[00:00:05] Hello! My name is Sally Moriarty-Flask; welcome to From His Word to Our Hearts, my weekly Bible Study podcast. Together we will explore the readings to be proclaimed at the Catholic Mass on Sunday, November 24, 2024, the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.
[00:00:26] This week's episode is aptly titled Christ Our King, and in these readings, we'll consider whether we devote too much of our time and energy into making space for ourselves within the kingdoms of this world, rather than focusing on the Kingdom of God in the next.
[00:00:46] As we journey through the readings this week, consider the following: How do we shift our focus away from the world? If we acknowledge Jesus as the King of the Universe, well and good, but how do we recognize him as the King of our life?
[00:01:05] Let's begin. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Heavenly Father, we praise you and we thank you for the gift of your Son. Grant us a faith deep enough to acknowledge him as the King of the Universe and the humility to acknowledge him as the King of our life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:01:31] Now that we've opened our hearts in prayer, I would like to devote a bit of time to exploring the background of this week's Solemnity.
[00:01:40] As I mentioned at the beginning, this Sunday we will celebrate the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. And I'd like to start by explaining what is meant by the term Solemnity, since it can be quite confusing. The root of the word Solemnity is solemn, meaning serious or formal. And while the preparation for a Solemnity is organized with all seriousness and decorum, the actual celebration is filled with joy and gladness. In other words, we are very serious about our celebration. The word Feast can be used in general terms to describe any level of special liturgical celebration, but the appropriate rank really should be used when speaking in technical terms about specific celebrations. So, the rank of Solemnity is reserved for those mysteries of faith that are of the greatest importance. And remember, a mystery is not something that we can't understand. It's something that we will never understand fully in this world… it's not something that we are intended to be able to grasp fully in this life. Those mysteries of faith that I am talking about are things like the Trinity, the lives of important saints, and particular events in the earthly life of Jesus and his mother, Mary. A Solemnity always begins the night before with Evening Prayer as part of the Liturgy of the Hours which are also known as the Divine Office. Interestingly enough, the Liturgy of the Hours is the official public liturgy of the Catholic Church. Many people think it's the Mass, but it is not. It is the Liturgy of the Hours.
[00:03:27] Several Solemnities also have their own Vigil Mass, also celebrated the evening before. But regardless of the day of the week on which it occurs, the Mass celebrated for a Solemnity will always most closely resemble a Sunday Mass. The liturgy of a Solemnity includes both the Gloria and the Creed, neither of which are part of a typical daily Mass, as well as having specific prayers that are proper to the day, meaning that they are designated to be used specifically for that Feast, and two readings and a Gospel are also proper for the day; two readings and a Gospel are not typical for a daily Mass. If the Solemnity falls on a Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Solemnity is celebrated in place of the regular Sunday Mass, which is what's happening this weekend. This will not be the 34th and final Sunday in Ordinary Time. This will be the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ. If a Solemnity falls on a Sunday during any other season of the year, it is typically transferred to the following Monday. That seems confusing, I know, but don't worry.
[00:04:45] I promise you – your local parish church knows all the rules and uses a book called an Ordo (O-R-D-O). Strange word, but Ordos are prepared specifically for each diocese and they explain what type of liturgies can or can't and should or shouldn't be celebrated on any given day of the year. So, I guarantee you – your local parish is following the rules that they need to follow. Hopefully that gives us a little bit of a handle on what a Solemnity is, in general. I would like to explore what the Solemnity of Christ the King is, specifically. Christianity has acknowledged the kingship of Jesus Christ since the Patristic Era, which is basically the 1st to the 7th century.
[00:05:32] Saint Cyril of Alexandria, a 5th century theologian, wrote that Christ has dominion over all creatures by his essence and by his nature. In other words, Christ's kingship is derived both from his divine essence, which he shares with God his Father and the Holy Spirit, and from his human nature as a descendant of the House of David. Although the theology of the kingship of Christ dates from the earliest days of the Church, the Feast wasn't actually instituted until 1925, when Pope Pius XI had it inscribed into the Liturgical Calendar on the last Sunday of October. Now, sorry again, but inscribed into the Liturgical Calendar is a fancy way of saying that the feast was officially established and its date fixed.
[00:06:30] Now, you may have also noticed that I said its date was set as the last Sunday of October. If you picked that out, you have good ears. And yes, it has been moved. In 1970, actually, Pope Paul VI amended the title of the Feast to its current form as the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, and moved its date from the last Sunday in October to the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year. I also want to mention here that the Solemnity of Christ the King is observed not only by the Catholic Church, it is celebrated by most Christian faith traditions and typically on that same last Sunday of the Liturgical Year.
[00:07:15] Okay, so now that we've prayed and have a better understanding of what a Solemnity is, especially of the one we're about to explore, let's break open this week's Scriptures. For this final Sunday of the Liturgical Year, we leave behind Mark's Gospel to hear from John 18: 33b-37.
[00:07:37] “[Pilate said to Jesus,] ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?’ Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me; what have you done?’ Jesus answered, ‘My kingship is not of this world; if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews; but my kingship is not from the world.’ Pilate said to him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘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. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.’”
[00:08:30] You may be wondering why the Church chooses John's account of Jesus’ appearance before Pontius Pilate rather than Mark's. And that's a good question. The explanation is really quite simple. While the account of Jesus' appearance before Pilate is recorded by all four Evangelists, John's account is the most complete.
[00:08:52] “[Pilate said to Jesus,] ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’”
[00:08:57] Pilate's concern here is completely temporal rather than spiritual. He is worried that Jesus may be setting himself up as a political rival to challenge the authority of the Roman emperor Tiberius, which would jeopardize his - Pilate's - own position as governor of the province of Judea. Pilate's question here truly highlights his own very real concern for himself.
[00:09:26] “Jesus answered, ‘Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?’”
[00:09:34] Notice how Jesus responds… he answers a question with a question. And we know by now what that means. He wants Pilate to stop and think, to look deeper. But to look deeper at what? Well, Jesus wants Pilate to understand where he's getting his information. Is Pilate really relying solely on gossip? Or is he perhaps attempting to get to the truth? To look deeper?
[00:10:09] “Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me; what have you done?’”
Okay, with that question: Am I a Jew? Pilate is distancing himself here from his Jewish subjects. He wants no direct culpability here with the events as they unfold. He just wants to keep the peace and keep his political position. And remember, the Jewish leaders specified no charges against Jesus when they handed him over to the Roman authorities to be executed. So, Pilate is asking Jesus why his fellow Jews handed him over to the Roman authorities to die.
[00:10:52] “Jesus answered, ‘My kingship is not of this world;’”
[00:10:58] The only other time the kingdom is mentioned in John's Gospel is in chapter 3, when Jesus explains to Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, by the way, that only one who is born of water and the spirit - in other words, through baptism, reborn through baptism - may enter the kingdom. And Jesus is saying here that the origin of the kingdom is with his Father in heaven, not in the world. He goes on…
“if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews;”
[00:11:38] Okay, first, remember, Jesus is a Jew. They were all Jews except for Pilate and his cohort of gentiles (his Roman soldiers). The ruling authority, the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees, Jesus, his family, his disciples… they were all Jews.
[00:11:54] “If my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews.”
But clearly, Jesus’ followers, his disciples do not act that way… they do not fight. Okay, well, except for the disciple that cuts off the ear of the high priest's servant in the garden of Gethsemane. And we know the disciples were chastised by Jesus for that action. So, from that point going forward, they know that they cannot fight. Those who live by the sword, die by the sword, right? They can't fight, so they follow the Father's will. Jesus says…
“but my kingship is not from the world.”
Jesus himself, in his divinity and his humanity, embodies the kingdom. Therefore, while he is in the world, his kingdom is IN the world, but it is not FROM the world… it is not OF the world.
[00:12:56] “Pilate said to him, ‘So you are a king?’”
[00:12:59] Pilate almost jumps on that statement, right? Clearly, he feels threatened by Jesus.
“Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king.”
Now we need to be aware that Jesus changes tactics here! He doesn't answer Pilate's question with a question of his own this time. No, no, no. In this instance, he's doing what he so often did throughout John's Gospel, trying to draw people deeper into the mystery, to make them think, to increase their knowledge. He's still trying to get them to think, still trying to get them to go deeper, just doing it in a different way.
[00:13:43] Notice though, that Jesus neither confirms nor denies Pilate's assertion. Instead, and we'll see this in his next words, Jesus redefines kingship! Listen to what he says…
“For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.”
[00:14:06] Jesus has just turned the concept of kingship upside down by putting it in terms of his heavenly identity as the Son of God and his mission as the Incarnate Word to bring truth and salvation to the world.
[00:14:26] Jesus ends with…
“everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.”
[00:14:34] These words speak to US down through the centuries. Jesus is saying that his exercise of kingly authority is through his witness of love and truth. Again, kingship turned upside down. It's not about power, it's not about authority, it's not about crushing rebellion, it's not about maintaining status quo, it's not about pleasing Caesar - or any earthly authority! It's about truth, the truth of the Gospel.
[00:15:14] In John 14, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” And he has been very clear to his disciples - and to us - that THE WAY leads through the Cross.
[00:15:31] In John 15, Jesus told his disciples to love one another as he loved them AND that there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for a friend. So, Jesus’ ultimate exercise of kingship is through bearing witness to the truth in love, which he will demonstrate unmistakably, beautifully, and poignantly when he lays down his life on the Cross.
[00:16:06] At the Last Supper, Jesus said: I give you an example to follow. And we know that example is one of truth, love, service, and sacrifice. But do we always pay attention? Have we, like Pontius Pilate, fallen into the trap of pouring too much of our time and energy into creating a place for ourselves in the kingdoms of this world? Have we allowed the kings of this world, be they in the social, political, or business realms, to trap us into false loyalties or cult-like devotions?
[00:16:55] Or do we take a step back from the rhetoric of the world to see Jesus as the ultimate king, king of the universe… of our world, of our country, our community, our life? Jesus’ kingship will continue to be made manifest in the world through Christians of any faith tradition that are committed to bearing witness to the truth of the Gospel with great love.
[00:17:34] So let's take a look at our First Reading, which is again from the Book of Daniel this week. Daniel 7: 13-14.
[00:17:44] “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
[00:18:15] If you remember from last week, I took us into a deep dive into the background of the Book of Daniel. And one of the things I mentioned was that it was composed in three different languages, right? Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek. I also want to mention here that the Book of Daniel was likely the latest composition in the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Old Testament. And it was, sort of, compiled by tacking on the sections of each different language, one after the other. So, let me explain.
The first part of the book, chapters 1-6, which are also called the Court Tales, was written in Aramaic and contains stories about Daniel and his friends during the Babylonian exile.
The second part of the book, chapters 7-12, called the Visions, was written in Hebrew and presents a series of revelations made to Daniel that are then explained by an angel.
And finally, the last section of the book, chapters 13 & 14, which were written in Greek, are the stories of Susanna and Bel & the dragon. I want to point out while I'm here that those last two chapters, chapters 13 and 14, are recognized as the inspired canon of sacred Scripture in the Catholic version of the Bible. But you won't find them in a King James version unless it happens to include a section of what is called the Apocrypha, which is a name that refers to the books or sections of books that are not recognized as canon in the Protestant faith tradition.
[00:19:57] Last week we heard from chapter 12, which is the end of the section of Daniel that falls under the heading of the Visions. This week we hear from chapter 7, the beginning of that section. And what we'll encounter here is part of Daniel's dream. So, with that in mind, let's dive into it.
“I saw in the night visions,”
That is how Daniel describes his dreams.
“and behold, with the clouds of heaven”
And remember… remember, whenever clouds are mentioned in Scripture, they are intended to indicate the presence of the divine. Think back to the book of Exodus and the cloud of God's glory - that Shekinah cloud - that descended on the Tent of Meeting in the desert, to indicate God's presence. So…
“with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man,”
We hear this appellation in this passage in Daniel, but we also hear it in Ezekiel when the prophet uses it to refer to himself, and in the Gospels, where Jesus uses it to refer to himself. Now, Ezekiel, when he uses this term, the “SON” in son of man is typically not capitalized. However, when Jesus uses it to refer to himself in the Gospel, it typically is capitalized. Now, that may seem like a trivial detail, but it's actually quite important. Ezekiel uses the title to describe himself as one man among many, emphasizing his humanity, his place as one of the sons of mankind. Jesus uses the title to indicate both his identity as the Son of God and his Incarnate humanity. So, to emphasize that the Evangelists use a capital “S” in Son and a lowercase “M” for man.
[00:21:57] There's actually quite a bit of controversy surrounding the interpretation of this term. Jewish tradition is divided on its meaning. One possible interpretation is that Daniel is referencing the Messiah who is to come and save the Chosen People. But if that is the case, it is the only mention of the Messiah in the entire Book of Daniel. Another possibility is that Daniel is referring to the entire Jewish people. And yet a third option is that Daniel is pointing to the Archangel Michael, who is serving as a representative of the Jewish people in the heavenly realm. For Christians, Son of man - in this context - is both a representative of God's people and one who initiates the kingdom. So, it's quite evident why Christians see Jesus foreshadowed in this passage. So, the son of man, (lowercase s, lowercase m), the son of man…
“came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.”
Ancient of Days here, of course, refers to God… the God of Israel… God the Father.
“And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
[00:23:30] Now, we must understand this in context! Daniel was most likely writing about a fully restored and independent Jewish nation under the leadership of a just king whose earthly kingdom will endure.
[00:23:50] Christians, however, view this as a description of Jesus. And remember, John, who wrote the Book of Revelation, would have been familiar with Daniel and, using that knowledge, wove much of the symbolic imagery present in Daniel into Revelation when he recorded that book.
[00:24:14] I'm thinking specifically of…
Revelation 4: “Worthy are you to receive glory and honor and power.” Right? We hear that echo… Revelation 5: “by your blood you ransomed men of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” That's what we just heard, right? And of course, what we will hear presently in our Second Reading, which mentions the Alpha and the Omega. Again, Christians see Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment of the promise God made to David in 2 Samuel of an everlasting kingdom, a throne established forever. So, with John's intimate knowledge of the Book of Daniel, he took all of those images and wove them into those stories, those end time apocalyptic images, that he included in the Book of Revelation.
[00:25:15] Our Psalm this week is Psalm 93, and the refrain is:
“The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty.”
And here are the verses:
“The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. Your decrees are very sure; holiness befits your house, O LORD, for evermore.”
[00:25:50] This Psalm is a Royal Psalm celebrating the divine kingship of God. In these verses we hear that God created the heavens and the earth and that his rule extends over all creation. God's heavenly dwelling is mirrored on the earthly plane - Jews would have understood that to mean the Jerusalem Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD; whereas Catholics see that as the Tabernacle present in every church. And finally, that leads us to our Second Reading for this coming Sunday, which is from the Book of Revelation 1: 5-8.
[00:26:33] “Jesus Christ [is] the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’”
[00:27:16] Again, the Book of Revelation is filled with symbolic and apocalyptic language, and it's crucial to note here that the symbolic descriptions in this book cannot and should not ever be taken literally. And in truth, if they were, would often be the stuff of nightmares. Consider the description of the Lamb in chapter 5 - a lamb that was slain with 7 horns and 7 eyes.
[00:27:47] Whoa! Certainly not the cute and fluffy type of lamb you'd hope to encounter in a farm field. More like some horror that would be waiting for you around a corner in a dark and haunted house. So, the type of language employed in Revelation echoes that seen in certain books of the Old Testament, especially Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel. And keep in mind, as I've said before, that John would have been very familiar with these Scriptures. And it is also vitally important that we, even in these modern times, understand the interrelatedness of the Old and New Testaments.
[00:28:30] Saint Augustine of Hippo, a theologian from the late 4th and early 5th centuries, was a Bishop and a Doctor of the Church, famously said that the New Testament lies hidden in the Old, and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.
[00:28:46] Those words remind us, as Christians, that the Old and New Testaments are forever intertwined, that the promises made in the Old Testament are explained and fulfilled in the New Testament through Jesus Christ.
[00:29:02] This week's passage from Revelation is from the beginning of John's account of the visions he experienced during his exile on the island of Patmos. So, let's get started…
[00:29:17] “Jesus Christ [is] the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.”
[00:29:26] We just heard the three roles of Jesus, right? The three things he is… (1) Faithful Witness; (2) Firstborn of The Dead; (3) Ruler of Kings on Earth. Let's explore those a bit. FAITHFUL WITNESS indicates his fidelity to the Father's will and his willingness to die for our sakes. Remember, the Greek word for witness is martyrion, which is where we derive the word martyr. FIRST-BORN OF THE DEAD, first to be raised in the Resurrection and first to take his seat in glory at God's right hand in the heavenly kingdom. And then RULER OF KINGS ON EARTH Jesus Christ is the king of kings, the ruler of heaven and earth.
[00:30:22] I want to call attention to one other thing before we move on… watch for repeated patterns of threes in this Reading! Once you start looking for them, they're everywhere.
[00:30:35] “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom,”
[00:30:42] Those are the three activities Jesus undertook on behalf of humanity… loves us, freed us, made us a kingdom.
[00:30:56] Let's dig into those…
LOVES US - remember what we talked about when we were working through the Gospel and about what Jesus told his disciples? He told them to love one another as he loved them AND that there is no greater love than to lay down one's Life for a friend. Clearly, Jesus loves us now and for all eternity.
FREED US - by his Passion and Death on the Cross, Jesus freed us from sin and put mankind into right relationship with God. And then…
MADE US A KINGDOM - this is actually twofold… first, we are already citizens of the kingdom of God, although we live in that already-but-not-yet time (the age of the Church) where the kingdom was established by Christ but hasn't yet reached its ultimate fulfillment… and second, through our Baptism, we were anointed (among other things) kings, right? Talked about that earlier. Priest, prophet and king. We were anointed kings with the responsibility of leading others to their place in the kingdom.
[00:32:15] There's that pattern of three again. So, he…
“made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father,”
[00:32:23] When I talked about Baptism just now, I mentioned that we are anointed kings - among other things, right? Well, one of those other things is priest. We are anointed priests with the task of mediating or interceding for others. Think about the number of times we offer to pray for someone or we are asked to pray for someone - that is fulfilling our role of mediator.
“to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
Those words assert Jesus' sovereignty for all time. And then we find an affirmation of the assent - of agreement: Amen, right? That word, the altogether appropriate and proper response to such a great statement of faith and the fulfillment of the promise made in the Book of Daniel: Amen… this is true, let it be known, let it be said, let it be so. Amen!
[00:33:23] “Behold, he is coming with the clouds,”
[00:33:27] Again, whenever clouds are mentioned, they are a reminder of glory and divinity. And in the words, he is coming with the clouds, we should hear the echo of Daniel when he says, behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man. That really helps us see the interrelatedness of the Old and New Testaments that I talked about and explain why we, as Christians, see Jesus prefigured in so much of the Old Testament.
[00:34:06] “and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth”
Threefold again, right? This is a threefold list of witnesses to the sovereignty of Jesus.
EVERY EYE represents all of humankind.
EVERY ONE WHO PIERCED HIM represents those directly responsible for his Passion and Death on the Cross.
ALL TRIBES OF THE EARTH represent the Chosen People. So that threefold witness…
“will wail on account of him.”
That list - that threefold list - of witnesses, which, to be perfectly honest, encompasses all people throughout all time, will wail on account of him… they will lament him… they will lament his death… they will mourn his sacrifice… they will express grief for his suffering on their behalf, but at the same time, will serve as witnesses of his ultimate triumph over evil and death.
[00:35:19] “Even so. Amen.”
Again, that powerful statement of assent, of truth, of faith, of agreement. Let it be so! Amen!
[00:35:35] “’I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God.”
[00:35:40] Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek Alphabet. Their use is intended to express completeness… the beginning, the end, and everything in between. To put it another way, God is the beginning and the end of all things. God existed before anything. Before time began, God was. After time ends, God will be. God is eternal. It goes on…
“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
These words express the everlasting nature of God…
WHO IS - encompasses the present;
WHO WAS - remembers the past;
WHO IS TO COME - makes a promise for the future.
That gives us a threefold expansion of the divine I AM that is more than - greater than - anything we could ever conceive, right? That: I AM. The words that God spoke to Moses when he said, who shall I tell them sent me? I AM.
There are two amazing types of images that depict the kingship of Jesus. Some of them are quite old and - given the Feast we are celebrating this week - the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, and the powerful readings that we have just explored together, I would like to offer some images for your consideration and I will post them on Instagram this week.
[00:37:41] The first is a depiction of Christ the King from the Western theological tradition and it's called Christ in Majesty. While the image itself has been around since the 4th century, the picture that I will share with you is of a mosaic in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. It is one of the largest mosaics of Christ in the entire world and it is absolutely breathtaking… the distance between his two hands is 34 ft! That's how big this image is. If you ever have the opportunity to see it in person, do so. It is stunning. If you are in D.C. and you have an afternoon go to the National Shrine, it is worth the stop, I will tell you that! The image of Christ in Majesty is - so many times people (sort of irreverently) call it the buff Christ! He's shown in red, typically his robes are red, and he is - his muscles - are sculpted… he is clearly a powerful figure and that is the figure of Christ in Majesty.
The other depiction of Christ the King I would like to share is an Eastern Orthodox theological traditional icon called the Pantocrator. The oldest surviving example of the Pantocrator dates from the 6th century. So, 4th century… 6th century… these images have been with us since the Patristic Era, since the earliest days of the Church. The image that I will share with you this week is a photo from the 13th century Deësis mosaic in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey. In 1995, Pope Saint John Paul II wrote, “the church must breathe with her two lungs” referring to the Eastern and Western traditions. In other words, we have to reconcile those two traditions and we will be better for the richness present in both.
[00:40:10] That's why I am sharing examples of Christ the King from both Eastern Orthodox and Western Christian traditions. The last image that I would like to share with you is a photo of gates in my home parish that depict the Alpha and the Omega. These gates are only closed at night and they separate the rest of the church from the after-hours Adoration chapel. They are exceedingly heavy! They are on wheels so that they can be moved - and opened and closed. But they are quite stunningly beautiful and so I hope you enjoy them and all this week's photos.
[00:40:54] Before I finish, I want to just take some time here to think back to our prayer at the beginning… we asked God to give us a faith deep enough that would allow us to recognize and acknowledge Jesus as the King of the Universe. Surprisingly, that is often the easier request.
[00:41:14] Then we asked for something much more difficult… the humility to acknowledge Jesus as the King of our life. Humility doesn't come easily to us, does it? It requires something of us… it demands effort on our part… it demands surrender… it reminds us that we are not always in control. And that doesn't sit well with us. Because, let's face it, it is so easy to focus on our everyday lives: our jobs, our families, our friends, the way we spend our time, the groups we become a part of, the vacations we take, the cars we drive, the houses we buy… on and on and on and on, right? So easy to just look at ourselves and what we cocoon ourselves with. In other words, it is altogether too easy to devote the majority of our time and effort and energy into carving out space for ourselves within our own little spheres of influence, our own little kingdoms in this world. So how do we shift our focus?
[00:42:40] How do we cultivate humility and surrender? How do we, each and every one of us, come to recognize Jesus as the King of our lives?
[00:42:56] If you would like to reach out to me with questions and comments, send me an email at
[email protected].
Thank you for listening and until next we meet, may God shower His blessings upon you like a soft and gentle rain and may he hold you, safe and secure, in the palm of his hand.
From His Word to Our Hearts is produced by SFS Audio Solutions.
The content of this show was assembled by me, Sally Moriarty-Flask.
Our music was composed by Jimmy Flask and is used with permission of the composer. All rights reserved.
Information regarding references used in preparing the exegesis for this podcast is available upon request.
Thank you for listening and God bless!
