Homily in Cathedral of Christ the King, Mullingar
It is a particular blessing for us all to be together today celebrating this great feast in the Cathedral of Christ the King in Mullingar, the first Cathedral in the Catholic world to be given that great title.
The choice of the good thief
In our Gospel, we witness the most startling image of kingship the world has ever seen. Jesus hangs on a cross, mocked by those who sneer, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” Above his head, the inscription reads: “This is the King of the Jews.” The cross on which he was put to death as a criminal was his throne; he wore a crown of thorns driven into his head, mixing torture and mockery. What a throne! What a crown! What a kingdom!
In this moment of apparent annihilation the true nature of Christ’s kingship is revealed. There are two criminals being crucified with him, one on either side. While one criminal joins the mockers, the other recognizes something the crowd cannot see. He begs; “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And Jesus responds with a promise that defines his reign forever: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
Here is the choice laid bare before us. One criminal sees only his immediate circumstances, the awful suffering he is bearing, his complete powerlessness and he responds with frustration and rage. The other sees beyond — he knows he is in the presence of God, that there is a kingdom, not of this world, that he does not deserve a part in, but he is encouraged to hope. Two responses; one is totally mired in the here and now, self-serving and turned in on itself. The other response looks out and recognises true goodness, sees love behind the awful sacrifice and dares to hope in a kingdom not of this world.
Who is king today? What do Christians say?
In what ways are we faced with choices about the kingdom in our day? We live in a culture that tells us that science, with its awesome capacity for research, for pushing the boundaries of all that we know about the universe and about all life within it, is the gold standard of human wisdom now; if some people, like us, choose to find meaning in other systems, drink at alternative wells of wisdom and spirituality, they should be free to do so and even encouraged if it gives them some personal consolation. But science is King.
Another dimension of contemporary culture that we all contend with is the idea that the Ego is the centre of the universe, and the greatest achievement is to live in unfettered freedom – to express myself however I want. ‘I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul’ is a line from a poem that can stir people. We often encourage the young to be the best that they can be; we tell them that if they set their mind on anything they can do it. Those ideas are good as far as they go but they can eat into the soul of a Christian because they are really saying to us; ‘I am King!’.
Since the very beginning Christians have confronted this temptation. The Church was born in the Roman Empire and so, in New Testament times they were used to hearing the great Roman claim: Caesar Kurios — Caesar is Lord or Caesar is God. That was their culture, that claimed their submission and allegiance. The answer of the Christians was very simple and uncompromising: Christos Kurios — Christ is Lord, not Caesar; Christ is God, not Caesar; Christ is King.
We Christians, today as before, are called to stand in this truth. Caesar is not King; Science is not king; the Ego is not king; I am not King. Christ is King.
The Two Standards
St. Ignatius of Loyola understood that this choice between kingdoms is not theoretical but intensely practical. In his Spiritual Exercises, he invites us to contemplate what he calls “The Two Standards”. It is a meditation that he invites everyone to do. He says; imagine a battlefield and on one hill we see Christ the Lord with his standard held high calling everyone to join him in his fight to win the whole world for the love of God the Father. On another hill stands Satan and he has a standard held high calling everyone to join him fighting against any submission to the rule of God.
This is a meditation that forces us to be honest about our allegiances.
On the one hand, Satan invites everybody to enjoy the good things of this world in abundance; eat, drink and be merry. He makes false promises of great feelings and a marvellous reputation and his followers will grow more and more satisfied with themselves and full of pride that leads to vice and sins of every kind.
Christ, on the other hand, promises that his closest followers in the battle will share poverty with him, free from the lure earthly riches; they will prefer the hidden honour of a virtuous life rather than public acclaim. With Jesus as their leader they will not need everybody to tell them how great they are and they will come to true humility which is the gateway to all the virtues and to the godly life of God’s kingdom.
When Christ is King in my life and yours what will it look like?
When Christ is King in our house we will not be constantly fighting each other over who gets what, with our egos constantly vying for notice and satisfaction. We will learn to speak the truth in charity.
When Christ is King in the classroom or the school in which I teach or in which I am a pupil, everybody will be cherished and respected; people with extra gifts and strengths will share with others who have less.
When Christ is King in our parish, the worship of God and the fostering of community will be paramount; everybody will be striving to put Christ in the first place even when that means stepping back and letting others have the limelight. Strangers and newcomers will be particularly welcome.
Saying that Jesus Christ is the Universal King involves a choice.
The good thief made his choice in the last moments of his life, and paradise opened before him. We have been given the gift of time to make that choice, to live it out, to grow deeper into it. The question remains: Which kingdom will we choose? Under which standard will we stand?
Today we come together in the Cathedral of Christ the King, marking the 100th birthday of his Feast and we are invited to stand with Christians in every age; Christos Kurios. Christ is Lord. Christ is King.
We pray for one another for the courage to live as citizens of that kingdom, today and every day, and then we will hear those words spoken to us as they were to that very blessed thief: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
ENDS