Feast of Christ the King

Mass Celebrated by Archbishop Denis Hart
at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne,
on Sunday, 23rd November, 2003, at 11.00am

Introduction

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The words, ‘Jesus the Nazarene. The king of the Jews.’ are placed above the cross of Jesus. Jesus is a king of a different kind, ruling from the suffering of total self-giving on the cross, leading to his resurrection by which the saving power of his act would be brought to bear on all people.

As we call to mind our sins, let us ask the Lord to give us pardon, light and strength, that we may acknowledge Jesus as our Lord by the thoughts, words and deeds of daily life.

Homily

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today’s Gospel is really striking because we see Our Lord being brought before Pilate and accused and yet look at Jesus' questions. “Do you ask this of your own accord? Or have others spoken to you about me?” Jesus again, “Mine is not a kingdom of this world. My kingdom is not of this kind.” And lastly, “Yes, I am a king. I was born for this. I came into the world for this, to bear witness to the truth and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.”

Jesus is our Lord and Saviour. On Holy Thursday he established the wonderful mystery of the Eucharist, looking forward to the separation of his Body and Blood on the cross. That is why the Mass is always a sacrifice – a total giving by Jesus to death for us, made present under the forms of bread and wine, which are separate, to show that it is through Jesus’ death that infinite praise is given to the Father and limitless grace is brought to God’s people.

Even in the last and this century monarchies have tended to pale into insignificance or to be caricatured by the human frailties that they have demonstrated. Yet Jesus has come to bear witness to the truth of God’s own self-sacrificing love for people, of his desire to search us out and bring us to know true peace. Jesus is the alpha and the omega, the Lord God who is to come, the Almighty.

Today we recognise that Jesus is the King of the Universe. We acclaim his glory because only in this way can truth shine in our lives. Too often in our society pragmatism has been used to obscure truth. We are invited to come and walk with Jesus.

We know that there are many difficulties in our world and this shows that the kingship of Christ is far from complete. Indeed, because of the strife and evil in the world we may even become discouraged.

A German Lutheran theologian, Wolfhart Pannenburg, once observed, “Our present world with its wars, injustices and brutalities demonstrates the gap between itself and the kingship of Christ. God’s kingdom in Jesus has not yet come in all its fullness.”

No present form of life or society is the ultimate, but this need not lead us to despair. Jesus is God. He promises a kingdom, which will not pass away, and the future reality of that kingdom makes a dynamic challenge for us at present. It kindles hope. It clarifies our vision that God loves people. He walks with us and one day we will come to be with him in glory if we have lived as his followers.

The challenge today for us is twofold. To live according to the truth by word and deed and also to provide hope that God’s love is limitless and continuous. His truth will ultimately be vindicated and we are the instruments of that love and truth.

+ Denis J. Hart,
Archbishop of Melbourne.