Solemnity of Christ the King Cycle C

November25, 2007

Gathering

Opening Song We join in chanting the MusicQuest selection, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Opening Prayer

Following some moments of quiet after the song we pray …

Terry: Let us pray that the kingdom of Christ may live in our hearts and come to our world.

All:Father all-powerful, God of love, you have raised our Lord Jesus Christ from death to life, resplendent in glory as King of creation.

Open our hearts, free all the world to rejoice in his peace, to glory in his justice, to live in his love.

Bring all mankind together in Jesus Christ your Son, whose kingdom is with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Alternative Opening Prayer, Feast of Christ the King, Sacramentary

Review of life:

(10 minutes) Choose one question that speaks to you. If after your partner’s turn there is time, share on a second question.

  1. When have you felt you could float as high as a kite?

PRAYER/REFLECTION

  1. Have I been able to find time each day for some prayer and reflection? If not, what are the barriers?
  2. Name an experience of the Lord’s presence or of his absence in these last two weeks. What did I hear?
  3. What do I need most to persevere?

ACTION/REIGN OF GOD

  1. What challenges am I experiencing in carrying my prayer/reflection into my family, work, society?
  2. How is my attitude changing toward the most forgotten people in our society? What am I doing about them?

CHURCH

  1. In what ways am I growing closer to the church, the Body of Christ?

RESOLUTION

  1. For the next two weeks, what will be my one, clear-cut and simple plan or resolve? Whom will I ask to pray for me in this regard?

Gospel: Luke 23:35-43

Following a pause after the gospel, I invite you to mention a word, a phrase, or an image from the gospel that particularly struck you this week.

Then read over the commentary and consider the questions that follow it, in silence, before entering into conversation.

Invitation to Reflection –Shift at Center

The feast of Christ the King is associated with majestic imagery. Christian art depicts the son of God, arrayed in glory, worshiped by heavenly hosts, and sitting in regal judgment over all mankind. We don't begrudge Jesus his triumph, nor do we insinuate he is not worthy of highest acclaim. The imagery, however, is certainly a far cry from the humble Nazarene whose footsteps we trace in the gospels, and especially from the Jesus we see on the cross in the reading today from Luke. The problem with the imagery of Christ in imperial splendor is that it can divert us from consideration of the intimate place the Lord should have in our hearts. Enthroned in glory, Jesus appears distant, aloof, and far removed from the affairs of our everyday life. Yet, we know from the gospels, this is not the desire of Jesus at all. There are many references in the gospels of the promise of Jesus to be with us, to "dwell" within us, to be intimately connected with us as a vine is connected with its branches. We need to examine, therefore, another interpretation of the kingship of Jesus.

One great mark of a Christian is a conversion experience that leads one to confess that "Jesus is the Lord." This confession not only acknowledges Jesus' prominence in all creation, but accepts Jesus into a new position in our lives. All of us are aware that our lives are "run" by all manner of desires, fears, worries, threats, beliefs, and experiences from our past. All put together, these pressures are what constitute our self-consciousness, our self, our ego. The ego tries to rule us with omnipotent pretensions. The primary agenda of the ego is to persuade us to identify exclusively with its needs, to make us believe that we cannot exist without it. It sets about its daily business with one objective in mind: "my will be done." In confessing Jesus as "Lord," however, we remove ego from the throne of our hearts and give this position of eminence over to Jesus Christ. In making this confession, we actually become a new creation, a new person, "born again." This doesn't mean we become sinless, or perfect, or without problems, only that something substantial has shifted within us. Christ has become our center. With Christ as our center, we surrender to a higher power, a new controlling force, to "run" our lives.

This shift is of such magnitude, and has such enormous repercussions for the way we live, that we can never treat it lightly. The shift, rightly called "salvation," does not destroy the ego, but saves us from ego-centricity. The ego is displaced; its central position at the controls of our life is converted to the Lord; it is from Christ that we now have a new self-consciousness. This conversion is reflected in an attitude of "Thy will be done," an intention to live from the mind of Christ, and a willingness to take our cues for effective living from the teachings of Jesus. Christ lives then, not only as King of the universe, but as ruler of our hearts.

What "runs" your life? Are you aware of what power your ego has over you, of how it operates, and how much conflict and suffering it often brings into your life? How much has your ego already drawn you away from your true spiritual Self? Are you perhaps ready for a shift at your center, a conversion that surrenders your ego's rule for Christ's dominion? Affirm Jesus as "Lord" of your life. Plan your life, change your life-style, make decisions, and act from the mind of Christ. See if your life doesn't substantially improve with a new self-consciousness: a loving Christ the King at the center of your heart.

Michael R. Kent

Questions for Reflection

  1. How does the word, phrase or image that struck you from this week’s scriptures speak to your life or the life of the community, your family, or your world these days?
  2. Name some way you experience Jesus as king or leader, reconciler or peacemaker, saver or healer in your life.
  3. A number of people stood at the foot of the cross as Jesus was dying. Who do you think you would have been most like: the soldiers, the leaders of the people, the crowd, or the women who followed Jesus? Why?
  4. How has this church year now ending been a year of grace for you?
  5. Who/what are the centering influences in your life these days?
  6. What helps you believe that Jesus remembers you?

The "So What" question

Any insights gleaned from the small group sharing? What difference will this make when I go home to my family, my workplace, the neighborhood, or in the way I relate to the poor?

Song: Center of my Life St. Thomas More Centre

Shared Prayer - Kingdom of God Within You from Sharing Prayer by Mary Sue Taylor

Invitation to Act – What does God ask of you/us in light of our sharing of life and faith this week?

  1. Reach out to someone within your immediate family or among your friends whom you have offended. Ask for forgiveness and reconciliation.
  2. Enrich your understanding of the church’s teaching on political participation, read Called to Faithful Citizenship, a statement of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Call 800-235-8722to order or locate it online at
  3. Visit each day.Also think about choosing gifts for others from the “Fair Trade” pages of the Hunger Site Store.
  4. Spread Christ’s kingdom this week by striking up friendly conversation with an approachable stranger in a check-out line, or some other public location.
  5. What does the image of the cross as Jesus’ throne stir up in you?
  6. Where in your world, our larger world, do you see signs of Christ’s kingdom being built?

Business

Our next meeting will be on December 4th at 9:15am. Would anyone want to prepare it? It will be for The Second Sunday of Advent Cycle A.

Sending Forth and Closing Prayer

I invite you to offer prayers of praise, thanksgiving or petition. To each prayer, we respond, “Thy kingdom come.”

Together we pray:

Lord Jesus,

let your presence in my life

and the power of your Spirit

transform me and enable me

to choose living your kingdom

in my day and age,

and help me remember

that I live in that presence

and with that Spirit. Amen.

Closing Song Life Is Christ

For use during meditation at home in the next two weeks:

Crown of ThornsbyJeff Bingham

Who was the one who removed the crown of thorns?

What kindly soul stopped the bleeding and the pain?

Was it removed before death? Perhaps He was already gone.

If so…

Was it Mother Mary? When she cradled Him again, did she once again bleed for Him while removing thorns from His scalp?

Was it John? When he was given as the son of Mary, did he know he was so privileged to take the place of the Son of God?

Was it Magdalene? Did she count her forgiven forgotten sins as she counted the thorns that pierced his head?

Was it Joseph? In preparing to bury His body after saving it from the pit of being forgotten, did his compassion include removal of the Kingly crown?

Was it Agnes (M. Teresa of Calcutta) as she lifted the head of yet another victim of poverty?

Was it the members of the Marching Band of Columbine as they marched the streets of Pasadena on the New Year’s morning after the WorldTradeCenter fell?

Was it Karol (John Paul II) as he gathered the faiths of the world in Assisi to pray for peace?

Was it you?

Didn’t I see you drive your neighbor to the doctor?

Didn’t I see you tenderly love that unwanted baby?

Didn’t I see you make amends with your sister with whom you have been at odds for so long?

Didn’t I see you comfort that family who lost their mother?

Didn’t I see you marching for women with cancer?

Didn’t I see you deliver Eucharist to those without nourishment?

Didn’t I see you conducting singers and players making music which makes me think of God?

Didn’t I see you hold your grandchild and wipe the tears away?

Didn’t is see you alone with the Eucharistic God as you pray?

May each of us give the gold of our compassion and the jewels of our love to the King so that His new crown will befit Him…and ourselves!