Follow Jesus with Perseverance

Homily, Sunday, November 25, 2007; 34th Sunday of Ordinary Time, C; Solemnity of Christ the King
Ss. Cyril and Methodius Parish, Sterling Heights

Today is the solemnity of Christ the King. Advent starts next weekend, making this the last Sunday of Ordinary time. The liturgical year of 2007 is basically at an end. It would be wise to examine the fruits. But just as time will end, and Jesus will reveal himself in his might and power, so now the liturgical year ends, and the Church manifests the Kingship of the Lord. Today’s homily intends to show Jesus as the King of Peace, and so urge all of us to do our part to make peace with this loving King whom we have offended by our sins.

Jesus is the King: what does this mean? He said to Pilate, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Elsewhere St. Paul compares Melchizedek to Jesus, saying, “This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means ‘king of righteousness’; then also, ‘king of Salem’ means ‘king of peace.’ Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.” (Heb 7:1-3) Therefore, Jesus is the King of those who love the truth, and his kingship establishes peace, and peace forever.

Peace is the order of right reason, and ordering of justice. The problem is, we have sinned against God. Our sins were unreasonable, and our iniquities unjust. Every sin, in fact, is a lie: we say that some evil deed is good, and then we choose to do it. Jesus is not the King of those who love lies, Jesus is the king of those who love the truth. So every time we sin, we embrace a lie. Every sin is the opposite of peace. Every sin is an act of war against this great and mighty God. Every sin is treason against the saints. Sin is at the root of all violence, and violence against God and man is the fruit proper to sin.

Indeed, society in this day and age is saturated with sin, and it’s also saturated with violence. There is violence among nations and violence in the marketplace. Worst of all, there is the violence in the home, especially those homes where there is fighting, yelling, insults and control issues, anger and frustration, bitterness and, most tragically, the occasional raised hand. And how do the perpetrators of such violence, committed in the privacy of the home, hope to escape the judgment of our mighty God? In all these sad homes, in all these marriages cracking under the strain, the root of all the conflict is the sins of the most abusive, and then to a less degree the sins of those who live there.

Our entire society is full of violence. God has abandoned us to the violence of unchaste with the scourge of abortion. God has let greed do its work of beatings and murder. God has let sin run its course to consume itself. How can we expect our society to continue the way it is, and yet act surprise when our society will one day collapse into violence? For the bastard child of sin is violence.

So when Jesus presents himself in the scriptures as the true King of Peace, this should be as a bell tolling in the darkest of nights; it should waken us from the slumber of our sin and despair; it should give hope to a world worn out and fed up with the endless cycle of men using men and all destroying all.

Jesus is King of Peace because he makes peace by conquering sin. He has redeemed us on the cross. Death is the punishment Adam won for us all by his own sin, so when Jesus rises from the dead, it means the reign of death is over, that is, the kingdom of sin is cast down forever.

Each one of us, then, enters into this kingdom of peace by baptism, and is restored to it by confession. The power confession has to restore your peace with God is limitless: for the Church can always declare a man free from sin, and so he is free not only on earth, but also in heaven.

Therefore, if Jesus is the King of Peace, and your sins are the cause of all your problems in life, then abandon your sins. Tell your temptations that you won’t listen to them any more. Abolish your pride, which spawns endless discord and ruin. You have waged war against God with your sins, yet still, like a good Father, God extends his hand to you and says, “Come, and live with me in peace.”

So why is it that so many avoid confession? Where else will you obtain peace? How else will you be reconciled with God? How come you insist on living a life of sin? How come you see those bad things, you speak evil of your neighbor, you treat your spouse so badly and so regularly? What can you possibly gain from your slavery to sin?

Especially as Christmas approaches, come often to confession, and let the priests of the Church free you from your sins. You have everything to gain, and nothing to loose. Sin is the kingdom of hatred and violence; Jesus is the King of Peace. Wash your souls in the blood of the Lamb of God, by frequent reception of the sacraments, and you will discover this peace which the world does not know, and which no one can take from you. Amen.