The “poor door” In New York City, housing is very
expensive. In order to provide affordable housing for the low-income,
working poor, the city has set up the Inclusionary Housing Program:
Construction companies are given generous subsidies and tax breaks if their
buildings include a certain percentage of low-income apartments, in addition to
its high-rent luxury apartments.
One company’s recent application included an interesting —
and cynical — provision: In their proposed building, people residing in
the more affordable apartments would have their own entryway — in a back alley
behind the building.
A company spokesman explained: “No one ever said that the goal was full
integration of these populations . . . I think it’s unfair to expect very
high-income homeowners who paid a fortune to live in the building to have to be
in the same boat as low-income renters, who are very fortunate to live in a new
building in a great neighborhood.”
A pastor of a church in Manhattan reacts to the plan:
“Predictably, news of the poor door has ignited flames of outrage. But
they’ll die down. The poor doors in luxury buildings are just the latest
manifestation of what goes on every day. Our systems of health care,
education, immigration, and criminal justice all have their poor doors in the
back alleys of edifices built for the more privileged.”
[From “The poor door” by Heidi Neumark, The Christian
Century, October 1, 2014.]
The fact is that Jesus himself comes and goes through such
“poor doors,” that Christ dwells in those low-income apartments. In the
kingdom of God, there are not front-door people and back-door people. In
the reign of Christ, all are welcomed through the front door, all have a place
at the banquet table of heaven, all stand before God humbly and gratefully as
children of the Father. In the parable of the sheep and goats, Jesus the
Shepherd-King calls us to see him in the faces of the poor, the hungry, the
needy, the lost. Our care for the poor, our work to alleviate poverty and
injustice in our communities, our holding ourselves accountable for creating
more opportunities for the under-educated and under-employed is our first and
most meaningful response to our baptismal call to proclaim the coming of God’s
Kingdom in his Christ. On this last Sunday of the church year, may we
embrace God’s vision of his creation and our place in it; may God’s spirit
instill in us the compassion and wisdom to recognize every human being as the
manifestation of God’s life and love in our midst.
***
In our present times we do not make much of royalty and we have discarded the
trappings and structures of royalty in favour of democracy. Yet we admire
people who are loyal and faithful to lawfully constituted authority. Today we
are reminded that God is the ultimate authority and He commands our respect and
loyalty not because he exercises power over us but because He constantly cares
for us. We can show our loyalty to Him by respecting and caring for His people,
our brothers and sisters.
Have a renewing weekend, rededicating our lives to His
Kingdom!
Reflection
In the first reading, Ezekiel likens God to a shepherd, who
tenderly looks after his sheep, He is always watching over them, and protects
them especially when they are in danger. The readings of the day remind us both
of God’s care and of God’s expectations of us His people, who belong to His
flock. This shepherd does not control or force us to follow him yet at the same
time if we are on His side then we must be like our shepherd, caring, and
loving. We may give up on God but God never abandons us.
If only I knew it was you!
Nelson Mandela was still a young man when he became leader
of the banned African National Congress. At a certain stage of the struggle, he
was forced to go underground. He used many disguises and in general remained as
unkempt as possible, so that he would not be easily recognized. Once he was to
attend a meeting in a distant part of Johannesburg. A priest had arranged with
friends of his to put him up for the night. However, when Mandela arrived at
the house, the elderly woman who answered the doorbell took one look at him and
exclaimed, “We don’t want your kind here!” And she shut the door in his face.
Later when she found out who it was she had turned away she was horrified and
said to him, “If only I knew it was you, I’d have given you the best room in
the house.” Mandela did not let incidents like this deter him.
Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday & Holy Day Liturgies’
The Gospel puts before us the other side of the picture.
While God is ever caring and watchful over us He wants us to listen to him, to
heed his voice and follow his example. In any organization, if we want to
belong to it then we have to live according to its practice, precepts and
policies. We are told in no uncertain terms that the only criterion by which we
will be judged is whether we have loved our brothers and sisters. The yard
stick is something tangible: “What you do to the least of my brothers and
sisters you do unto me!” Have we cared for others, have we shown our love in
action. What matters is not doing great things, spectacular deeds that will be
noticed by others, but the small things often unnoticed that we do for those in
need. We will be judged by what we have done as well as by what we have not
done. Sometimes we look at ourselves and say we are pretty good
because we have not done anything bad. But have we done the good we could have
done? Saying the kind word, lending a helping hand, finding time for others in
spite of being busy, cheering up those who are depressed, visiting the
friendless, writing or phoning those who are alone, appreciating the many good
things that people do for us…. The list of small things can be endless! People
ask: “Where can I find God? What should I do to find Him? The answer is simple:
He is to be found in the poor, the weak, the needy, the helpless, and in those
who take care of these people.
The beggar King
There is an old Irish legend that tells of a king who had no
children to succeed him on the throne. So he had his messengers post signs in
every town and village of his kingdom inviting qualified young men to apply for
an interview with the king. Two qualifications especially were stressed: The
person must have a deep love for God and for his neighbour. The young man
around whom the legend centres saw one of these signs. He believed he had the
necessary qualifications and he felt an inner calling to apply for an interview.
But the young man was so poor he did not have decent clothes to wear for the
interview. He also had no money to buy provisions for the long journey to the
king’s castle. He decided to beg for clothes and the provisions he needed. When
everything was ready he set out. After a month’s travel, one day the man caught
sight of the king’s castle. At about the same time he also caught sight of a
poor old beggar sitting by the side of the road. The beggar held out his hands
and pleaded for help. “I’m cold and hungry,” he said in a weak voice. “Could
you give me something to eat and something to wear?” The young man was moved by
the sight of the beggar. He stripped off his warm outer clothes and exchanged
them for the old tattered coat of the beggar. He also gave the beggar most of
the provisions he had been carrying in his backpack for the return journey.
Then, somewhat uncertainly he walked on to the castle. The guards met him and
took him to the visitors’ area. After a long wait he was led to the king. He
bowed before the throne. When he straightened up, he could hardly believe his
eyes. He said to the king, “You were the beggar besides the road. Why’d you do
this to me?” “I had to find out,” said the king, “if you really did love God
and neighbour”
Mark Link in ‘Sunday Homilies’
Lord and King
Once a soldier was taken before the Roman magistrate. His
crime was that of being a Christian. The magistrate asked him, “Are you a
Christian?” The Christian soldier replied, “Yes.” The magistrate inquired, “If
so, are you the enemy of Caesar?” The Christian replied, “No.” “Then you must
offer incense to the image of Caesar”, said the magistrate. The Christian
replied boldly, “I refused to offer any incense to Caesar. God and God alone
must be adored and worshiped. Jesus alone is my God and I love and worship Him
alone.” The magistrate threatened saying. “If you refuse I will sever your head
from your body.” The Christian boldly replied, “You may cut off my head from my
shoulder, but you cannot separate my heart from my King and God – Jesus
Christ.” The Christian was decapitated.
John Rose in ‘John’s Sunday Homilies’
The King and I
In the famous 1956 film, ‘The King and I’ transposed into a
musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein, the King of Siam entrusts his many children
to the care of governess Anna. Christ the King and I, too, are involved in a
love-story. Jesus entrusts his children into my care. How do I respond to the
King and his little ones? “Here is your footstool and there rest your feet
where live the poorest, the lowliest and the lost,” wrote Rabindranath Tagore
in the Gitanjali. May I love The King in that beggar at my doorstep that I
might be worthy of his kingdom.
Francis Gonsalves in ‘Sunday Seeds for Daily Deeds’
Go right in…
There was a queue of people outside the gates of
heaven. Each person was asked the question: ‘Why do you think you
should be admitted?’ The first person in the queue, a very religious man, said,
‘I studied the Bible every day.’ ‘Very good,’ said the Lord. ‘However, we’ll
have to carry out an investigation to see why you studied the
Bible. So please step aside for a moment.’ The second was a very
pious woman who said, ‘Lord, I said my prayers every day without fail.’ ‘Very
good,’ the Lord answered. ‘However, we’ll have to see if your motives were
pure. So step aside for a moment.’ Then an innkeeper approached. He
just said, ‘Lord, on earth I wasn’t a very religious man, but my door was
always open to the homeless, and I never refused food to anyone who was
hungry.’ ‘Very good,’ said the Lord. ‘In your case no investigation is needed.
Go right in.’
Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’
What are you?
A young teacher with obvious liberal tendencies explains to
her class of small children that she is an atheist; that she doesn’t believe in
the existence of God. She asks her class if they are atheists too. Not really
knowing what atheism is, but wanting to be like their teacher, their hands
explode into the air like flash fireworks. There is however, one exception. A
beautiful little girl named Lucy has not gone along with the crowd. The teacher
asks her why she has decided to be different. “Because I am not an atheist.”
Then, asks the teacher, “What are you?” “I’m a Christian.” The teacher is a
little disturbed now, her face slightly red. She asks Lucy why she is a
Christian. “Well I was brought up knowing and loving Jesus. My mom is a
Christian, and my dad is a Christian, so I am a Christian.” The teacher is now
angry. “That’s no reason,” she says loudly. “What if you mom was an idiot and
your dad was an idiot. What would you be then?” Lucy paused and smiled and
said, “Then I would be an atheist!”
John Pichappilly in ‘The Table of the Word’
Christ the King
In 1903, people of Silao in Mexico erected a 30 feet high
statue of Christ the king. The statue looked at the city with love and
expectation. The revolutionaries destroyed the statue. The people of Silao put
the pieces and the bits together and rebuilt the statue again which brought
peace, joy and happiness to the nation. Jesus came to build the Kingdom of God
but his adversaries destroyed it. The disciples, the messengers of Christ are
called to rebuild the Kingdom of God. The feast of Christ the King teaches us
to serve Christ in our fellow creatures here and now with love and complete
dedication.
Elias Dias in ‘Divine Stories for families’
In all things may we be gentle and loving like Christ our
Shepherd King!
2. From the
Sermons.com
Like it or not, judgment is a fact of life. That is true
whether we are talking about the histories of nations or the events of our own
personal life. If we break the law, then society will judge us. If we live
immorally -- drink too much, engage in sexual promiscuity, live a lifestyle of
constant stress -- then our bodies will judge us. We simply cannot escape
judgment in life.
Jesus rarely spoke about the final judgment, but on one
occasion he did paint a picture for us in one of his stories. The parable that
I just read gives a strong jolt to those who are heavy on doctrine but short on
ethics.
A shepherd divides the sheep from the goats, said Jesus, so
too shall there be a great division on the final day. Those on the right hand
will be allowed entrance into the kingdom, while those on the left will be
denied it. And the great surprise is that those who thought they were religious
turn out to be not as good as they thought, and those who thought they failed
were told they did a better job than they supposed.
I would like to suggest three points that this parable is
attempting to make this morning...
1. We Are to View Each Individual As if They Are Christ.
2. The End Criteria Will Be Simple Acts of Kindness.
3. We Are Judged by the Good We Do Not Do.
___________________________
There are two types of students. There are those students
who jump for joy when they hear the words "take home final." And
there are those students who are not thrilled with joy but filled with dread
when they hear the words "take home final."
At first blush it seems a no-brainer. Who wouldn't prefer a take home exam?
There is no time crunch. There is unlimited access to resources for checking
facts and figures. There is the ability to modify, or even completely change,
responses after thinking about them for a while.
But the students who dread the take home final know there is
a down side to all those benefits. With all that extra time and unlimited
information and fluid flexibility, there come greater expectations. With a take
home final there is never a firm answer to how much more the instructor
expects.
Instead of a quick couple paragraphs, obviously a longer,
more extensive, more exhaustive presentation is rightly required. With access
to unlimited resources who is to say how many examples are "enough"
to prove your point? An exam given in a closed class room for an hour or two
puts all students at the same advantages and disadvantages. It's a level
playing field. A "take home final" by definition will be
"taken" at a different "home" by each student. A "take
home final" forces students to take their exam in their individual real
words - whatever those worlds might be like.
Why is it that we are always warned "don't take your
work home with you"? That caution is not about teachers correcting papers
on the living room couch or real estate agents updating their listings online
while watching Sunday night football. "Don't take your work home with
you" is our attempt to draw a line between who we are in one part of our
life versus who we are in another part of our lives. "Don't' take your
work home with you" tries to disconnect what we do 9-5 from who we are
5-9.
For Jesus' disciples that is impossible. In today's gospel
text Jesus makes it clear that Christian life comes with a "take home
final"...
_______________________
Mommy, I'm Hungry
It's been years, but I remember Fred Craddock telling of the
time he attended a conference on hunger. Influential, knowledgeable speakers
had been brought in from all over to talk on the subject. Near the end of the
conference, Fred says, a young, willowy woman got up to speak. Her long
straight hair fell down her back, almost to her waist. She carried a legal pad
to the podium and began reading.
At first, Craddock says, he couldn't follow what she was
saying. Eventually, it dawned on him, as it did all the other listeners. She was
reading the same sentence over and over, each time in a different language.
Finally, at the very end, she spoke the sentence in English. All the time she
was saying, "Mommy, I'm hungry. Mommy, I'm hungry."
She was the most powerful speaker of the entire conference,
Craddock says. At least, she had the most impact upon him. As he and his group
drove back to Atlanta, alongside the highway he read a billboard he had seen
numerous times. Before, he had hardly even noticed it. This time he did. It
said, "All You Can Eat Buffet, $4.99." This time, Craddock says, that
message seemed to him to be obscene.
Guilt can be a powerful motivator.
Randy L. Hyde, The Scavenger Hunt
___________________________
The Long Reach of an Act of Kindness
Alex Haley, the author of Roots tells the story of how his
father had his life changed by a simple act of kindness:
He was the youngest of eight children, living as
a sharecropping family. Everyone in the family was needed to help
with the crops. After several years of schooling the family pressed
each child into service on the farm. Fortunately the boy's mother intervened on
behalf of her child and was allowed to stay in school. When he was ready
for college he chose the Lane Institute, working as many as four jobs in
addition to full-time studies. It was all physically and emotionally
wearing.
He worked for a summer as a porter on a train and happened to meet a man
early in the morning who couldn't sleep and wanted to talk. This man was
impressed by a black porter working to earn money for college and tipped him
the unimaginable sum of five dollars.
By the end of the summer Mr. Haley had to decide
whether to convert his summer earnings into a mule and begin to sharecrop,
or to stretch to complete his last year at school. He took the risk
of competing college.
Alex Haley tells us what happened next: "When Dad
arrived on campus, the president called him into his office and showed him
a letter he had just received. The letter was from the elderly man whom
my father had met on the train, and it contained a check for $518 to cover
Dad's tuition and living expenses for one full year." The kindness of
an unknown friend made all the difference in the life of Alex Haley's father,
Alex Haley himself, and every succeeding generation of that family.
As a person who has been in just a minor degree of need, I
know what the acts of love and care performed by virtual strangers can mean.
Richard J. Fairchild, When Lord, Did We See You
_______________________
Virtue in Anxious Times
Anxiety's central message is that we cannot afford to share
because we can never have enough. Put more strongly, in a culture marked by
anxiety and fear, the very things we have traditionally called sins or vices
(hoarding, greed, suspicion) become wise and prudent virtues. Fear, rather than
love, governs our lives. But such fear is a kind of idolatry because it
suggests we are giving more attention to our own security than we are giving to
God. As Scott Bader-Saye warns, "the ethic of security produces a skewed
moral vision. It suggests that suspicion, preemption, and accumulation are
virtues insofar as they help us feel safe. But when seen from a Christian perspective,
such 'virtues' fail to be true virtues, since they do not orient us to the true
good-love of God and neighbor. In fact, they turn us away from the true good,
tempting us to love safety more than we love God."
The "human way out" of the despair of our age is
through hospitality because a person well practiced in Christian hospitality
chooses love over fear, trust over suspicion, and even risk over
security.
Paul J. Wadell, Toward a Welcoming Congregation
________________________
The Weakest Link
From time to time, I have both revealed my true age and
tested the outer limits of your memory by talking about the games I once played
as a child. But, to my knowledge, I never once mentioned that grand old standby
of playgrounds everywhere, "Red Rover."
Start with two teams. Could be five to a team. Could be ten
to a team. Red Rover is one game where almost any number can play. Call one
team "Team A." The other, "Team B." String each team into a
line. Have each line face each other, several yards apart. Encourage each
team's members to join hands or link arms... whatever it takes to unify the
line and make it solid. Then have Team A single out one member of Team B to
test the strength of that linkage.
Together, Team A calls across the playground divide:
"Red Rover, Red Rover, let Billy cross over." At which point, Billy
(from his position on Team B) sucks in his breath, marshals his adrenaline,
engages his feet and runs pell-mell toward Team A's line, trying to break
through. If Billy can't... break through, I mean... then he is captured and
must remain a member of Team A. If, however, Billy does manage to break
through, then he selects a member of Team A... usually the strongest and
fastest member of Team A... to take back home and join Team B. The game goes on
until one team is out of players. Or until recess ends.
Some schools, I am told, now forbid the playing of Red Rover
on the grounds that it has the potential to become overly rough and violent.
Truth be told, I suspect most kids play it anyway.
As a kid, I quickly learned that, in playing Red Rover, my
head was as important as my body. When the opposing team called, "Red
Rover, Red Rover, let Billy cross over," they were counting on the fact
that they would be able to keep my body from penetrating their line... given
that I clearly and obviously lacked the girth then that I possess now. They had
absolutely no respect for my physical prowess... failing to see in me the
athletic behemoth I would one day become.
But while I may have been spindly, I was far from stupid. I
knew I did not have to overwhelm all 20 kids in that line. I only had to
overwhelm one... or at most, two. Somewhere in that line, there had to be...
just had to be... two kids whose linked arms were scrawnier than my chest. So
after isolating them, I ran at them, through them, or over them. Whatever it
took. For I learned, early in life, that Team A's line was only as strong as
its weakest link.
That was shortly before I learned that if we are all created
equal, it is only at the point of opportunity, and seldom (if ever) at the
point of ability. I remember long years of my life when I would have gladly
traded the things I was good at, for even one of the things I wasn't. I would have
willingly accepted C's on my report card in return for the ability to hit a
curve ball. And 12 years of violin training I would have ditched in a heartbeat
for the knowledge that I could beat up Frankie Paciero (if necessary) or turn
the head of sweet Janie Swift. To be sure, I had a couple of ten-talent chips
in my genetic poker hand. But for years, I didn't know what they were and
wouldn't have valued them if I had.
The weakest link. In some setting... on some day... in some
endeavor... that's going to be every one of us.
William A Ritter, www.Sermons.com
_____________________________
A Small Act of Kindness
Let me suggest that you try something that never gets old or
stale or unsatisfying. Do something for somebody truly in need.
Let me tell you about a man named Floyd. According to the
standards of the world Floyd was nobody. Floyd traveled around the country
looking for work at harvest time. Floyd had no home and no place to go. A
couple invited him into their home and gave him a home-cooked dinner. Floyd
said very little as they ate. The wife, Nancy, offered to wash his clothes for
him but Floyd declined the offer. He picked cherries in the orchard next to
their home that day and slept under the trees that gave him his
livelihood.
Early the next morning Floyd returned to the couple who had
shown him kindness. While he finished one last project in the orchard, Nancy,
on an impulse, wrote him a letter telling of God's love. Then she tucked it
with a little cash into a New Testament. She found his backpack in the yard,
and stuck the packet inside. She imagined him traveling that day looking for
work and at the end of the day bedding down somewhere under the stars, weary
and all alone. She was warmed by the thought of Floyd's surprise when he
discovered her note, the New Testament and the cash she had planted in his
backpack.
This Christian couple never saw Floyd again. Four years
later Floyd's sister wrote to the them, telling of his death. As Floyd's sister
was going through his few belongings she found the New Testament and the letter
Nancy wrote telling of God's love. "They must have been very dear to his
heart," Floyd's sister concluded, "for he carried them with him until
he died."
It was such a simple gesture " a note, a Bible and a little cash "
but little counts for a lot in the kingdom of God. I don't know about you, but
I want to be surprised at finding myself among the sheep on that day of
judgment. More importantly, want to possess a faith that's real. I want to take
advantage of one of the most joyous opportunities Christ gives us, to minister
to him.
Nancy Leman, Traveling Friend, Adapted by King Duncan, www.Sermons.com
_____________________________
I Kept an Open Door
A Jewish story goes: I went up to Heaven in a dream and
stood at the Gates of Paradise in order to observe the procedure of the
Heavenly Tribunal. I watched as a learned Rabbi approached and wished to enter.
"Day and night," he said, "I studied the Holy Torah."
"Wait," said the Angel. "We will investigate
whether your study was for its own sake or whether it was a matter of
profession and for the sake of honors.
A Righteous Person [a Zaddik] next approached. "I
fasted much," he said, "I underwent many ritual cleansings; I studied
the Zohar the mystical commentary on the Torah day and night."
"Wait," said the Angel, "until we have
completed our investigation to learn whether you motives were pure."
Then a tavern-keeper drew near. "I kept an open door
and fed without charge every poor man who came into my inn," he
said.
The Heavenly Portals were opened to him.
Rabbi Aaron Leib of Primishlan, as quoted in Abraham Karp,
The Jewish Way of Life and Thought, New York: KTAV Publishing Inc., 1981, p.1
A Deep Love for God, A Deep Love for Neighbors
There is an Irish legend about a king, who had no children to succeed him on
the throne. So, he had his messengers post signs in every town and village of
his kingdom inviting qualified young men to apply for an interview with the
king. This way the king hoped to be able to choose a successor before he
died.
Two qualifications, especially, were stressed. The person
must have a deep love for God and a deep love for his neighbor.
A young man saw one of the signs. He indeed had a deep love
for God and neighbor. He felt a kind of inner voice telling him to apply for an
interview.
But the young man was so poor that he didn't have decent
clothes to wear to an interview. He also didn't have any money to buy
provisions for the long journey to the king's castle.
So the young man prayed over the matter. He finally decided
to beg for the clothes and the provisions he needed. When everything was ready,
he set out. After a month of travel, one day the young man caught sight of the
king's castle. It sat high on a hill in the distance.
At about the same time, he also caught sight of a poor old
beggar sitting by the side of the road. The beggar held out his hands and
pleaded for help. "I'm hungry and cold," he said in a weak voice.
"Could you give me something warm to wear and something nourishing to
eat?"
The sight of the beggar moved the young man. He stripped off
his warm outer clothes and exchanged them for the tattered old coat of the
beggar. He also gave the beggar most of the provisions he had been carrying in
his backpack for the return journey. Then, somewhat uncertainly, he walked on
to the castle in tattered clothes and without enough food for his return
trip...
*******
3. From Fr. Tony Kadavil's Collection:
1) On His Majesty’s Service: Polycarp, the second
century bishop of Smyrna, was arrested and brought before the Roman
authorities. He was told if he cursed Christ, he would be released. He replied,
“Eighty-six years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong; how then can
I blaspheme my King, Jesus Christ Who saved me?” The Roman officer replied,
“Unless you change your mind, I will have you burnt.” But Polycarp said, “You
threaten a fire that burns for an hour, and after a while is quenched; for you
are ignorant of the judgment to come and of everlasting punishment reserved for
the ungodly. Do what you wish.”
2) The King of Kings is a
silent film directed by Cecil B. De Mille in 1927. It is a religious movie
about the last weeks of Jesus on earth, with H. B. Warner starring as Jesus. It
was a production acclaimed by world-famed scholars, the press and the public in
the U. S. and abroad, as the most ambitious presentation of the final years of
the life of Jesus ever pictured on the screen. It was seen by over a billion
people all over the world. De Mille claimed that the most important tribute to
the movie he had ever received came from a woman who had only a few days to
live. Her nurse wheeled her to a hall in the hospital to see the movie. After
viewing the whole movie she wrote to the producer DeMille: “Thank you sir,
thank you for your King of Kings. It has changed my expected
death from a terror to a glorious anticipation.” She shared the feelings of the
good thief who heard the promise of Jesus: “Today you will be with me in
paradise.” Both of them were suffering, both expected death and both
received new hope from the dying King of kings for only he could give them what
he promised because he is God, the King of kings and Lord of all. –Today, as we
celebrate the feast of Jesus, the King of kings, and as his Calvary sacrifice
is re-presented on our altar, let us approach our Lord with repentant hearts
and trusting Faith in his promise of eternal life. (Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
3) Long live Christ the King! In the 1920s, a
totalitarian regime gained control of Mexico and tried to suppress the Church.
To resist the regime, many Christians took up the cry, “Viva Cristo Rey!” [“Long
live Christ the King!”] They called themselves “Cristeros.” The most famous
Cristero was a young Jesuit priest named Padre Miguel Pro. Using various
disguises, Padre Pro ministered to the people of Mexico City. Finally, the
government arrested him and sentenced him to public execution on November 23,
1927. The president of Mexico (Plutarco Calles) thought that Padre Pro would
beg for mercy, so he invited the press to the execution. Padre Pro did not
plead for his life, but instead knelt holding a crucifix. When he finished his
prayer, he kissed the crucifix and stood up. Holding the crucifix in his right
hand, he extended his arms and shouted, “Viva Cristo Rey!” At that
moment the soldiers fired. The journalists took pictures; if you look up “Padre
Pro” or “Saint Miguel Pro” on the Internet, you can see that picture. (Fr. Phil
Bloom) (Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
4: Christ is in charge: Susan C. Kimber, in a
book called Christian Woman, shares a funny piece of advice
she received from her little son: “Tired of struggling
with my strong-willed little son, Thomas, I looked him in the eye and asked a
question I felt sure would bring him in line: ‘Thomas, who is in charge here?’
Not missing a beat, he replied, ‘Jesus is, not you, Mom.’ ”
5: Sleep-inducing sermon on Christ the King: “I
hope you didn’t take it personally, Father,” an embarrassed woman said to her
pastor after the Holy Mass, “when my husband walked out during your sermon on
Christ the King.”
“I did find it rather disconcerting,” the pastor replied. “It’s not a
reflection on you, Father,” she insisted. “Ralph has been walking in his sleep
ever since he was a child.”
6: Co-pilot Christ the King: Many people love
bumper sticker theology. Bumper stickers may not always have the soundest
theological statements, but they generally at least have the ability to make us
think. One such, “God is my Co-pilot,” has also been found on
Church signs, where the theology is just as much fun and sometimes sounder. In
this case, the Church sign says, “If Christ the King is your Co-Pilot,
change seats.”
28- Additional anecdotes
1)”We have a King.” About three centuries ago,
Spaniards besieged a small French town, St. Quentin. The city walls were in
ruins; fever and famine plagued the people. One day the Spaniards shot over the
walls a shower of arrows to which were attached little slips of parchment
promising that if they surrendered, their lives and property would be spared.
The mayor of the town was a devout Huguenot. For answer, he tied a piece of
parchment to a javelin and hurled it back to the Spaniards. On the parchment
was the message: “Regem habemus” — “We have a king!” Christians also can
say, “We have a King.” Jesus is our King. We belong to his Kingdom. (Fr.
Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
2) Desperate deaths of autocratic Kings & Dictators: The
death of Josef Stalin (1879-1953), the Communist Dictator, was described by his
daughter as difficult and terrible. Silenced by a stroke shortly before he
died, Stalin’s “last words” were more visible than audible. Newsweek magazine
quoted Svetlana Stalin who said, “At what seemed the very last moment, he cast
a glance over everyone in the room. It was a terrible glance, insane, angry and
full of fear of death. With one final menacing gesture, he lifted his left hand
as if he were bringing down a curse on us all.” Philip III of Spain (1578-1621)
who proved himself an unfit king, indifferent to the plight of his people,
breathed his last wishing, “Would to God that I had never reigned. What does
all my glory profit, but that I have so much the more torment in my death?”
Charles IX, who in 1572 had ordered the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre of the
Huguenots throughout France met death with despair, “What blood! What murders!
I am lost forever. I know it.” When she lay dying, Queen Elizabeth I of England
(1533-1603) was said to have bargained, “All my possessions for a moment of
time.” Today’s Gospel challenges us to compare Christ the King’s death on the
cross, offering his life to God his Father in all serenity and elegance. (Patricia
Datchuck Sánchez). (Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
3) Mother Teresa and Leo Tolstoy recognized the King in
disguise: The story is told of Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother
Teresa), observing a novice using tweezers to pluck maggots from the leg of a
dying leper. The young woman stood at arm’s length to perform the odious task.
Gently but firmly, Mother Teresa corrected her charge. Taking the tweezers and
putting her face quite near the wound, she said, “You don’t understand, my
dear. This is the leg of Christ our Lord. For what you do to this man, you do
to Him.” Or again, Leo Tolstoy’s story, “Martin the Cobbler,” tells of a lonely
shoemaker who is promised a visit by our Lord that very day. Eagerly all day he
awaits his arrival. But all that come are a man in need of shoes, a young
mother in need of food and shelter, a child in need of a friend, all of whom he
helps. Martin the cobbler ends the day thinking, “Perhaps tomorrow He will
come,” only to hear a voice reply, “I did come to you today, Martin; not once,
but three times.” Christ is a King who goes about in disguise as the poor, the
sick, the cripples, the tortured, the marginalized.
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
4) INRI: A Jewish boy was lazy in his studies
and misbehaved in the public school. So, his parents enrolled him in
a Catholic school to see if he would improve. His parents were surprised
to observe that the boy stopped his excessive watching of TV, limited his time
on computer games and spent most of his time in studies. At the end of the
year, he was the best student in class. His baffled parents asked him
what had happened. “The first day I went to school,” he explained, “and
saw that man hanging on a plus sign at the main entrance of the school
building, I knew you couldn’t fool around here and get away with it.” Today’s
Gospel reminds us that the Man on the cross is not an object to frighten
naughty kids, but our God, our King and Savior Who died for us promising us
eternal life, and Who will come in Glory to judge the world on the day of the
Last Judgment.
5) Jesse Owens challenging Adolf Hitler: The
black man standing in the arena was an affront to Der Fuehrer’s authority. The
scene was the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin, Germany. The black man was
Jesse Owens of The Ohio State University representing the USA. He was aptly
called “the fastest human alive.” Der Fuehrer was Chancellor Adolf Hitler, who
had recently risen to power championing an arrogant theory that his “Aryan
race” of “supermen” would conquer the world. In implementing his theory, Hitler
began systematically to stamp out the Jews in a bitter expression of prejudice
and discrimination. Hitler also publicly denounced Blacks – Negroes, as they
were called then — as an inferior race. Jesse Owens, in Hitler’s estimation,
should not even be present at the Games. Jesse Owens was not only present, but
he went on to win four gold medals in the 100-meter-dash, the 200-meter-dash,
the broad jump and the 400-meter relay race. He demolished Hitler’s claim that
the Aryan race was superior to all others. Furthermore, this soft-spoken black
athlete embarrassed Hitler and undermined his pompous authority in the heart of
the Fatherland. We may not be in danger of being seduced by an evil power like
Hitler, but we may not be clear on the Authority to Whom we give allegiance. We
owe our allegiance to Christ the King who redeemed us by shedding His Blood to
save us.
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
6) “Super Savior”-– A Church in Ohio did it with a
large icon–a 62-foot-tall statue of Jesus with upraised arms, installed in a
cornfield just north of Monroe, Ohio on Interstate 75. The statue–dubbed “Super
Savior”– was erected by the Solid Rock Church, in Middletown. Here is what is
interesting. Traffic fatalities on this notorious stretch of road have dropped
dramatically since the Super Savior statue was raised. Is that pure
coincidence, or has the Styrofoam and fiberglass Christ really aided road
safety? Nobody knows. [Dr. John Bardsley. Source: National Catholic
Reporter (10-28-2005), p. 3.] Certainly a giant statue of Christ does
no harm, and if it improves traffic, that’s fine. But do not be confused. This
is not the best way to express our allegiance to Christ. The best way to
express our allegiance to Christ is to make our lives worthy of the name
Christian. (Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
7) Feast of Christ the King: In 1925, Pope Pius
XI wanted people to know that this was Christ’s world, not the property of the
emerging dictators of that day. Both Josef Stalin in Russia and Benito
Mussolini had been in power for three years. Adolf Hitler had been out of jail
only a year, and was finding great popular support for his fledgling Nazi
party. The Pope had the courage of his convictions to declare, despite
dictators, that Christ was King, reminding Christians where their ultimate
loyalty lay! (From a sermon by Don Friesen, Ottawa Mennonite Church). (Fr.
Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
8) Unfinished work: A newspaper story some time
back recorded the grim incident of a police officer shot and killed in the line
of duty. His great desire before he was killed was to see his family’s back
yard completely landscaped, a desire he never saw fulfilled, because of the
bullet that ended his life. Some of his fellow officers, who had grown to love
their fallen comrade, donated their time and money to complete the work.
Because it was the policeman’s desire to finish the project it became his
friends’ desire. [Allen Hadidian, Discipleship (Chicago: Moody
Press, 1987).] The application to those of us who love Jesus Christ and accept
Him as the King of our lives, is clear. What He loved and desired, we should
love and desire — and work to complete. His work is to see lost men saved and
built up. His work is to see this world redeemed. His work is to see this
unfinished world brought to completion. We who love Him are called to complete
the task with His grace.
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
9) King of kings and Lord of lords. Listed in
any history book among the greatest leaders that the world has ever known would
be the name, Caesar Augustus. It was Caesar Augustus who fixed the limits of
the Roman Empire. It was during his reign that the Pax Romana, the
peace of Rome that lasted for over 200 years, was initiated. It was Augustus
who ordered the building of roads linking the colonies of the great Empire and
allowing rapid access to subordinate governments. It was he who gave Rome its
constitution, creating the office of Emperor and investing in that office
unlimited power, though he never used the title Emperor himself. The age of
Augustus was a bright spot in literature and the arts. It was the era that gave
the world Virgil, and the great historians. Caesar Augustus was truly a great
ruler. Is it not ironic, then, that 2000 years after the reign of Caesar
Augustus, he is mainly remembered because every year at Christmas time, we read
these timeless words: “In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus
that all the world should be taxed” (Luke 2:1) Among those to
be taxed, of course, were Mary and Joseph from Nazareth. Caesar Augustus would
truly be shocked to realize that during his reign was born One who was far
greater than he. He was the One Who had been anointed King of Kings and Lord of
Lords. It was a minor official in the Roman Empire, Pontius Pilate, who first
asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” (John 18:33). Jesus
obviously convinced him that he was. We often see engraved on crosses the
letters INRI. They stand for Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum, Jesus
the Nazarene, King of the Jews. St. Teresa of Avila, the 16th century
Carmelite reformer, always referred to Jesus as “His Majesty,” and so He is.
After 2000 years, His stature has not diminished. (Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
10) The forgiving King: Rev. Tony Campolo says
that in his teenage years he was terrified by a visiting pastor’s depiction of
Judgment Day. This pastor claimed that one day God would show us a movie of
every single sinful thought, word, or action we ever committed. And he ended
his lurid description with the announcement, “And your mother will be there!”
But Tony claims that Judgment Day will more closely mirror what happened during
the trials over the Watergate scandal. The prosecutor brought in a tape of a
conversation between Nixon and his aides. Just at the most crucial part of the
tape, the section that revealed their crimes, there was an eighteen-minute gap of
silence. Nixon’s faithful secretary, Rosemary Wood, had erased the
incriminating evidence! In the same way, Campolo says, Jesus will erase all the
incriminating evidence against us, as he did for the repentant thief crucified
at his right side.
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
11) “You’re with Him; go on in.” A few years
ago, Pastor Erwin Lutzer and his daughters were visiting Washington, D.C. While
there, they met a man who served on former President Bush’s Secret-Service
security team. The gentleman offered to give them a guided tour of the Oval
Office. Pastor Lutzer and his daughters passed through many security
checkpoints the next day on the way to the Oval Office. At each checkpoint,
they expected to be searched and questioned. But instead, the guards took one
glance at the Secret-Service man and announced, “You are with him; go on in.”
Pastor Lutzer wrote that he expects our entrance into Heaven will be like that.
We will have no credentials of our own that could possibly get us in. But Jesus
will be walking along beside us. And at each gate, the angels will take one
look at Jesus and announce, “You’re with Him: go on in.” [Erwin Lutzer, “Do
Many Paths Lead into God’s Presence?” Preaching Magazine March/April,
2001), p. 20.]. (Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
12) King Who conquered death: Worldly kings do not
have this power. Their last enemy is death, which ends their power, wealth, and
prestige. In Vienna there is a crypt under a Capuchin church. In this crypt are
buried 140 Kings, Queens, Princes and Princesses. Each sarcophagus is
sculptured in steel. The largest is a double tomb for Maria Theresa and her
husband. On each sarcophagus was carved a cross and the Royal crown. On each
corner of one sarcophagus was a skull wearing a crown. The message was clear:
Death was king! Even kings are conquered by death. But the King of God’s realm
lives in spite of death. And so we, as Christians belonging to Him, have no
fear of death, for by the power of His cross, death was defeated for us all.
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
13) “Thy Kingdom come:” Those of us who live in
the United States have no experience with royalty or with “Kingdoms” ruled by
Kings or Queens. We have no Royal Family, so we have to invent our “Royalty.”
We had the “King of Rock’n’Roll,” Elvis Presley. We had the “King of Pop,”
Michael Jackson. We had a “King of Soul,” James Brown. We have a “Queen of
Soul,” Aretha Franklin. We have a “King of all Media,” Howard Stern. We have a
“Queen of Clean,” Linda Cobb. We even have a “King of Greasy Goodness” for the
“Queen of Clean” to clean up: “Burger King”! But in countries like the
Motherland, Great Britain, there is a real Royal Family. And the public can
always keep track of where their Monarch is through an ancient tradition. When
the ruling Monarch is in residence, the Royal Standard, the flag of the ruling
Monarchy of the United Kingdom, flies above. When the Queen is at Windsor
Castle or Buckingham Palace, the Royal standard flutters overhead. When she is
NOT in residence, the Royal Standard is replaced by the Union Flag (the “Union
Jack”). At her residences in Scotland, the Royal Standard flies above Holyrood
Palace or Balmoral Castle when she is present. When she is absent from the
grounds, the ancient Royal Standard of Scotland is hoisted. Long before there
were reliable news sources, just one glance overhead would let the citizens of
the kingdom know whether their Monarch was present, or where “the King was in
the Kingdom.” Maybe it is our lack of any historical connection to a “Royal
Residence” that makes us so clueless about the concept of the Kingdom of God
when Jesus talks about it. We are not very educated in being a “Kingdom” or
even in knowing what “Kingdom come” means. (Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
14) The King of kings is here! The old Cardinal
Hugh Latimer often used to preach before King Henry VIII. It was customary for
the Court preacher to present the king with something on his birthday, and
Cardinal Latimer presented Henry VIII with a pocket handkerchief with
this text in the corner -‘Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge’; a very
suitable text for King Henry. Then he preached very forcefully on the sins of
lust, and did not forget the personal application to the King. And the King
said that the next time – the next Sunday — when the Cardinal preached, he must
apologize. The next Sunday, when the Cardinal stood in the pulpit, he thought
to himself, “Latimer, be careful about what you say, the King of England is
here.” At the same time a voice in his heart said, “Latimer, Latimer, be
careful about what you say, the King of Kings is here.” Strengthened by this,
he preached what God wanted him to preach. -Today we celebrate the feast of
Christ the King. We must enthrone Jesus as our King in our hearts and in our
homes. (John Rose in John’s Sunday Homilies). (Fr.
Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
15) Dismas House — built to serve the
parolees with “royal priesthood” of Christ the King: The salvation of
the ‘good thief’, later named Dismas in Christian thought, reminds me of those
heroic people who have tried to bring hope and saving concern to criminals in
our society. I remember especially Fr. Jack Hickey, OP, a dynamic and charismatic
chaplain at Vanderbilt University. Despite reservations from many quarters, but
with help from dedicated lay partners, he founded “Dismas House.” Unlike the
setup of other Dismas houses, recent parolees lived and worked with college
students in the hope that mutual understanding and healing would take place. In
the last years of his life, Jack fought virulent cancer and exercised his
‘royal priesthood’ from his personal cross, serving the parolees. Since his
all-too-early death from cancer in January 1987, the movement has blossomed
into ten such houses. (John Donahue in Hearing the Word of
God).
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
16) The real King? This happened a number
of years ago when the late King Baudouin was reigning in Belgium. As the
Constitutional Monarch, one of his duties was to “rubber stamp” all the bills
passed by Parliament with his signature, thereby officially promulgating them
as law. In 1990, the Belgian parliament passed a reprehensible bill that
basically removed all legal sanctions against abortions. As a practicing and
conscientious Catholic, King Baudouin objected to abortion vehemently, and so
he could not and would not endorse the measure. But according to the
Constitution, he did not have a choice – as figurehead Monarch, he had to
ratify the bill, so by refusing to sign the bill into law, he was, in effect,
attempting to veto the parliament, and putting his throne on the line! The
parliament simply dethroned him for one day, promulgated the law on that day
when there was no reigning monarch in Belgium, and then re-instated him on the
next day. Granted, earthly Monarchs need Constitutional limitations to prevent
the abuse of power. But, that’s not true for the Heavenly Monarch, the
all-good, all-loving God, for any time we attempt to impede Christ’s reign in
our lives, we’re just erecting an obstacle to the good that He could be in our
lives. Clearly then, there’s false comfort and perilous perdition in that
illusion of ultimate self-determination: if someone on the street swears at you
and says, “Go to Hell!” sure, it’s easy to invoke your autonomy then and shrug
it off with the slur, “I’m free – I don’t have to go anywhere I don’t want to
go!” Yet when the people who declare self-determination their highest law (and
have thus pretended to enthrone themselves as the sovereign moral authority by
dethroning Christ the King in their hearts), hear HIM solemnly speak those same
words as the judgment of their eternal damnation, they will discover the
absolute limits of personal freedom, limits constituted by the True and
Almighty King of all Creation. (John Ruscheinsky in Daily
Online Reflections’).
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
17) Jesus Wins : George III of England,
America’s enemy in the Revolutionary War, felt terrible about the loss of the
colonies. It was said, in fact, that for the rest of his life, he could not say
the word “independence” without tripping over it. He was an odd duck in many
ways, but he had good insights. When the fighting in America stopped, King
George and all his royal cronies in Europe were sure that George Washington
would have himself crowned “Emperor of the New World.” That’s what they would
have done. When he was told, on the contrary, that Washington planned to
surrender his military commission and return to farming at Mt. Vernon, George
III said, “Well, if he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.”
There is power in giving up power, in emptying oneself. Jesus knew it, Pilate
didn’t. Jesus wins, Pilate loses. (William R.
Boyer, A Confusion of the Heart; quoted by Fr. Tony Kayala).
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
18) Freedom Riders : Recently I heard someone tell a
story about the experiences of the Freedom Riders in the American South during
the ’50s and ’60s and their struggle for civil rights. The story was a vivid
illustration of how life changes when Jesus has the last word, when Jesus is
King. When the Freedom Riders traveled through the South staging their sit-ins
and marches and protests, they were often arrested and jailed. The guardians of
racial segregation and the status quo were not going to let them have the last
word. While in jail, the Freedom Riders were often treated poorly and brutally
in order to break their spirits. They were deprived of food or given lousy
food. Noise was blasted and lights were flashed all day and night to keep them
from resting. Sometimes even some of their mattresses were removed in order
that all would not have a place to sleep. For a while it seemed to work.
Their spirits were drained and discouraged, but never broken. It happened more
than once and in more than one jail. Eventually the jail would begin to rock
and swing to sounds of Gospel singing. What began as a few weak voices would
grow into a thundering and defiant chorus. The Freedom Riders would sing of
their Faith and their freedom. Sometimes they would even press their remaining
mattresses out of their cells between the bars as they shouted, “You can take
our mattresses, but you can’t take our souls!” The Freedom Riders were
behind bars in jail, but they were really free. They were supposed to be
guilty, but they were really innocent. They were supposedly suffering, but they
were actually having a great time. They were supposedly defeated but they were
actually victorious. Why? They may not have said it, but they could have:
because Jesus has the last word, because Christ is King! [Steven E.
Albertin, Against the Grain — Words for a Politically Incorrect Church,
(CSS Publishing); quoted by Fr. Tony Kayala.]
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
19) Gandhi’s Strength: In the published diaries
of Joseph Goebbels, the infamous Nazi Propagandist, there are two or three
references to Mahatma Gandhi. Goebbels believed that Gandhi was a fool and a
fanatic. If Gandhi had the sense to organize militarily, Goebbels thought, he
might hope to win the freedom of India. He was certain that Gandhi couldn’t
succeed by following a path of non-resistance and peaceful revolution. Yet as
history played itself out, India peacefully won her independence while the Nazi
military machine was destroyed. What Goebbels regarded as weakness actually
turned out to be strength. What he thought of as strength turned out to be
weakness. Jesus the King won freedom for mankind and won the hearts
of mankind by his death on the cross. (Kevin M. Pleas, Sufficient Grace;
quoted by Fr. Tony Kayala)
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
20) Man for All Seasons: There is a great
scene in the play A Man for All Seasons that fits so well
here. You might remember that the play was about the determination of St.
Thomas More to stand for the Faith against the persuasion and eventually
persecution of Henry VIII of England. In the scene I’m referring to, Henry VIII
is trying to coax his second in charge, Thomas More, to agree with him that it
is proper for him, the King, to divorce his wife Catherine since she was his
sister-in-law and since she did not give birth to a male heir to the
Kingdom. After the King made all his arguments, Thomas More said that he
himself was unfit to meddle in this argument and the King should take it to
Rome. Henry VIII retorted that he didn’t need a Pope to tell him what he
could or couldn’t do. Then we come to the center point. Thomas More
asks the King, “Why do you need my support?” Henry VIII replies with
words we would all love to hear said about each of us, “Because, Thomas, you
are honest. And what is plenty in the Kingdom who support me, but some do
so only out of fear and others only out of what they can get for their
support. But you are different. And people know it. That is why I
need your support.” In the presence of
integrity, Henry VIII knew who was King and who was subject. (Quoted by
Fr. Tony Kayala)
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
21) St. Ignatius of Antioch: The patron of our
parish, St. Ignatius of Antioch, was the second most powerful Christian in the
Roman Empire, second only to the Bishop of Rome. He had written letters
to Christians to stand up for the Faith in the face of persecution. And
then he, as a venerable old man, was arrested. He was put on a ship that
would eventually end up sending its cargo to Rome. There he would be fed
to the lions in the Coliseum. Many early Christians could not bear the
thought of losing Ignatius. He was too important, too needed in the
Church. They plotted to raise money to bribe the sailors in one of the
ports the ship would stop before reaching Rome. They had plenty of time
to do so, the trip would take two to three years. Evidently, they also
had plenty of money. Wealthy Christians were determined to save
Ignatius. They just didn’t understand Ignatius’ integrity. He was
not going to buy his way out of a fate that he had encouraged others to have
the courage to accept. Nor was he going to use some sort of
skillful legalese to save his skin. So he walked into the Coliseum with the
other Christians in control of the direction of his life. He was a frail
old man; yet, he was more powerful than the lions who would destroy him or the
Romans who did not have the courage to stop the absurd spectacle.
Ignatius was a man of integrity.—– Ignatius of Antioch and Thomas
More and so many others followed Jesus Christ in being people of integrity.
The powerful Pilate could have Jesus tortured and killed, and he did, but
Pilate himself remained a prisoner because he lived a lie. And Jesus
remained a King because he testified to the truth to his last breath. (Quoted
by Fr. Tony Kayala) (Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
22) “I die the king’s good servant, but God’s first.” St
Thomas More is the patron saint of politicians. He was a brilliant lawyer and
diplomat in 16th century England. His patriotism and loyalty to the throne
attracted the attention of King Henry VIII who made him Lord Chancellor of
England. What Henry VIII did not know was that Thomas More’s first
loyalty was to Christ, the King of kings. When Henry VIII, decided to divorce
his wife Catherine of Aragon, marry Anne Boleyn, and make himself head of the
Church of England, More knew this was not right. Rather than approve what he
believed to be against the Divine will, he resigned from his prestigious and
wealthy position as Lord Chancellor and lived a life of poverty. Since he would
not give his support to the king, the King had More was arrested, convicted of
treason, imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1534 and beheaded in July of the
following year. On his way to public execution, More encouraged the people to
remain steadfast in the Faith. His last recorded words were: “I die the king’s
good servant, but God’s first.” For More, it was not simply enough to confess
Christ privately in the safety of one’s heart and home; one must also confess
him in one’s business and professional life as well as in the laws and policies
that govern society. (Fr. Munacci; quoted by Fr. Tony Kayala).
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
23) King with a difference: In the year 200AD
Jingo, the Empress of Japan, invaded Korea. Following the defeat, the Korean
king placed valuable treasures before the empress and promised to pay “homage
and send tribute until the sun no longer rises in the East, but comes from the
West; until the courses of the rivers turn backwards and the river pebbles
ascend and become stars in Heaven.” When the Queen of Sheba visited King
Solomon, she crossed the Sahara desert into Israel with more than 797 camels,
donkeys, and mules too numerous to count. She gave the king 120 talents of
gold, a very great store of spices, and precious stones. The value of the gold
alone, which she gave to King Solomon, was of great worth. (1 Kings 10:2-5) It
was customary, in the ancient world, to place great treasures and gifts before
the emperors and kings to please them.
When the Magi heard about the birth of a King for the Jews
they set out with royal offerings- Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. After 33
years, the same king stood elevated on the cross with the inscription INRI,
(Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum – “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”).
By placing this title Pilate on Jesus’ cross, Pilate had made an involuntary,
but historical proclamation that Jesus is the King not only of the Jews but of
the Universe. Many a time such involuntary proclamations of Jesus’ Kingship are
heard from unbelievers. The soldiers made a crown of long, sharp thorns and put
it on his head, and they put a royal purple robe on him, and shouted, “Hail!
King of the Jews!” (Jn 19:2-3) Fr. Bobby Jose).
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
24) “I have nothing more to give”: Some years
ago divers located a 400-year-old sunken ship off the coast of
Northern Ireland. Among the treasures they found on the ship
was a man’s wedding ring. When they cleaned it up, they noticed that it had an
inscription on it. Etched on the wide band was a hand holding a heart. Under
the etching were these words: “I have nothing more to give you.” Of all the
treasures found on that sunken ship, none moved the divers more than that ring
and its beautiful inscription. The etching on that ring and its inscription “I
have nothing more to give” -could have been placed on the cross of Christ. –
Mark Link.
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
25) Brothers and Sisters of the King: Sometimes
Americans wonder why the English bother with the monarchy, since the Queen is
little more than a figurehead with no authority. Yet, within most people there
is a wish for a person to whom we can look up, someone who personifies dignity
and wins our respect, a person who makes us feel better about ourselves. Many
Americans found that kind of a person in the election of John F. Kennedy as
President of the United States. He was young, handsome, intelligent and
articulate. He was married to a beautiful woman who, it seemed to us, had
become his Queen. The White House became known as Camelot. The United States
had a family to whom many Americans attributed royalty. But on Friday Nov. 22,
1963 the dream was shattered with the President’s assassination. The dream of
Camelot was gone, and the illusion of royalty was dimmed. All along we had been
looking in the wrong direction, towards the White House as if it were a palace.
We should have been looking back at Calvary, because the cross is truly the
throne of Christ the King. We do not need an earthly sovereign to give us
self-respect. Our King is truly royal. His kingdom is not an imaginary Camelot.
It is an eternal and universal Kingdom, a Kingdom of truth and life, a Kingdom
of holiness and grace, a Kingdom of justice love and peace. Our King is Christ
the Lord. (Charles Miller in Sunday preaching; quoted by Fr.
Botelho)
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
26) Won’t you come down, King? A king once fell in love with
a poor girl. At first, he thought of simply bringing her to the palace and
marrying her, but he realized this wouldn’t work since she would soon realize
the immense difference in their backgrounds and not be happy. After much
reflection, he decided to renounce his kingdom and go and live near her, so
that she’d realize how deeply he loved her. Shocking one and all, he left the
palace. This story –adapted from philosopher Kierkegaard’s original –somehow
reveals to us the great love of our king Jesus Christ, who ‘comes down’ that we
might be raised up. (Francis Gonsalves in Sunday Seeds for Daily Deeds;
quoted by Fr. Botelho).
27) “I could have been down there.” There is a
story about a South Dakota rancher which reminded me that many of us know how near
the Kingdom really is, but we just don’t talk about it in that way. The story
goes that following the disastrous winter of 1997 with its many blizzards and
ice storms, and its record losses of cattle, an older rancher welcomed several
helping professionals to his ranch. They had come to visit with him on behalf
of his Church, and to assess the extent of his losses from these disasters. He
led them out to a hill in the pasture near his ranch, and told them they were
standing on the grave of his herd of cattle. All but a small number had been
frozen to death in an early April storm. The visitors were stunned by the
enormity of his loss, and by his matter-of-fact manner in relating it to them.
They questioned and probed a bit for some sense of his feelings about all of
this, until he responded… as many South Dakotans did in the face of such
disasters: “Well, it could have been worse.” The visitors were more sure than
ever that this man must be deep in denial to have such an attitude about losing
his life’s work in one weekend storm. They questioned and probed a bit more.
How could it have possibly been worse? Having been pushed to explain himself,
and probably having sized up the visitors as city folks, he finally responded
by pointing down to the hill or grave they were standing on and said, “I could
have been down there.” The story speaks volumes to me about rural people and
their daily understanding of the nearness of the Kingdom of God. (Rev. Andrea
DeGroot-Nesdhal).
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
28) Christ the King on the day of Last Judgment:
“Whatever you did for one of the least
brothers of Mine, you did for Me.” A story is told of a priest assigned in
a seminary who took his sabbatical year in Kolkata, India to work with Mother
Teresa. Towards the end of his sabbatical, he wondered what he could take back
to his seminarians. Thinking back, he remembered how Mother Teresa received
Holy Communion: her eyes and face glowed with love for Jesus as she expressed
the desire to give him back her love completely. For the priest, that was
understandable for she was then already known as ‘a living
saint.’ But what he could not understand was what he saw one evening when
she was with a sick person. The same glow in her eyes and face was present when
she was attending to him. Reflecting on these two experiences, the priest
discovered why. For Mother Teresa, that sick person was Jesus himself for did
he not say: “Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine,
you did for me.” Do we see Jesus’ face in others, especially the
poor, needy, marginalized, deprived, downtrodden, sick and suffering, and so
on? Jesus meets us in their disguise. They are his true face. (Fr. Lakra)
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
29) “Please, don’t be angry with me, my brother.” Leo
Tolstoy (1828-1910 C.E.), the great Russian author was also a great Christian
who took seriously the demands of the Great Sermon (Matthew 5-7) and attempted
to live his life accordingly. One day a beggar stopped him while he was out
walking and asked him for alms. Tolstoy searched his pockets for a coin but
finding none he said with regret. “Please, don’t be angry with me, my brother,
but I have nothing with me. If I did, I would gladly give it to you.” At that,
the beggar’s face brightened with joy. “You have given me more than I asked
for”, he said, “You have called me brother!” Tolstoy had not only grasped the
intent of the Great Sermon but he had also penetrated the truth of today’s
Gospel. He regarded the poor man, asking for alms, as a brother because
he had understood and made his own the great commandment (Matthew 22:37). But
he had also learned to see the face of Christ in the poor, and because of that
insight, he met the criteria of judgment set forth for our consideration in
this Matthean text. (Sanchez Fles).
(Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/
