Word Made Flesh: Christ the King wants to reign in our hearts

15 November 2010

Appears in: Archdiocesan News

Christ the King – November 21, 2010
2 Samuel 5.1-3 | Psalm 122 | Colossians 1.12-20 | Luke 23.35-43

John Connelly

Deep in our hearts we all long for a good king. A leader who will reign over us with love and compassion. A leader who will be fair, just and protect us all from evil.

It has been interesting on the American front to watch the meteoric rise and fall of Obama. His campaign slogan “yes we can” is rapidly becoming a dim memory as Americans wake up to record unemployment and social unrest.

A recent article in Time magazine even said there is the possibility of a new civil war if economic turmoil continues in the U.S. The dream that Obama awakened in many Americans is sadly becoming a nightmare for some.

The recent elections show how unpopular this president is now becoming. How quickly we lose hope in politicians. It looks like another political “king” is falling fast.

The question is why? Why do our politicians inevitably disappoint us? Why do we always seem to have our hopes dashed by those in power? Why does the utopia we dream of never last?

For me the answer is just one word . . . Jesus. Jesus is the true king. Jesus is the only king who will not disappoint us. Jesus is the answer for all those who seek a ruler who has their interests and not his own at heart.

Humanity is lost in a wilderness of propaganda and lies. The poor are in fact getting poorer. The rich are too often just trying to protect themselves and their interests. Everyone points fingers to explain why things have gone wrong.

Even we Christians sometimes forget that Jesus is the only king who will ultimately satisfy. We get caught in the same false hopes as everyone else.

Jesus is the King of kings. His dominion is everlasting. All other kingdoms are destined to fall. All human systems of politics will fail. All of humanity will one day bow before the only true and lasting king.

Catholics and other Christians need to lead the way. We need to tell the world about the real king. The real king who is, who was and is to come. The real king who wants to reign in our lives and hearts. The real king who came to cast a fire on the earth. A fire of divine love, which burns away the shallowness of modern existence.

Pope Benedict said, “Only from saints, only from God does true revolution come, the definitive way to change the world.”

Yes, we need a true revolution. A revolution from God. A radical change of heart and mind. A revolution that turns our attention to the one thing that really matters . . . the reign of Jesus. The reign of his divine love and mercy in our lives.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Pope Benedict’s call for God’s revolution. (See his book God’s Revolution or my new radio program at www.GodsRevolutionToday.com)

A REVOLUTION

The pope is calling all of us to a new intensity in our spiritual life. A revolution within. A revolution where we recognize our call to be saints.

A saint is someone who lives the revolutionary love of Jesus today. A saint is a person who orients their entire life towards loving God and humanity. A person who cries out to this lost and broken world, “Come to Jesus the King of Love.”

The saints had a deep understanding of the need for total conversion. The need for this interior revolution. Listen to the words of St. John of the Cross:

“The soul united to God and transformed in him draws from within God a divine breath, much like the most high God himself. And God, abiding in the soul, breathes forth the life of the soul.”

This is God’s revolution. We need to live and breathe the very life of God. We need to live and breathe Jesus and his love in our daily lives.

This Sunday we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. In the Gospel we remember the good thief who cried out, “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He recognized the one thing necessary in the closing moments of his life.

The kingdom of Jesus is our ultimate destiny. All other kingdoms and kings will fail. The good thief experienced God’s revolution of mercy and love.

If you and I respond fully to Jesus our king there will be a different kind of revolution. A revolution of divine love. Isn’t that what humanity is really waiting for? Isn’t that what we Christians need to choose? Pope Benedict says this type of revolution is “the definitive way to change the world.”

I don’t know about you, but I pray for change. Real change. Something more than politicians and pundits can offer. Now is the time and you and I are called by name. Jesus awaits our response.

Jesus King of Love. Teach us to pray with your heart.

Come reign over all the world and us. We choose today your revolution of love and mercy for all.

Previously published in the Western Catholic Reporter