Bulletin reflection - Jesus Christ - King of the Universe - 22 November 2020

    This Sunday, we commemorate the end of our liturgical year with a great celebration, honoring Jesus as the King of the Universe. As I reflect upon this wonderful celebration, I remember a story told to me by one of my parishioners in a parish where I served as pastor. The catechist was reading a story book with a little boy. There was a drawing of a little crown on one of the pages. The catechist asked the little boy whose crown that was. The little boy replied, “That is Jesus’ crown. He is the king of kings.” It is amazing to see the profound insights our children have into our faith, insights some adults may overlook.  

    We might think about the different names we have for Jesus and the different images we have of him. Many of us see Jesus as our brother and our friend, as the Son of God, as our Savior and Redeemer. In Jesus’ day, different people saw him in different ways. The zealots wanted Jesus to be a military leader who would bring them back to military might and glory. The Pharisees and Scribes saw Jesus as a threat to the way they saw God and the way they practiced their faith. We are called to see Jesus through the eyes of faith, through the life of discipleship that we follow. To us, Jesus is a great teacher, a prophet, the Messiah, and the King of the Universe. We only have to look at the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus to see such divergent perspectives. One of the thieves mocked him, while the other believed in him, seeing him as the Son of God. The title of Jesus as the King of the Universe also goes hand-in-hand with the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd who always seeks out the lost, who never abandons his flock, and who leads his sheep to green pastures and live-giving waters. 

        As we celebrate Jesus as the King of the Universe today and end our liturgical year, we transition to Advent, to this season of preparation. In this midst of this challenging year, we look to Advent as we prepare for the coming of Jesus as God incarnate with us, as the bread of life who fees us and nurtures us.