15-Nov-2009 Dear Friend,
When we speak of Kings and Queens we know we are referring to the past, where those of royal stock were put on a pedestal and commanded and dominated the common people. Though we do not want kings to rule over us, we still look for authority figures who command respect and are an inspiration for us to follow. Strangely, the truly great have no desire to dominate but they would rather serve others. They would rather be masters of themselves so that they might be of service to others. Have a joyful weekend celebrating our servant King! Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections: Last Sunday -Feast of Christ the King ‘Thy Kingdom Come! 22-Nov-2009 Daniel 7: 13-14; Apocalypse 1: 5-8; Mark 13: 24-32; The first reading from the prophet Daniel foresees the coming of the one who will have dominion over all the peoples. It talks of the coming of the ‘Son of man’ a title of the future redeemer. The point the author wishes to make is that when all the kingdoms of the earth are destroyed the Jews will rule over all nations. The one like the son of man comes from the clouds, that is, from God to rule the earth. The Jews and the early Christians saw this reference to Christ the Universal King. Give Us A King! Kings and Queens do not exist today and those that do are remnants and no longer functional. But Kings and queens do exist in fairytales and in stories. Indeed when people were in need and badly off, they always started to tell stories of a king or queen who would reign in such a way that good times would return, everybody would be happy and there would be prosperity and peace. The Hebrews had that dream and desire during their history. When they had difficulties they would pray: “Yahweh, give us a king.” And when they had one who was more part of the problem than part of the solution, they would pray again: “Yahweh, give us a king, a new one, a real one. The one we have is fake!” They yearned for a real king. Joseph Donders in ‘Praying and Preaching the Sunday Gospel’ The second reading from the Book of Revelations speaks of Jesus and the firstborn from the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth. Basing itself on the same text of Daniel referred to in the first reading, Revelation looks to Jesus’ coming at the end of time, when he will take full possession of his kingdom. Further Jesus is redeemer and Saviour, who through his death has cleansed us and made us holy, a nation of priests, prophets and kings. He it is who is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega, and this is the truth we are called to proclaim by the witness of our lives. The Silent Witness General Smuts stood deeply impressed before a beautiful allegorical picture at the Royal Academy. It was a painting by Albert Schmalz, and showed the interior of a large church in France. Weary soldiers lie on the floor. One of them has started up and leans on his unwounded arm, gazing intently at a vision. He sees the transfigured Christ wearing a crown of thorns, and standing out from a background of radiant light, the reflection of which throws a brightness on his wounded head. The title of the picture is The Silent Witness. The general stood silent, drinking in the beauty and strength of the lesson. Then he turned to a complete stranger at his side and said, “This is a most beautiful picture. It is a vision many a man has seen.” D. Williamson in ‘Quotes and anecdotes’ Today’s gospel contains a section from the narrative of St. John’s, where Jesus is interrogated by Pilate. Pilate is disturbed and threatened by the stance taken by Jesus in the face of opposition and death. Pilate is concerned about whether Jesus is a threat to his power and position as King. So he asks Jesus bluntly: “Are you a King?” Jesus answers, “Yes, I am a king, but not like the one you are thinking of. I do not have subjects in this world! But yes, I am a king! My kingdom is not of this world. You have nothing to fear. I have no armies training in the hills.” Pilate was relieved at this assurance from Jesus. Whatever Jesus was, he was no threat to his power or to peace. Yes, Jesus was a king but of a different kind, one who seeks no power, one who has no weapons, one who comes not to dominate people but to set people free. Jesus is leading Pilate to think differently and to reconsider the values of his Roman way of life. He explains himself: “I was born for this: I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth. That’s the sort of king I am. One who frees people from falsehood, pretence, sham, from hollow virtues and empty glory. The kingdom of Jesus is so different from that of the world, He did not desire personal glory but that the Father be glorified through obedience to his commandments. The throne Jesus sought did not set him apart from or above other ordinary people. His delight was to be with people and serve them. His army was not forcibly conscripted but he welcomed all who accepted his word. His main weapon was the truth. He came to bear witness to the truth. Truth is the backbone of the kingdom of God, it is the foundation of justice and peace and only people who live by the truth can belong to it and be part of it. Who Is Judge And Who Is On Trial? Sometimes in a court case it can happen that it is not so much the accused who is on trial but the judge. Indeed, sometimes it is the very concept of justice itself that is on trial. Take the case of Louise Woodward, the 19-year-old English au pair whom a jury in Massachusetts convicted in 1998 of killing an eight-month-old baby, Mathew Eappen, who died in her care. But many people who followed the trial were convinced that a miscarriage of justice had taken place. In view of conflicting medical evidence, it was hard to see how the jury could have found, beyond reasonable doubt, that she had killed the baby. Her defense team appealed against the verdict. At the start of the case, Louise was the one who was on trial. But now the focus shifted onto the judge, Hiller Zobel, who was reviewing the verdict. As we waited for his ruling, questions were raised as to his character. It was said that he was a very independent-minded man. A man not swayed by popular opinion, or one who bowed to pressure. The verdict he reached would show if those claims were true. Now it was Judge Zobel who was on trial. After careful deliberation Zobel changed the jury’s verdict of second degree murder to involuntary manslaughter. Yes, a child was dead, and Louise bore some blame for his death. But she was not a murderer. And since she had already served seventeen months in prison, he set her free. In the eyes of most neutral observers, his verdict was a fair one. Judge Zobel emerged from the trial with an enhanced reputation. He was shown to be a man who was passionately concerned about justice. Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’ “ ‘Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews’. So read the official notice of condemnation which Pilate had fixed to the cross on Calvary. In this way the Roman Procurator confirmed the conclusion he had come to at the end of his cross-examination of Jesus, the kernel of which is read in today’s excerpt of the Gospel. Did Pilate want Jesus to acknowledge his claim of royalty? At all events Jesus did not deny he was a king, he merely queried Pilate’s source for the accusation, before going on to say in what sense he was a king. He had come into this world to bear witness to the truth. It was as witness to the truth that he is king. For that he was born and for that he was to die. He did not come into the world for an abstract, conceptual truth, nor was it his intention to put his spiritual strength at the service of our ideologies or to make his gospel the source of power for our human ambitions. The truth to which he bore witness and still bears is God’s faithful love for his world, although the world rejects his love and the salvation brought it by the Son. Today we are not quite so tempted to make the Church one of the kingdoms of this world as were previous generations. Still, we must remember that Jesus died in order to be rid, once for all, of the temptation to reduce his gospel to a political force in society. It is in living, for our part, by his light and truth that we share in the hope of a kingdom where the Church will cease to be one among other social groups because God will be all in all.” - Glenstal Bible Missal More Than A King In Lloyd Douglas’ book, The Robe, the slave Demetrius, pushed his way through the crowds on Palm Sunday, trying to see who was the centre of attraction. He got close enough to look upon the face of Jesus. Later another slave asked, “See him –close up?” Demetrius nodded. “Crazy?” Demetrius shook his head emphatically. “King?” “No muttered Demetrius, “not a king.” “What is he, then?” demanded the other slave. “I don’t know,” mumbled Demetrius, “but he is something more than a king.” Anthony P. Castle in ‘More Quotes and Anecdotes’ Belonging To His Kingdom It was a few weeks before Christmas 1917. The beautiful snowy landscapes of Europe were blackened by war. The trenches on one side held the Germans and on the other side the trenches were filed with Americans. It was World War I. The exchange of gunshots was intense. Separating them was a very narrow strip of no-man’s-land. A young German soldier attempting to cross that no-men’s-land had been shot and had become entangled in the barbed wire. He cried out in anguish, then in pain he continued to whimper. Between the shells all the Americans in that sector could hear him scream. When one American soldier could stand it no longer, he crawled out of the American trenches and on his stomach crawled to that German soldier. When the Americans realized what he was doing they stopped firing, but the Germans continued. Then a German officer realized what the young American was doing and he ordered his men to cease firing. Now there was a weird silence across the no-man’s-land. On his stomach, the American made his way to that German soldier and disentangled him. He stood up with the German in his arms, walked straight to the German trenches and placed him in the waiting arms of his comrades. Having done so, he returned and started back to the American trenches. Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder that spun him around. There stood a German officer who had won the Iron Cross, the highest German honor for bravery. He jerked it from his own uniform and placed it on the American, who walked back to the American trenches. When he was safely in the trenches, they resumed the insanity of war! Anonymous May we be loyal citizens of our King in word and deed!! Fr. Jude Botelho [email protected] PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my remodelled web site www.netforlife.net Thank you. The INTERNET now has a personality. YOURS! See your Yahoo! Homepage. http://in.yahoo.com/
