Reflection for the Solemnity of Christ the King (Cycle B)
Christ is our now-and-eternal Lord! He is the Lord of all lords; of all kings and queens; of all princes and princesses; and of all nobles past and present. He is the Lord of all states and of their leaders, of all presidents and ministers. He equalizes and subdues the powers of monarchs and dictators, and of all who has been given authority over people whether by inheritance or election. He is the Law and the center of gravity of all legislators and judges.
He is the supreme head of the body of all churches, over all for whom the sacred is a mysterious and beautiful reality, of all their overseers and propagators. He governs over all apostles, prophets, teachers and pastors; over all bishops, priests, deacons and other servants. He is the Beloved of the clergy and laity, of all serving and being served.
He is the Force that drives those leading and being led; those preaching and being taught; those inspiring and being renewed; those interceding and being interceded for.
He is Wisdom and the prudence behind the intellectual depth of philosophers and theologians, of social-action agents and missionaries, of counsellors and spiritual companions.
He is the Harmony of the economy, and the Peace of society. He guides the everyday-ness of all who strive to make an honest living, the Mind behind all managers and professionals, all artists, scientists and inventors; the Hand protecting all workers. He is the Bond that binds all families together, the Master who strengthens parents in their struggles, and forms the values of children, the Core of every sustainable community.
He is feared by those who believe they are deserving of their fortune, and cried upon by those deemed to be undeserving of his grace. He is the Vengeance of those being left behind: the hungry, poor and sick; the forsaken and the oppressed; and all those who for some reason or another, are in great debt to the rest of humanity.
He is the Spirit of all creation, of all moving and being moved, commanding all the animate and inanimate to their proper space and time, to fulfilling their roles and achieving their destinies. He stands forever as the refuge of sinners and saints; the hope of all the unborn and of all those who have passed away; the energy of the heavens, and of all angels and other spirits.
He is the Order of cosmos and chaos, of chronos and Kairos, ensuring for the evolution of worlds to undergo a perpetual process of maturation; from creation, to an inevitable diminution and demise, to a glorious re-creation. He is the Link that maintains the intrinsic interconnectedness of everything in the universe, such that one element cannot and must not disturb the balance of another. He is the Flow of all nature, in which we should allow ourselves to be drawn into, immersed and carried with; the Being that wills all becoming; the Way that must be followed, not hindered nor altered.
He is the fulcrum upon which the balance of everything rests. He is the point of inflection upon which the perpetual creative tension between opposite human realities is delicately maintained, the pivot that constantly moves yet crucially turns at the most appropriate time in history.
He supports the fragile contradictions between the fulfillment of self-interest, and the achievement of the common good, between the morality of a tempered self-preservation, and of an uncompromising preservation of all; between a social essentialization for identity, and a social conscientization for equality; between the astute discernment of the present based on the past, and the childlike innocence that bears hope for the future; between a political hierarchy for defined authority, and a political college for shared responsibility; between an outward economic globalization, and an inward economic localization; between an organizational rigidity for stability, and an organizational flexibility for agility; of an imperative unity amid growing diversity of cultures and religions.
Our Lord forever is Mystery, both the incomprehensible immanence yet the engaged transcendence; triumphant in his sorrow, benevolent in his anger, gracious in his glory. He is the joy which we need not gain at the expense of another; faithfully filling us up in our mindful self-emptying, dutifully loving us in our careless disobedience, promptly forgiving us in our unforgiveable treachery. He is our ultimate Happiness.
Brother Jess Matias is a professed brother of the Secular Franciscan Order. He serves as minister of the St. Pio of Pietrelcina Fraternity at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Mandaluyong City, coordinator of the Padre Pio Prayer Groups of the Capuchins in the Philippines and prison counselor and catechist for the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of LiCAS.news.
