There was a young priest appointed to a parish. He wasn’t much older than some members of the youth group. Some of them started calling him by his name. But there was one young man who would always address the priest as: Father. After some time they became good friends but the young man continued calling him Father. When asked why he didn’t want to call him by his name, like most of other people did, he answered: “Look Father. I’ve got enough mates around me. But you are the only priest I know so well. It is important to me to have you in my life as a priest. I don’t want to spoil it.”
My Dear Sisters and Brothers!
Today’s Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe isn’t simply another title given to Jesus. He doesn’t need titles to be important and crucial to the past, present and future of the human kind but we need to remind ourselves who he is. When Pope Pius XI established this Feast Day in 1925 he didn’t invent anything new, the pope didn’t make it up. In the Bible we hear many times Jesus speak about his Kingdom. It was one of his most favourite topics. When asked by Pilate: “Are you a king?” Jesus answered: “Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into this world for this: to bear witness to the truth.”
What the Holy Father reminded his contemporaries, and it applies to us too, is that faith dies when we start domesticating Jesus, when we make him our mate, when we simply place him among other inspiring figures of the human history. Why is it so important to have a profound approach to Jesus? Let me give you another story. It happened in a parish I used to work. We had a parish primary school there. One day I was in the school office when the principle walked in. I could tell she was shocked. She explained to us that she was called to the school playground to settle down a fight between a Kindergarten pupil and a year six student. Apparently the little child got upset and started kicking and punching the big boy who didn’t want to hit him back. When the Principle came into the scene and separated them, the kindergarten child started arguing and shouting at the Principal. She said: “He was talking to me as if I were his mate from the sandpit. No respect whatsoever.”
Let’s listen again to the beginning of the Gospel passage for this Solemnity: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All nations will be assembled before him.” You and I will be there too. If we give Christ the Lord a profound worship and honour today we will have him as our true friend at the end. If we domesticate Jesus, if we reduce him to just one of many significant figures in the world we spoil this friendship with him. You have lots of people around you whom you can call mates let Jesus be your friend whom you, at the same time, acknowledge your Lord and Saviour. It doesn’t change anything for Jesus, he will not be less or more important by the way you treat him but it will make your faith grow stronger or die. What does it mean to have a profound warship and honour for Jesus? It means that when you feel that the challenges of being a Catholic are too big you pause and say to him: “My Lord and My God, it is difficult what you ask me to do but I trust that you tell me this because you want the best for me. Give me your grace, your Holy Spirit to accomplish what seems to me impossible or too difficult.”
As you could hear and read lately in newspapers, TV, the Internet etc. about the Synod on Family, showed some people who were discussing those moral issues in the way the Kindergarten child spoke with his Principal. There wasn’t much in the media about listening to what Jesus says, there wasn’t much talk that Christian understanding of the moral issues like divorces, same sex marriages etc comes from what God has revealed to us. Isn’t interesting that we laugh at a Kindergarten child thinking that he knew better than the Principal but at the same time it is “normal” when people question the wisdom of God.
So let’s go back to the relationship between you and your Saviour. It is the foundation of all the other relationships you may have. Lately I have heard and interesting interview with a psychologist who was discussing why people today are so into relationships, they speak so highly of them, they dream about having relationships but at the same time there is a crisis of relationships. The rate of broken marriages and families is skyrocketing; friendships don’t survive the test of time, etc. The psychologist, who wasn’t talking from a religious point of view, drew an interesting conclusion, he said that what people used to get from their faith in God, from their relationship with God now they except from their spouses, parents, friends, colleagues etc. They place unrealistic expectations on the human relationships they have.
My Dear Fellow believers! The psychologist finished saying that we should be realistic when it comes to relationships. I would draw a different conclusion from his presentations. Do you know what my conclusion is? “BE RELIGIOUS”, have a profound faith in Jesus. Don’t make Jesus your mate because then you will start making your human mates gods.
Only of Christ the Lord you can always expect to be forgiven and be given another chance.
Only of Christ the Lord you can always expect to be with you through all the days of your life here on earth and eternally in heaven. When it comes to people: some will choose to leave you, some will drift away finding somebody else more interesting, some will die, Christ will remain with you forever.
My Dear Sisters and Brothers!
Today’s Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe isn’t simply another title given to Jesus. He doesn’t need titles to be important and crucial to the past, present and future of the human kind but we need to remind ourselves who he is. When Pope Pius XI established this Feast Day in 1925 he didn’t invent anything new, the pope didn’t make it up. In the Bible we hear many times Jesus speak about his Kingdom. It was one of his most favourite topics. When asked by Pilate: “Are you a king?” Jesus answered: “Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into this world for this: to bear witness to the truth.”
What the Holy Father reminded his contemporaries, and it applies to us too, is that faith dies when we start domesticating Jesus, when we make him our mate, when we simply place him among other inspiring figures of the human history. Why is it so important to have a profound approach to Jesus? Let me give you another story. It happened in a parish I used to work. We had a parish primary school there. One day I was in the school office when the principle walked in. I could tell she was shocked. She explained to us that she was called to the school playground to settle down a fight between a Kindergarten pupil and a year six student. Apparently the little child got upset and started kicking and punching the big boy who didn’t want to hit him back. When the Principle came into the scene and separated them, the kindergarten child started arguing and shouting at the Principal. She said: “He was talking to me as if I were his mate from the sandpit. No respect whatsoever.”
Let’s listen again to the beginning of the Gospel passage for this Solemnity: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All nations will be assembled before him.” You and I will be there too. If we give Christ the Lord a profound worship and honour today we will have him as our true friend at the end. If we domesticate Jesus, if we reduce him to just one of many significant figures in the world we spoil this friendship with him. You have lots of people around you whom you can call mates let Jesus be your friend whom you, at the same time, acknowledge your Lord and Saviour. It doesn’t change anything for Jesus, he will not be less or more important by the way you treat him but it will make your faith grow stronger or die. What does it mean to have a profound warship and honour for Jesus? It means that when you feel that the challenges of being a Catholic are too big you pause and say to him: “My Lord and My God, it is difficult what you ask me to do but I trust that you tell me this because you want the best for me. Give me your grace, your Holy Spirit to accomplish what seems to me impossible or too difficult.”
As you could hear and read lately in newspapers, TV, the Internet etc. about the Synod on Family, showed some people who were discussing those moral issues in the way the Kindergarten child spoke with his Principal. There wasn’t much in the media about listening to what Jesus says, there wasn’t much talk that Christian understanding of the moral issues like divorces, same sex marriages etc comes from what God has revealed to us. Isn’t interesting that we laugh at a Kindergarten child thinking that he knew better than the Principal but at the same time it is “normal” when people question the wisdom of God.
So let’s go back to the relationship between you and your Saviour. It is the foundation of all the other relationships you may have. Lately I have heard and interesting interview with a psychologist who was discussing why people today are so into relationships, they speak so highly of them, they dream about having relationships but at the same time there is a crisis of relationships. The rate of broken marriages and families is skyrocketing; friendships don’t survive the test of time, etc. The psychologist, who wasn’t talking from a religious point of view, drew an interesting conclusion, he said that what people used to get from their faith in God, from their relationship with God now they except from their spouses, parents, friends, colleagues etc. They place unrealistic expectations on the human relationships they have.
My Dear Fellow believers! The psychologist finished saying that we should be realistic when it comes to relationships. I would draw a different conclusion from his presentations. Do you know what my conclusion is? “BE RELIGIOUS”, have a profound faith in Jesus. Don’t make Jesus your mate because then you will start making your human mates gods.
Only of Christ the Lord you can always expect to be forgiven and be given another chance.
Only of Christ the Lord you can always expect to be with you through all the days of your life here on earth and eternally in heaven. When it comes to people: some will choose to leave you, some will drift away finding somebody else more interesting, some will die, Christ will remain with you forever.
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