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Click here for information on the Knights of Columbus Charity Golf Tournament held on Saturday, June 15, 2024.
When I ask a question or questions at the beginning of a homily, I realize beforehand that in some cases there is or are more than one answer to that question. In some instances however, there's only one correct answer and thankfully it doesn't take long before someone gets it.
Well today I am going to give you a statement that needs to be completed. And while there are a variety of good responses to complete the statement, I would say there is a "Best" response that I hope someone will say.
"Jesus Christ is the King of.........The answer I think is best for all of us to say (and it would indeed be a great thing if it was true) is "MY LIFE." It is certainly a strong statement to say and challenging to be the case in a person's life.
For Christ to be "my" King means, among other things, that he "rules" my life. I would suggest for that to happen and continue to happen one must be grounded in prayer, in the reading of scripture (especially the words and actions of Jesus), and in being influenced by the Church and relationships with Christ-like people, all of which leads us to know God's will and through his grace be able to do it and hopefully lead others to do it as well.
It means to accept that Jesus "OUR" King is "THE Way, THE Truth and THE Life. Today's Gospel finds Jesus standing before Pilate being questioned about those who claimed he said he was a king.....which we know he never did. In this exchange he does speak of his Kingdom, which is not "of this world" not the "Way or Ways" of the world, but rather is found in those who follow the truth.....that showed itself clearly in everything he said and did.
To live His truth.... THE truth that is from God and that therefore is what EVERYONE should live and follow...........means at times, maybe many times going against what others portray as the truth.
In the last few weeks we have been reminded in a stark way of the truth that there is Evil in the world, and that Evil shows itself in heartless, unimaginable ways, like the killing of innocent people in France, Mali and in other places.
We have also been reminded that while the people who perpetrate such evil and deadly actions are growing in number not only in Iraq and Syria through ISIS, but in other countries, there's an even larger number of people who are refugees from their homeland..... without a home and without basics of food, clothing and shelter and most of all without much hope for the future.
While Jesus’ truth certainly says that we must fight to defeat Evil and the effects of evil, which include among other things FEAR, Jesus’ truth also says that we must not let fear lead us to thoughts and actions which are not Christ-like at all.
The Gospel passage for the solemnity of Christ the King last year came from Matthew and was Jesus declaration of the final judgement......I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me to drink, I was naked and you clothed me.
It is hard to see how those who, in light of what recently happened in France are calling for us in the United States to essentially close our borders to Syrian refugees or make it even harder or next to impossible to get these refugees in to families and communities who would accept them........, it's hard to see how these people are promoting the truth of the Gospel when it comes to welcoming and caring for refugees from the Middle East or anywhere.
I would like to quote to you something I read this past week that I believe is well worth sharing with you and is inviting a Christ-like reflection on it:
“When we respond to terrorism by succumbing to fear and prejudice, the terrorists win. They turn us into a mirror image of themselves. We must find a way to respond to terrorism that moves beyond counter-terrorism. When we embrace the outcast and take compassion on the refugee, we strengthen our own society and make it even more immune to the efforts of terrorists to destroy it."
My brothers and sisters, I know that it's not likely that many or any of us will be taking any Syrian or other refugees into our homes in the future, but I implore all of us, who truly, genuinely say we want Jesus to be the King of our lives...... to open the home of our hearts to Syrian refugees and help them in spite of the violence of the terrorists or maybe even moreso BECAUSE of the violence of the terrorists, to show them that Christ's truth, love, mercy, and peace dwell in our hearts and cannot be taken away by violence or evil of any kind.
Well today I am going to give you a statement that needs to be completed. And while there are a variety of good responses to complete the statement, I would say there is a "Best" response that I hope someone will say.
"Jesus Christ is the King of.........The answer I think is best for all of us to say (and it would indeed be a great thing if it was true) is "MY LIFE." It is certainly a strong statement to say and challenging to be the case in a person's life.
For Christ to be "my" King means, among other things, that he "rules" my life. I would suggest for that to happen and continue to happen one must be grounded in prayer, in the reading of scripture (especially the words and actions of Jesus), and in being influenced by the Church and relationships with Christ-like people, all of which leads us to know God's will and through his grace be able to do it and hopefully lead others to do it as well.
It means to accept that Jesus "OUR" King is "THE Way, THE Truth and THE Life. Today's Gospel finds Jesus standing before Pilate being questioned about those who claimed he said he was a king.....which we know he never did. In this exchange he does speak of his Kingdom, which is not "of this world" not the "Way or Ways" of the world, but rather is found in those who follow the truth.....that showed itself clearly in everything he said and did.
To live His truth.... THE truth that is from God and that therefore is what EVERYONE should live and follow...........means at times, maybe many times going against what others portray as the truth.
In the last few weeks we have been reminded in a stark way of the truth that there is Evil in the world, and that Evil shows itself in heartless, unimaginable ways, like the killing of innocent people in France, Mali and in other places.
We have also been reminded that while the people who perpetrate such evil and deadly actions are growing in number not only in Iraq and Syria through ISIS, but in other countries, there's an even larger number of people who are refugees from their homeland..... without a home and without basics of food, clothing and shelter and most of all without much hope for the future.
While Jesus’ truth certainly says that we must fight to defeat Evil and the effects of evil, which include among other things FEAR, Jesus’ truth also says that we must not let fear lead us to thoughts and actions which are not Christ-like at all.
The Gospel passage for the solemnity of Christ the King last year came from Matthew and was Jesus declaration of the final judgement......I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me to drink, I was naked and you clothed me.
It is hard to see how those who, in light of what recently happened in France are calling for us in the United States to essentially close our borders to Syrian refugees or make it even harder or next to impossible to get these refugees in to families and communities who would accept them........, it's hard to see how these people are promoting the truth of the Gospel when it comes to welcoming and caring for refugees from the Middle East or anywhere.
I would like to quote to you something I read this past week that I believe is well worth sharing with you and is inviting a Christ-like reflection on it:
“When we respond to terrorism by succumbing to fear and prejudice, the terrorists win. They turn us into a mirror image of themselves. We must find a way to respond to terrorism that moves beyond counter-terrorism. When we embrace the outcast and take compassion on the refugee, we strengthen our own society and make it even more immune to the efforts of terrorists to destroy it."
My brothers and sisters, I know that it's not likely that many or any of us will be taking any Syrian or other refugees into our homes in the future, but I implore all of us, who truly, genuinely say we want Jesus to be the King of our lives...... to open the home of our hearts to Syrian refugees and help them in spite of the violence of the terrorists or maybe even moreso BECAUSE of the violence of the terrorists, to show them that Christ's truth, love, mercy, and peace dwell in our hearts and cannot be taken away by violence or evil of any kind.