Feast of Christ The King, Nov. 23, 2014

Written by Fr. Fitz Thursday, 20 November 2014 11:03

An S.O.B. gets a big role to play in a big city!

This week a South Omaha Boy became the Archbishop of Chicago, and eventually a Cardinal. Blaise Cupich was raised close enough to  the South Omaha Stockyards to catch the aromas wafting from there, raised in an immigrant family, raised with  a father who was a postal worker.

And in his homily, he exhorts us to follow Christ The King, but not the King of Pomp and Glory, but the Christ who enters into the messiness of our human lives in order to save and care for the least of our brothers and sisters: This is the Christ of today's Gospel.

A Quote from that homily:

"Christ is always doing something new.His invitation is to leave behind the comfort of going the familiar way. His challenge is recognizing that he is always calling us to more: to protect the vulnerable, the poor,the weak, to treat immigrants with justice and dignity, to respect life, and be good stewards of creation."

Archbishop Blaise Cupich

He goes on to say that he stands with Pope Francis. Following the Pope's lead,they both seem to be saying we need to be people with IMAGINATION--TO IMAGINE SOMETHING NEWER THAN THE STALE GRIDLOCK OF FROZEN POLITICAL POSITIONS, WHETHER IN THE CHURCH, OR THE WIDER WORLD. BLINDNESS MEANS A LACK OF IMAGINATION.

Do we ever see Christ's way as a path of imagination? Read Matthew 25, today's Gospel again. Does not Christ's vision upset the apple cart of how the world sees things?

Christ the King opens up the Kingdom of God. It is always more than the world in all of its power seeking can ever see, unless it begins to look through the lens of Christ's redeeming love.

 Ezekiel in today's first reading predicts the reign of Christ the King:

He will rescue the scattered sheep: 

"from every place where they are scattered, when it was cloudy and dark."

Prayer To Christ The King

Today I pledge my loyalty to Christ our King.

Help me to imagine justice and peace.

Help me to join my imaginatin to that of Pope Francis.

Imagination stirs up hope.

Hope enlivens action.

And my small actions are stepping stones for the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God.

Amen