionary: 161
Reading 1 - Dn 7:13-14
Responsorial Psalm - Ps 93:1, 1-2, 5
Reading 2 - Rv 1:5-8
Alleluia - Mk 11:9, 10
Gospel - Jn 18:33b-37


You say I am a king …


Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe … a feast day established in the aftermath of WWI in response to growing atheism, secularism and nationalism, and it provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the nature of kingship, power and what it means to be in authority and charged with protecting the welfare of others. At the same time, we should consider the obligations and responsibilities We have as part of a kingdom. In the first and second reading today, we see the majesty, power and scope of Christ’s authority as King of the Universe. In the Gospel reading … we see how He uses that … and it is not how most people would expect … so today, I would like to focus on that expectation … and what that means for us …

Back when I was just beginning High School, I had the opportunity to be part of the American contingent to the World Scouting Jamboree “Encampment” in Sweden. Not long after we arrived there, King Carl Gustaf XVI came by to welcome us all to the week long event … and I still remember a few things from that encounter … first … given that the Title of King, or Queen, often feels like something more connected to our past than our present, I was surprised to learn that the King of Sweden was still the foremost representative of his country and its citizens; worldwide he was probably best known for presenting the Nobel Peace Prizes each year. The second thing thing I remember is how absolutely ordinary he seemed … at least in appearance where, as a young man dressed in a plain suit and wearing sunglasses, it was difficult for me to tell him apart from the folks by his side. Finally, I remember thinking that, as a Constitutional Monarchy, of which a surprising 46 still exist today, he represented a more limited version of what a King used to be … where he commanded absolute authority and virtually unlimited power.

We find a little more about the nature of kings and kingdoms in the Old Testament, when Israel demanded a king so that they would be like other nations … so that they could Compete with other nations. And despite being told about the problems that come with an absolute monarch, God gave them what they had asked for … King Saul. unfortunately, King Saul was a bit of a disappointment, so the people were given King David … who, despite his own flaws, helped to usher in the “Golden Age” of a United Israel. However, this success was short lived and the kingdom was soon divided into two after his son, King Solomon. Not long after that, both kingdoms were conquered by foreign invaders. This is the nature of kings … they protect the people and lead them into battle … and this is the nature of earthly kingdoms … they rise and they fall with their king. Ultimately Israel falls … Babylon falls … even Rome falls.

Still … by the time of Jesus, it was this “Golden Age” of King David that the Jews expected to be restored, and they expected that to happen the same way it had been established the first time … through force of arms. So when Jesus, from the line of David, didn’t act as they had expected, the religious authorities dragged him before Pilate, the political authority at that time, to publicly and forcefully reject Jesus as their King … and standing before Pilate, I can imagine that Jesus in fact didn’t look like kings are expected to look … so Pilate asks Jesus if He IS the King of the Jews. The simple answer of course is Yes … but that is not what Jesus says. Instead He talks about what it means to live in His Kingdom. Now … here is where the language can get tricky … When Jesus tell Pilate that His kingdom is not “Here” He is Not saying that His kingdom is absent from this world or has no bearing on worldly realities, in fact God has plans for the world; instead He is saying that the Kingdom of God does not belong to this world because the laws and values of the kingdom do not come from the world around us, but from the divine King Himself …and as proof, He offers the fact that if it were otherwise, His followers would be fighting to free Him …

Which is interesting to me … because I recall a certain disciple doing just that in the Garden of Gethsemane not long before this event and Jesus telling him to cut that out. In other words … we … as followers of Jesus … should be working to bring others to His Kingdom and not fighting to bring His Kingdom to us. This is why, in the previous Chapter, Jesus says to The Father “I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from evil.” In other words … we are called to be in the world, but not of the world … because we have a job to do. We are to bring peace to the world because the Kingdom of God is peace … We are to bring joy to the world because the Kingdom of God is Joy … We are to bring truth to the world because the Kingdom of God is truth … We are to bring love to the world … because the Kingdom of God is love.


Reading I
Dn 7:13-14


As the visions during the night continued, I saw
one like a Son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
when he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship;
all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.


Responsorial Psalm
Ps 93:1, 1-2, 5

R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed;
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.


Reading II
Rv 1:5-8

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father,
to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.
Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will lament him.
Yes. Amen.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, " says the Lord God,
"the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."

Alleluia
Mk 11:9, 10

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel
Jn 18:33b-37

Pilate said to Jesus,
"Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?"
Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?"
Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here."
So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?"
Jesus answered, "You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."


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