Fr Jack SJ MD: Feast of Christ the King

2 Sm 5:1-3

Ps 121:1-5

Col 1:12-20

Lk 23:35-43

The Feast of Christ the King. was added to the Church calendar in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. Given that Church history spans two millennia, ninety-seven years ago makes it a very new feast. Originally set for the last Sunday in October it was moved to the 34th Sunday of ordinary time, the final Sunday, of the Church year in 1969. Next Sunday marks the beginning of Advent and a new liturgical year

with the Sunday Gospels coming mostly from Matthew rather than Luke. It is significant that this feast was moved to such a high profile position where it serves as a liturgical New Year's Eve as we begin the new cycle.

While the first and second readings highlight images of kings the Gospel requires some thought, as far as kingly images go.

The first reading told how the tribes of Israel anointed David as their king. He was named king because he was able to rally the Israelites to conquer their enemies. Thus we heard, "it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back." The kingly images in the psalm are more subtle. However we hear of the strength of Jerusalem, the royal city, where stood the thrones of judgment of the house of David.

The second reading from Paul’s letter to the Colossians appears in the Liturgy of the Hours. It is a song of praise and gratitude to God for placing us in the Kingdom of his beloved Son who, through his obedience to the will of the Father,

redeemed us from sin and death. Then comes Luke’s Gospel.

What kind of King is Luke describing?

Who is this king who is mocked by the criminal crucified next to him?

Who is this King of the Jews about whom Pilate wrote on the sign he hung on the cross: INRI Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum? Jesus the Nazarean King of the Jews.

What kind of king is hung naked in front of a crowd?

What kind of King is subjected to the most shameful form of execution possible?

He is the King we are called to follow; if we choose to follow Him, if we have the courage to follow Him.

The choice to follow Jesus the Eternal King is both conscious and deliberate. It is a choice we must make and renew on a regular basis. We either choose to follow Jesus or we don't. There is no alternative. There is no partial commitment. No one can split loyalties between God and something else.

Two early meditations in the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola focus on the image of king and our choice to follow or not follow him.

In the first meditation Ignatius instructs us to consider the characteristics of a good earthly king. That good king isn't lounging on his throne surrounded by hangers-on and yes-men. He is down in the dirt and dust with the rest of the people. He is sharing in their struggles, shoveling mud after a disaster, not standing around in a starched shirt and white construction helmet waiting for photo ops.

After considering a good earthly king, Ignatius directs us to contemplate Jesus, the Eternal King. The King who is fully human and fully divine who walked in the dust and the mud, who was soaked by rain and buffeted by wind, who sweated, shivered, and learned carpentry. The King who was--and still is--both loved and hated, who lived just as we do and who died just as we will.

This King is Jesus who tells each of us, “Whoever wishes to join me must be willing to labor with me.” At times that labor is neither pleasant nor easy. While it is said “His yoke is easy and His burden is light” it doesn't always seem that way.

In the second of the meditations, known as the meditation on the two standards,

Ignatius instructs us to meditate on the choice that confronts all who call, or wish to call, themselves followers of Christ. Under which of two standards, banners, or flags, are we going to live and die; the standard of Christor the standard of Satan?

Do we choose Satan and the world or do we choose Christ and the Kingdom of God? Do we choose the banner of the evil king or the banner of the Eternal King of the Universe?

The choice is yes or no, black and white. No one can have a foot in each camp.

One’s loyalties cannot be split. It is not a matter of following Jesus

when it is convenient, safe, or socially acceptable only to follow Satan, the evil king, when it is more expedient.

St. Ignatius did not create anything unusual with these two meditations. Throughout the coming liturgical year Jesus will present us with the same choices many times over,in different ways. Do we follow Jesus, the Eternal King, or do we not?

Just as we make resolutions at the end of the old calendar year today, on the Feast of Christ the King, the final Sunday of the Church year and the cusp of a new one, we have the opportunity to choose. We can choose to live and perish under the false values of this world of materialism, sensuality, and a culture of death or we can choose to live and die under the banner of Jesus. The King who died to redeem us from sin and despair.

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The crypt in the Church of St. Casimir in Vilnius, Lithuania, is one of the most fascinating places I've ever shot. I was in Vilnius for ten days to give retreats in a remote retreat house. That was on weekends. Stayed in the SJ community in Vilnius during the week. Unfortunately the weather was dreadful with temps in the single digits Fahrenheit. However, I made up for that in the church and the crypt.

The church was built in the 17th century. It had many iterations, was rebuilt, taken over by other religious groups and, in its last act before being reteurned to the Jesuits in 1988 was a the museum of atheism. Only when returned to the Society was the crypt under the altar discovered. I spend hours down there.

The entrance to the crypt is the stairs behind the main altar. The railing is at the end of the red carpet.

The wrought iron gates were unlocked I had them open, closed, and halfway between at various times.

The yellow color cast was a mix of lighting and camera. I prefer the shots in black and white.

There is restoration underway, or at least here was. There are five years old

The relic of Jesuit Martyr St. Andrew Bobola, a Polish Jesuit who is considered the patron saint of Lithuania. Boundaries were a little different in Bobola's time.