Christ the King: He Came to Testify to the Truth
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Sunday Readings
The focus of Satan’s efforts is always the same: to deceive us into believing that the passing pleasures of sin are more satisfying than obedience to Christ and His Church.
“You shall know the truth and only the truth shall set you free.” (cf. John 8:32)
My Dearest Friends in Christ
We have gathered here on this last Sunday of the Ordinary Tme of the year to testify publicly that Christ is our King. Some are afraid of testifying to their Faith, yet profess to be on the side of Christ. Maybe they are yet to decide if they are going to be Christians. It is neither ambiguous nor illogical to say that in our generation we have atheistic Christians. These are those who go to church but don’t worship Christ.– Clem
The readings of today describe the enthronement of the Victorious Christ as King in Heaven in all His Glory. This feast was instituted in 1925, by Pope Pius XI who proclaimed: “Pax Christi in Regno Christi “) The Peace of Christ in the Reign of Christ).
In the Gospel of today, Jesus asserts before Pilate that He is a King and clarifies that His Kingdom “does not belong to this world.” He rules as King by serving others rather than by dominating them. His authority is rooted in Truth, not in physical force or violence, and His Kingdom (the Reign of God) is based on the Beatitudes. Jesus has come to bear witness to the Truth. The Truth about God and His Love for us. The Truth about Himself as the Son of God.
The first and the second readings of today also testify that Christ is the King. He is the Alpha and the Omega, glorified by God and coming in the clouds.Christ is our King. Those who follow His teachings are members of His Kingdom. He rules over their lives. Those who deny the truths of the Gospel of Christ are outside this Kingdom of Truth. God’s Kingdom is the human heart. It is here that the Truth resides.
We live in a world of many lies. The devil has come to divert people’s attention from the Truth. Christ is the Truth, the Way, and the Life. Those who live by Him have Life. The devil has come to steal and destroy the souls of those who reject the Truth and to turn them away from the saving Truth. Our mission is not easy in a secular world that is a slave to money and tolerates only relative truths that can be manipulated at will by the powerful. To profess to possess an absolute truth becomes insupportable and a subject of exclusion. The Truth of Jesus, Son of God and Saviour of the world, no longer has a place in public areas. If we bear witness openly, we must be ready to pay the price of our faithfulness by suffering derision, ostracism, and persecution. The Kingdom of God is under attack by the kingdoms of darkness. Are you unaware of the immoral practices springing up in our world? Are you surprised that people canonizing evil have lost their sense of shame? It was Fulton J. Sheen who said: “The modern world, which denies personal guilt and admits only social crimes, which has no place for personal repentance but only public reforms, has divorced Christ from His Cross..”
We are children of Light. Let us reject every form of deception from the devil and his subjects in the kingdom of darkness. Such deception includes convincing you to accept lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender marriages, abortion, and euthanasia. These are against the sanctity of life, the sanctity of marriage, and the dignity of the human person. These are against the core values of the Kingdom of God. Those who come to church but believe or accept these evils are against Christ and His Kingdom. Only by accepting the Truth shall we be free. “You shall know the truth and only the truth shall set you free.” (cf. John 8:32) Lies keep us in bondage. Lies are many but the truth is one.
Do not be ruled by your emotions nor worldly affections. We need to accept Christ the King as our Lord and Savior and surrender our lives to Him. We surrender our lives to Jesus each day when we give priority to His teaching in our daily choices, especially in our moral decisions. We should not exclude Christ our King from any area of our personal or family lives. In other words, Christ must be in full charge of our lives, and we must give him sovereign power over our bodies, our thoughts, our hearts, and our will.
We need to accept Jesus Christ as the King of Love. Jesus came to proclaim to all of us the Good News of God’s Love and Salvation. He gave us His new commandment of love: “Love one another as I have loved you.” He demonstrated that Love by dying for us sinners. We accept Jesus as our King of Love when we love others as Jesus loves.
Let us by our actions and words bear united witness to the Truth for which Christ died for us. Let earthly kings and kingdoms embrace the Truth and work towards building up a human society where everyone finds love, justice, and peace.
Amid the many various forms of deception in society today, may we remain courageous Christians who will stand by the Truth at all times without fear of any loss of favors. Only then shall we bear witness and united testimony to the Truth. If you are silent in the face of evil, you have taken sides with the perpetrators. May God be your shield and protection from earthly deceptions. May Christ reign in your life, in your family, and in everything you do.
I keep you and your family always in my prayers.© Clem C. Aladi.
