Sunday Homily, November 20, 2016, Christ the King
Readings:
2 Samuel 5, 1-3, They anointed David king of Israel.
Psalm 122, Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Colossians 1, 12-20, Let us give thanks to the Father.
Luke, 22, 35-43, If you are king of the Jews, save yourself.
Special Advent reflection by Deacon Mike: Download Bible Study by Deacon Mike.10-20-16docx
"Hi," says the beautiful Victoria, "Welcome in."
History of the Christ the King Feast: date, author, reason it was declared
Date: Not during the early church, not during the time when Constantine made Christianity the religion of the Empire, not during the time of Luther & the Reformation, not during the time of Pius IX with the Italian Resorgiamento & his Infallibility statement (1870), but in 1925. Fairly Recently.
And not to be outdone in hospitality, this cute little girl likewise says, "Hi, Everybody."
Author: Pius XI, pope 1922-39
Reason(s): at least 2 factors–The Times and Modernism/Secularism
- The Times:
- End of WW I and build up to WW II
- Mussolini & Hitler: the same year Pius XI became pope, Mussolini became prime minister. By 1925 he had become a dictator. The feast was to counter the dictatorship.
- Modernism & Secularism:
- Modernism. Despite being scholarly and pro-scientific methods, Pius XI was suspicious of biblical scholarship which questioned, for example, biblical inerrancy, the nature of bible miracles, the virgin birth, the resurrection, the atonement theory that God demanded his son suffer & die for a single sin by a human.
- Secularism coming out of the Enlightenment said that all people were equal, people should have a say in government as in democracy, and backed the separation of church/state, like proposed by Jefferson.
Sources: Living with Christ, Nov., 2009; Wikipedia
Even Kevin says, "I may not be a cute little girl, but I still say, 'Welcome!'"
Observations on Samuel:
What: This is a 4 book series, 1 & 2 Samuel & 1 & 2 Kings. The first two are all about Samuel, the last of the Judges of the tribe, and about Saul and David, the first two kings.
Author: Numerous authors. Some say even Saul put together some of the parts that pertain to him.
When written: Over a period of even centuries. However, it seems to have come together in the present form around the Babylonian Captivity, 555 before Christ.
Our selection: David is anointed king.
Sources: Jerusalem Bible, Good News Bible.
Guess who has herself a nice letter jacket! Congratulations Kara and Hi, James.
Thanksgiving
When Christ the King Sunday rolls around every year I am always tempted to tell good old stories about my childhood growing up in Christ the King parish here in Dallas. Suffice it to say Christ the King was one reason why I became a Jesuit instead of a diocesan priest.
Instead of Christ the King, therefore, I would prefer to focus on my most favorite topic, Thanksgiving from my perspective. Of course, when I ran my idea by Rosemary, I got a “Thanksgiving again. You just talked about it and you will wear everybody out.” The problem: I don’t think I can ever focus on thanksgiving enough. And that holds for all of us.
Offertory, The Ekes, Marlene, Mabel, Bill, and Cindy.
So, hang on Everybody, I want to talk about four special blessing that have given me life and joy this year. I pass on the Big 4 you know about, the Jesuit experience, East Africa, Marriage, and our community. Instead, this year it is biking, backpacking, learning, and priesthood.
Because of biking, which in turn I can do because of my two new hips, I have this summer ridden 500 miles across Iowa, ridden 100 miles the last Saturday in August in the Hotter ‘N Hell out of Wichita Falls, circled White Rock Lake with Rosemary dozens of times, and made some dear friends at the Jewish Community Center where I put in a strenuous workout every week day.
"Nothing like Grandma's hugs," says Victoria.
Backpacking this past September took us to Idaho and the 7 Devils region, 7 of us, 7 nights, and a great time.
As a spinoff of this I have also been blessed by our Friday Romeos luncheon at Jason’s Deli.
Muy Buenos Dias and Bienvenidos, Senora Alisia et Senor Jose.
From the first day I entered the Jesuits we were vaccinated with the idea that we never stop learning. French has been my learning this year and for the last 6 years, since I got my new hips in ’10. Because of this I have had the opportunity to get to know some really special people in L’Alliance Francaise, the office of which is, you will never guess, at the corner of Central and Royal Lane.
The final blessing is the privilege of continuing to act as a priest. Just recently I have been part of two superb weddings, Lisa Anderlick, the daughter of John and Karen, and Scott Simari, the son of John and Michelle.
What do you think, Buddy, am I doing a good job? You are awake anyway.
Besides weddings, I have had the enormous privilege of walking with some people on their last walk. John’s mother, Pat. Jerry Gleason. Curtis Ekes. And Mike Miller.
These are some of my blessing for 2016. What are yours?
Says Zoe, "Leo, may I go for a ride in your car?"
I heard a nice idea for sitting around the Thanksgiving table. Each person is invited to thank one other person at the table and to give thanks to or for one person not at the table.
The Best, Mary, Bethany, and Ray.