Nov. 23, 2008: The Feast of the Christ the King
It takes a lot to be elected as a leader these days, it’s not enough to blanket the airwave and print media. Last year around this time of the year, South Korea had its presidential election. The winner goes to the "Blue House" as opposed to our White House. To show that they understand the challenge and struggle of the ordinary folks, the candidates joined the blue-collar workers at the factories early in the morning, helping them carry construction materials. They hit the soup lines for the poor, handing out bowls of rice and soup. Their wives also had their share of work. They joined other ordinary wives, helping them prepare Kimchi, a Korean version of German sauerkraut except it’s more fermented, funkier smelling, and red-cayenne pepper hot. South Koreans, like Americans, are attracted to leaders who seek the office to serve and not for personal gain. In other words we want servant-leaders.
Is it conceivable these days to find a leader who governs with truth and charity, to be compassionate to the needy, to be faithful to prayer life, to be a good husband and a father? We would call him or her, a saint. And we have an example--St. Louis King of France, the only French king to be canonized as a saint. He was well known to have fed daily and personally over one hundred poor--many of whom he fed from his own table. He was known to wash the feet of the beggars and to minister to the wants of the lepers. He founded many hospitals and houses for the unfortunate. The leaders that truly attract us are those who despite the great authority and privilege given to them, choose freely to humble themselves to that of a servant.
Today in the gospel, Jesus calls himself a king, and at the same time he identifies himself with the hungry, the thirsty, the lonely, the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned. He describes himself as a shepherd who will look after his scattered sheep. He says, "I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, and the sick I will heal." Jesus is not the kind of king who gets into a sleek limo, wave his hands, kisses a baby, and then returns to his palace the rest of the day. Jesus is called Emmanuel, 'God with us.' I want to give you an image to make this point hit home.
This week, I spent four days in Mexico City at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This is something that I do every year as a renewal of dedication of my priesthood to the Blessed Mother. This Marian shrine is not the easiest one to travel to on your own. I took another Korean priest with me to introduce him to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Earlier this year this priest took a trip to Cancun, and perhaps that is what he had in mind about Mexico City. I did warn him that it is nothing like Cancun. I told him that it is a city of 19 million people. There are no palm trees or clear blue skies; there are still plenty of 1964 version of Volkswagen Bugs on the road to help contribute to the thick smog that lay seige over the skies of the city. And the divide between the rich and the poor are very pronounced. Yet their fervor for their faith is unmatched anywhere.
Take for example the statues of Jesus that are in their churches. Unlike most American Catholic Churches where you have what I call 'Clean Jesus' who is free of blood and scourging marks, their Jesus are downright realistic if not over-realistic. Statues have lots of blood, wounds, and even have wigs on them. They will likely shock us because they are beyond our sensibilities. Yet that is how they want their Jesus the King to be portrayed. It reminds me of that scene from Mel Gibson's Passion of Christ where Pilate shows off the bloodied and tortured Jesus to the crowd crying out, "Ecce homo"--'Behold the man." The statues are usually behind a glass case because people like to kiss, to touch, and to place their hands near Jesus as if to ask Jesus to hold their hand through their suffering. Often times, I see the person crying as they suspend their hands over Jesus' heart and gives him a kiss.
There is something about Christ the King who suffered a great deal, that attracts us. On one hand, we are impressed by human leaders who humble themselves and go beyond the confines of their job description. Yet Christ the King goes even further; he is so intimately involved and intertwined with our personal lives. He personally walks with us from our conception through our baptism, confirmation, marriage, illness, and death. When we suffer, we know he walks with us and understands us because he himself underwent suffering. We know he is present here and now to our distress because daily at mass, Jesus says, "Take this all of you and drink from it: this is the cup of my blood...it will be shed for you"..." And at communion, we can touch this King, kiss him, and personally invite him into our heart. There are not that many heads of state whom you can attempt touch with your hand without first getting several body guards sitting on top of you. Christ the King humbled himself and bent down to wash the feet of his disciples. And he left us with this instruction:
"Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."
Is it conceivable these days to find a leader who governs with truth and charity, to be compassionate to the needy, to be faithful to prayer life, to be a good husband and a father? We would call him or her, a saint. And we have an example--St. Louis King of France, the only French king to be canonized as a saint. He was well known to have fed daily and personally over one hundred poor--many of whom he fed from his own table. He was known to wash the feet of the beggars and to minister to the wants of the lepers. He founded many hospitals and houses for the unfortunate. The leaders that truly attract us are those who despite the great authority and privilege given to them, choose freely to humble themselves to that of a servant.
Today in the gospel, Jesus calls himself a king, and at the same time he identifies himself with the hungry, the thirsty, the lonely, the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned. He describes himself as a shepherd who will look after his scattered sheep. He says, "I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, and the sick I will heal." Jesus is not the kind of king who gets into a sleek limo, wave his hands, kisses a baby, and then returns to his palace the rest of the day. Jesus is called Emmanuel, 'God with us.' I want to give you an image to make this point hit home.
This week, I spent four days in Mexico City at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This is something that I do every year as a renewal of dedication of my priesthood to the Blessed Mother. This Marian shrine is not the easiest one to travel to on your own. I took another Korean priest with me to introduce him to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Earlier this year this priest took a trip to Cancun, and perhaps that is what he had in mind about Mexico City. I did warn him that it is nothing like Cancun. I told him that it is a city of 19 million people. There are no palm trees or clear blue skies; there are still plenty of 1964 version of Volkswagen Bugs on the road to help contribute to the thick smog that lay seige over the skies of the city. And the divide between the rich and the poor are very pronounced. Yet their fervor for their faith is unmatched anywhere.
Take for example the statues of Jesus that are in their churches. Unlike most American Catholic Churches where you have what I call 'Clean Jesus' who is free of blood and scourging marks, their Jesus are downright realistic if not over-realistic. Statues have lots of blood, wounds, and even have wigs on them. They will likely shock us because they are beyond our sensibilities. Yet that is how they want their Jesus the King to be portrayed. It reminds me of that scene from Mel Gibson's Passion of Christ where Pilate shows off the bloodied and tortured Jesus to the crowd crying out, "Ecce homo"--'Behold the man." The statues are usually behind a glass case because people like to kiss, to touch, and to place their hands near Jesus as if to ask Jesus to hold their hand through their suffering. Often times, I see the person crying as they suspend their hands over Jesus' heart and gives him a kiss.
There is something about Christ the King who suffered a great deal, that attracts us. On one hand, we are impressed by human leaders who humble themselves and go beyond the confines of their job description. Yet Christ the King goes even further; he is so intimately involved and intertwined with our personal lives. He personally walks with us from our conception through our baptism, confirmation, marriage, illness, and death. When we suffer, we know he walks with us and understands us because he himself underwent suffering. We know he is present here and now to our distress because daily at mass, Jesus says, "Take this all of you and drink from it: this is the cup of my blood...it will be shed for you"..." And at communion, we can touch this King, kiss him, and personally invite him into our heart. There are not that many heads of state whom you can attempt touch with your hand without first getting several body guards sitting on top of you. Christ the King humbled himself and bent down to wash the feet of his disciples. And he left us with this instruction:
"Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."
