Homily from the Parish Priest for the Feast of Christ the King
Readings for Year A: Ezekiel 34:11-17; I Corinthians 15:20-28; Matthew 25:31-46
Many of you joining us today know that one of the major things we are doing at the moment at Farm Street is running an emergency service for the new homeless and destitute who are increasingly in need as a result of the economic downturn resulting from this dreadful pandemic. We have nearly 60 volunteers who so generously give of their time and energy. For me, as for many people of faith, I see this as a direct response to the call to be Christian. A number of people during the pandemic have drawn the link between not being able to celebrate the Eucharist, celebrate the Mass in person together, and our desire to live out the Eucharist. The Church, it might seem, has been taken to the streets of London. I for one find that such a consolation at this time. And in giving some dignity, feeding, providing the opportunity for expression in creative writing, making mental health services available, trying to help those who risk being forgotten to get back on their feet, however small a way we do this, is encountering Christ – Christ present in those who simply want to be fed, to be helped, to be shown the human face of the Church. Hearing these challenging words of Jesus on this feast day in particular invites me to reflect on something else which is part and parcel of the call to service, the call to be a Christian, to be a follower of Christ who looks for Christ in the midst of our world.
As we reflect on kingship we reflect on leadership and on power. Who has it in our country and our world? A question which has being debated through the ages. For leaders how does power engender respect and admiration or disdain and rebellion? In the world of politics these are always vital questions and we meet them again and again. Right now in the transition in the United States these are obvious; here in Britain how do our elected members of parliament and counsellors see their role to serve us, to serve all people and especially at this time of great turmoil the weakest and most defenceless? Conversations I’ve had on behalf of the Christian community reveal to me that there is a common humanity we all share. So many who, whether people of faith or not, want to serve and especially those who hunger and thirst among us. And here we see Christian leadership. Right now in the Church, in the light of the IICSA Report, the Church is looking humbly, carefully, to listen to those who have been so wronged by abuse of that common humanity, abuse of power itself.
So what does power mean to Jesus? What is kingship for him? For today we celebrate Christ as the eternal King of the Universe. What on earth might that mean for us, flawed, sinful, vulnerable humanity, trying to do our best to live out our calling to be like him. This Gospel and this Feast of Christ Our King is challenging us to make sure we do not fall into the trap of imagining Jesus as an earthly monarch or a political ruler. To be a king is not to be a modern figurehead in a democratic system. No: Jesus is no earthly King at all and we are called today to think of His Kingship beyond these earthly images. Rather his kingship is to build his heavenly Kingdom on earth where we will always be flawed, always getting it wrong, always needing to be truly humbled, brought down to earth by our failures to serve him and his values. Values of justice, peace, human dignity for all, respect for us in our huge diversity as the human race, for the gifts God has given us to be stewards of his creation. To celebrate Christ the King is to realise how we are flawed disciples, as Pope Francis puts it in his motto from St Ignatius: ‘A sinner yet loved by God’. Loved so much by God he gives us, his subjects, a freedom to follow him, to make mistakes, and to pick up ourselves again and listen to this call to each one of us, to that mandate he gives us as God’s good yet flawed creation, to bring his kingdom to this earth.
We - his subjects, his friends, his disciples - have that mandate - as we too have now been anointed priests and kings through our common baptism - to build a Kingdom described to us so beautifully in the words of the Preface we shall hear shortly:
'A kingdom of truth and life,
a kingdom of holiness and grace,
a kingdom of justice, love and peace.'
How can we, especially at this time of great trial for our world, be indifferent to His authority? How can we pretend not to be needed as a servant in his Kingdom? How are we and will we be helping him build up this kingdom on earth?
Fr Dominic Robinson SJ