TRUE WITNESSES – Feast of Christ the King, Year B
Many are very occupied by what they see and hear seeming to want only knowledge that is tangible, which touches their immediate limited experience. When we approach the spiritual world of God we have to take a different approach. We have to say “Lord, I don’t want you to conform to my limited world and experience. Rather, Lord, I want to conform my life experiences to You, and to Your revelation on the mysteries of Your life”.
Jesus said to Pilate. “My kingdom does not belong to this world.” Jesus came into the world to testify to the truth. Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
We cannot claim to be knowledgeable of Jesus’ teachings, if we are not aware of the kingdom of God. We cannot claim to know He loves us and freed us from our sins by His own blood, and made us His servants, if we don’t listen to the witness of Jesus and allow His witness to touch and affect our lives.
We listen to many witnesses, and some of them are witnesses to falsehoods, to events of very little importance to our lives and in fact are a waste of time. Jesus Christ is the faithful witness. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the One who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty, who received from God the Father “dominion, glory and kingship…His dominion is an everlasting dominion…His kingship shall not be destroyed”.
In revealing the kingdom, Jesus could only tell us what it is like, because it’s a spiritual reality. The miracles of Jesus are signs of the kingdom’s presence, and the life He brings. “If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out evil spirits, then the kingdom of God has come to you.” The Church and sacraments are signs of the presence of God’s kingdom. The proclamation of the kingdom was the major message and mission of Jesus, and of the Church to whom He entrusted His message and mission.
His parables tell us what the kingdom is like. It’s like a mustard see, the smallest of the seeds destined to grow into the largest of plants. It grows under its own power. It’s like the pearl of great price worth more than all the others. The kingdom is large enough to embrace all peoples. The kingdom is where God is present and active. The Church is the major instrument for proclaiming the kingdom.
The kingdom is God’s greatest gift to us, and it is worth any price we are called to make to be in the kingdom of God. Jesus said, the kingdom is like a wedding feast. To go to the wedding, we have to meet the conditions of the gospel as outlined in the teachings of Jesus on how citizens of the kingdom are to live in this life in preparation for eternal life in the kingdom of heaven. We are born into the kingdom of God at baptism, and we are to remain in a state of conversion all through our life as citizens of the kingdom. We are not to be conformed to the kingdom of sin, Satan and evil, which is also present in the world. We belong to Jesus to Whom we give our worship and servant hood.
Jesus’ kingdom is one of God’s truth, justice, peace and love. No matter how great human truth, justice, peace, and love are, they are mere shadows compared to God’s truth, justice, peace and love. We are called to know and receive and grow in the life of Christ’s kingdom. It’s a kingdom known through faith enlightened by revelation.
We don’t want to stay in the limited areas of life we can see and touch tangibly. We want to touch the Word of life that Jesus is, and know His kingdom present within us growing invisibly according to its nature as a spiritual kingdom, an eternal kingdom of God’s justice, truth, peace and love. To receive the life of the kingdom into our hearts and lives affects how we live in earthly kingdoms.
Christ our King suffered and died for us. As citizens of His kingdom, we are called to live by His Spirit and to be faithful to His teachings and commandments, and to take part in extending His kingdom’s reign to all peoples. Even though we can’t see the kingdom visibly, we know it’s presence by faith enlightened by the Holy Spirit.
The awareness of Christ’s kingship makes earthly kingdoms take their proper place. We listen to Jesus who is Christ our King!
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