Homily for the Feast of Christ the King

The Solemnity of Christ the King is a relatively recent addition to the liturgical calendar. It was promulgated by Pope Pius the Eleventh in 1925, when much of the world was in shambles following World War I — “the war to end all wars.”

The stability of the old social order was lost,  the Russian Revolution had left that nation in ruins, governments were in economic chaos, and unemployment was widespread. There began in Europe a swelling of pessimism, secularism, and
skepticism about the existence of God.

The time was ripe for the rising of tyrants and totalitarian ideologies, and rise they did. Reeling from the devastation of war, people turned not to Christ, but to:
+ Hitler, who brought them Nazism
+ Mussolini, who brought them Fascism
+ Stalin, who brought them Communism…

… all atheistic in their approach.

Many considered the basics of morality and the Teachings of the Church to be out-of-date, irrelevant in the “Roaring Twenties” of 20th-century society. Many sought hope in the social order and put their faith in politics, rejecting the Church as well as the crowned heads of Europe, giving rise to the darkness that Nazism, Fascism, and Communism would bring to the ultra-modern 20th century,

It was then that the Church held up the image of Christ the King of the Universe and true Judge of the world, knowing that the ominous human judgment following the Great War would produce a vacuum of hope — which it did — and eventually lead to World War II.

The focus of this Feast Day, however, is not political, merely offering Christ the King as one alternative leader among many. This Feast puts forth Christ and His Kingdom as our only hope for peace in this world, and for fulfillment in the life to come.

The door to this Kingdom is opened for us through Divine Judgment, a notion which seems to have taken on negative connotations in our post-Christian society. But judgment has always been central to Christian preaching, and, therefore, to the Christian imagination.

When the judgment of Christ is situated within the “Good News” of the Gospel, it becomes a source, not of fear, but of hope. While the thought of judgment can strike terror in the Christian heart, it really should, instead, bring comfort and peace when compared with human judgment.

Human justice, even in the best of circumstances, is a frail thing: Juries cannot see into a man’s heart; they must operate on probabilities and “reasonable Doubt.” And when human justice is properly administered, it seldom restores what was lost:
+ the human life taken
+ the good name tarnished
+ the years of suffering endured.

God’s justice, on the other hand, touches us not on the juridical or political level, but at the personal and interior level of sin. When we stand before God in need of judgement, He gives us a restorative justice, graced with mercy, especially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. God’s justice and mercy are complementary, meaning that mercy does not replace justice; it completes it. It is in justice and mercy that we will stand on the threshold of God’s Kingdom: a Kingdom both present and yet to come.

The Readings for this Feast Day invite us into a dynamic, immediate living of God’s Kingdom in the here-and-now. In the First Reading, God the Father describes what He will do in the Kingdom…in the Gospel, God the Son describes what we must do in order to participate in that Kingdom. He outlines the Corporal Works of Mercy as actions of justice and mercy, outward demonstrations of interior sincerity.

Ultimately, He teaches us, it will be upon this Charity that we will be judged. Yet, imperfect and sinful as we are, we need not live in fear of this judgment, because the One who will judge us is the same One who died for us.

God’s justice is resplendent with Grace.

So, on this Feast of Christ the King, remember:
+ human justice and judgment can lead to un-charity on the personal level, or even totalitarianism in the political realm.
+ divine justice leads to mercy and forgiveness, conversion and renewal, holiness in this life and fulfillment in the Kingdom of heaven.

Turn to Christ and strive toward His Kingdom today, and you will reign with Him forever in His Kingdom in Heaven.