A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 8, n. 52)
Our Lord Jesus Christ the King, Year C – November 21, 2010 *
“The Kingdom of His Beloved Son”
BIBLE READINGS
II Sm 5:1-3 // Col 1:12-20 // Lk 23:35-43
(N.B. Series 8 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year C from the perspective of the Second Reading. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year C based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 2. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 5.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
We crown the Church year of grace with the solemn feast of Christ the King. As a worshipping community that has journeyed Sunday after Sunday, through a span of 52 weeks, we have savored the spiritual riches of the Day of the Lord and delved into the meaning of the Christ events. Through the linear-spiral dynamism of the liturgical year, we are propelled toward the glorious end time. The solemn feast of Christ the King enables us to contemplate and relish the grandeur of the heavenly kingdom that is already ours and is continuing to grow into fullness.
The Old Testament reading (II Sm 5:1-3) underlines the hope of Israel for a shepherd-king who will be a sacrament of God’s lordship over his covenant people and a visible sign of his presence and constant protection. Human kingship was a bitter-sweet experience for Israel. The bitter experience, however, was not without value for it enabled them to perceive the unparalleled character of God’s kingship. The Lord God was all that the human kings were not. The chosen people’s disappointment goaded them to look forward to an end-time king who would fulfill their deepest needs and yearnings. The messianic prophecies spoke to the distressed people, promising an ideal shepherd-king descending from the line of King David.
The Gospel reading (Lk 23:35-43) presents Jesus of Nazareth as the true shepherd-king who fulfills the hopes of Israel and the nations. A unique king who reigns on the cross, Jesus triumphs over the power of sin and death. A descendant of David, he was anointed by God to reconcile sinners and gather them into his eternal kingdom.
The magnificent “Christ Hymn” we hear in the Second Reading (Col 1:12-20) gives us the rationale of Christ’s kingship. It also presents the cosmic proportion and total extent of his reign. Probably used as a baptismal hymn, this lyrical jewel declares the tremendous works of Christ in creation and salvation. He is the principle of creation and through him, everything continues in being. Through him we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins. The exultant hymn also underlines both his preeminence in the Church and his lordship over all creation. Unparalleled in beauty and content, this hymn fittingly crowns the liturgical year with a tone of thanksgiving. It invites us to give thanks to the Father for having made us worthy to share the lot of the saints in light. Indeed, God is worthy of praise and thanksgiving for he rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son Jesus Christ.
Harodl Buetow comments: “The letter to the Colossians states that God alone rules the universe, Christ is its cosmic Lord and King, and those who belong to him share his mastery over the world. Referring to the ancient custom of victor nations transporting entire defeated populations to their own country, the letter explains that God has transported us from the power of darkness to light, and transferred us from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of Jesus … Christ is supreme over the Church … He is the beginning of the Church in the sense of being the source of everything. By virtue of his victory over death, he is Lord of all. The absolute fullness (pleroma) that resides in him means that everything that makes God to be God resides in Jesus. Only in his kingdom do we find majesty without tyranny, power without domination, glory without terror. Though he is nothing like the earthly kings we have heard about, what else can we call him but our king? (…) His kingship depends on our willing acceptance of his rule in our hearts and in our lives. We make him welcome and ask him to lead us as the Shepherd-King of our souls.”
The liturgy of Christ the King challenges us to live our life under the sway of this all-powerful but compassionate shepherd-king. His kingship is ultimately exercised in the mind, heart and will of the believer. As head of the Church and as ruler of the entire universe, he wields total dominion over us – reigning over us with a love and concern beyond telling. Jesus Christ is truly our Lord and Master. As part of the kingly people, we have a duty to hasten the advent of his kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace.
The following story illustrates what it means to promote the heavenly kingdom on this earth (cf. “Lottery Winners Give Away Money” in San Jose Mercury News, November 5, 2010, p. A9). The charitable stance of a Canadian retired couple enables us to feel that the kingdom of Christ is at hand. They are truly the object of the Christian beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
LOWER TRURO, Nova Scotia: A Canadian couple who won $10.9 million in the lottery just gave it away. Allen and Violet Large said Thursday that they won their fortune in a July 14 Lotto 649 draw and decided to donate 98 percent of it, some $10.6 million, saving the rest for a rainy day.
“We were quite happy with what we had and the way we were going”, said Allen Large, a 75-year old retired welder. “We have no plans. We’re not travelers. We’re not night prowlers. We’re not bar-hoppers.”
After taking care of their family, the Larges donated the bulk of the prize to churches, fire departments, cemeteries and the Red Cross in Lower Truro, as well as hospitals where Violet, who has cancer, has undergone treatment.
Allen Large said he and his wife decided a week before they picked up their winnings to give most of it away. He said they had worked for 30 years in Ontario and put away money every year before retiring and returning home to Nova Scotia. “We weren’t millionaires before, but we had enough to keep us going in our retirement years”, said Allen Large.
Word of the couple’s generosity has generated a wealth of attention from the media both in Canada and abroad. “We’re not used to all this attention”, Large said from the couple’s modest home. “We’re just plain, old country folks.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
Do we desire to let Christ Shepherd-King reign over us and have dominion over our mind, heart and will? Do we resolve to be faithful to him?
Do we recognize Christ’s kingship enthroned on the cross? In moments of trials and difficulties, do we continue to trust that he is our saving Lord and all-powerful King?
Do we acknowledge in our life that Christ is the Lord of creation and the Redeemer King who leads us into the kingdom of light and love through his life-giving sacrifice on the cross, the throne of grace?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Let us give thanks to the Father
for having made you worthy
to share the lot of the saints in light.
He rescued us from the power of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son.
Through him we have redemption,
the forgiveness of our sins.
He is the image of the invisible God,
the first-born of all creatures.
In him everything in heaven and on earth was created,
things visible and invisible.
All were created through him;
all were created for him.
He is before all else that is.
In him everything continues in being.
It is he who is head of the body, the church!
he who is the beginning,
the first-born of the dead,
so that primacy may be his in everything.
It pleased God to make absolute fullness reside in him
and, by means of him, to reconcile everything in his person,
both on earth and in the heavens,
making peace through the blood of his cross.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Let us give thanks to the Father … he delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.” (cf. Col 1:12-13)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Pray that the people of today may understand the great gift of the reign of Christ, the Lord of creation and the redeemer of the world. Use as part of your daily prayer this week the “Christ Hymn” (Col 1:12-20). By your acts of justice, peace and charity, let the kingdom of Christ come upon the earth.
ACTION PLAN: That we may truly give thanks and praise to the Father for transferring us into the kingdom of his beloved Son Jesus Christ, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year C, vol. 6, # 52).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US