Today and this week mark the end of our church liturgical journey, reminding us that we are at the end of an important life cycle, although this is not the end. Throughout the year we celebrated the highlights of Jesus’ human and earth journey that ended in what appeared to be his death, followed by his resurrection and ascension.
We claim Jesus as our King, but what does this say about us, about who we are?
We have images of earthly human kings, queens, and royalty in general, who rule some areas of the land. They might be people who show off their status and class in society. This may be our concept of royalty. The books of Daniel and Revelation give us a different image. Daniel talks about dreams, visions, dominion, glory and everlasting kingship. The book of Revelation speaks of Jesus as our link, for our human earthly reality, to the everlasting spirit world. The gospel quotes Jesus speaking of a kingdom that is not a worldly kingdom, or at least not the kind of kingdom the world glorifies, but quite the opposite.
Jesus the King conquered evil in the world, because it could not crush him. He was victorious in that battle, and we celebrate that battle during Lent and Easter. We have Jesus’ flesh and blood whenever we receive communion in the Eucharist. When we listen to the readings, we are absorbing God’s word into our minds and hearts, where God resides; and so Jesus, living in us, continues that battle in us and through us. This is a reality (perhaps beyond our understanding) of our spiritual royalty, bestowed on us in and through Jesus.
We need to carry ourselves with dignity, no matter the turmoil that happens around us, no matter how many fireworks we hear throughout the days and nights, or the sirens that go by. We are sons and daughters of the King and we will walk with dignity, as Jesus held himself with dignity even on the cross.
As this church year comes to a close, let us take some quiet time to reflect on who we really are, not listening to what the world tells us we should be. Scribes and Pharisees condemned Jesus for saying he was the Son of God, but he knew who he was. Let us not listen to the world telling us we belong to the world, but rather know that we are God’s sons and daughters through Jesus, the firstborn. Let us all live the truth of who we are, as princesses and princes.
Sr. Terry Beaudry