Theme: “Blessed be the King”
34th Sunday in Ordinary Time Feast of Christ the King
First Reading: Jeremiah 23:1-6
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 145:1-3,5-7,10-11,13
Second Reading: Colossians 1:13-20
Gospel Reading: Luke 23:33-43
Homily by Romie-Jun Peñalosa
Fr. Jun started his homily by giving a brief history on why we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. The Feast of Christ the King was instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. World War I just ended and when they thought that it was the war that would end all wars, people started focusing on politics. This was the time when people started lost faith in religion and this paved the way for the rise of secularism and atheism.
Secularism is the belief that there should be a separation between religion and the economic aspects of life. For secularism, faith is now just a personal and private matter. Pope Pius also saw an increasing mindset of atheism and he knew that if this continued, people will compartmentalize God in a box.
Christ the King was created to destroy that mindset so that we can establish that the Kingdom of God encompasses all. Here we are, 97 years later, and secularism and atheism is rising again. This is why we need to celebrate Christ the King! To establish that the Kingdom of God will be forever and Christ will remain supreme.
Our first reading prophesies about a King Who will rule wisely. Our second reading speaks about our rescue from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. But then the Gospel talks about the crucifixion – showing a king dying on the cross for a slave. This is why we say that God’s love is not only radical, but scandalous as well.
This King did not come to lord over us but to serve us. The thief who was crucified with Him recognized this and saw Him as the prophesied Messiah. The thief will teach us how to be saved. A thief who recognized Him as Christ the King.
This thief is named St. Dismas, and he is the patron saint of criminals. Here is what we can learn from him:
- Acknowledge your sin. – People come to war justifying themselves instead of acknowledging their sin. But not this thief.
- Acknowledge Jesus as LORD.
- Acknowledge Jesus as SAVIOR.
He did all this when he said. “Remember (‘Save me’) me when you enter into your Kingdom.”
May we be bold like this thief in proclaiming that Christ is King! A King who came to save us!
He is our King, Lord, and Savior. Professing this leads us to salvation. May this be our continuous confession.
Fr. Jun ended his homily by asking the question: “Who sits in the throne room in your heart? Is it still Jesus?” Let us grow in our confession of Jesus as King of our lives. He further challenges us to not do it privately but publicly. CHRIST IS KING IN MY LIFE!
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