It’s easy to get lost in the poetic feel of today’s Gospel… when I was hungry you fed me, sick, you cared for me, in prison, you visited me and so forth… Come, inherit the kingdom. Or, “you didn’t do those things… eternal punishment for you.” Grasping this concept refreshes the events of Holy Week— the Good Friday to Easter Sunday… and brings it all full-circle… how much are we willing to sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom? What are we willing to give, to do, to be that takes us out of ourselves, our own comfort, to extend that hand, go that mile, carry that cross. The movie The Passion of the Christ beautifully depicts the imagery of Jesus kissing his cross as he’s handed it by his torturers to carry to his death… he kisses it, He loves the hurt because It means salvation, loves the discomfort because it will bring others peace, loves the long dusty road to Calvary because it leads to Easter Sunday morning. The Feast of Christ the King is a call to love the suffering as Jesus did. Whatever it is in our lives: the inconveniences, the care for loved ones, the pain of loss and loneliness,, or rejection.. That Christ be the King of our hearts and fill all of those “holes’ in our lives with his purpose, his love, his companionship— the faithful lover who will never leave us. When we see Christ in all we do, and all we meet, we die to the things that pass away, and live for the one who died to love us. And that my friend, is not just good poetry… it’s everything. May Christ reign King of our hearts each and every day. Happy end of the church year! And here’s to resurrection and new life in the church year ahead!
~Sara