First Reading – 2 Samuel
5:1-3 ©
Responsorial Psalm –
Psalm 121(122):1-5
Second Reading –
Colossians 1:12-20 ©
Gospel Acclamation – Mark
11:10
The Gospel According to Luke
23.35 - 43 ©
Christ the King
Beware
the folly of kings, beware of their pride and their vanity.
Human
beings were not made to be ruled by tyrants.
Remember
this!
You
were conceived in the womb of salvation; it is pointless to seek that which has
already found you.
Open
your eyes.
Pay
no attention to what the psalmist says: all this talk of secure cities and
ramparts and thrones. God has nothing to do with these.
God,
creator of the universe; is not a tribal deity.
God,
creator of the universe; does not belong to one people, one nation, one world
or one galaxy.
God
is not a king, God does not dwell behind a walled city.
God
is infinite and eternal and beyond our comprehension, and yet God is with us,
within us; the being through whom we have our existence, in whom we came into
being, God is everywhere..
It
is right to give our thanks and praise.
The
thanks that we give for our own well-being reflects a hope we should foster for
all people, for the fullness of humanity.
Listen
to the Apostle.
He
see in Jesus the image of the unseen God, of God the creator of the Universe,
the unknowable, the un-nameable God.
The
Apostle tells us what the writers of John’s Gospel affirm, that all things were
created in Christ, the Word of God, who Jesus of Nazareth is a reflection of.
All
things redound to God, all things and beings are created through God and for
Gods purposes; all principalities and all powers, all of the poor, all of the the
alienated and all of those who suffer.
God
holds all things together in unity.
Remember
this, always keep this in the forefront of your mind:
God
is not a king, a prince or a lord.
The
Church, following in the way Jesus taught, can never be the extension of a
royal dynasty, the Chruch is not an empire, it is not a feudal kingdom. The
Church is a society of servants.
Listen!
A
person cannot expect a reward in this life, for having lived a good life.
No
reward shall be forth coming.
One
person may experience a long life, surrounded by family and friends, admired by
their community, living out their days in peace, and abundance. While another
person may be reviled by their community, abandoned by their friends, framed
for criminal offences and executed for crimes they did not commit.
There
is no divine plan concerning what happens to us in this life.
God,
the creator of the universe, God has made each of us free, and all of creation
is free from divine coercion. The divine plan does not touch us in this world,
it only promises to deliver us to another world when we are done with this one.
That
is the way of things.
Believe
in God’s promise.
The
things we enjoy, and the things we suffer here, they are temporary; this is the
promise of God.
We
have no choice but to endure the things that come our way, or enjoy them, such
as the case might be.
Our
experience of this world is ephemeral.
A
person may live their entire life outside of the bounds of good society and
wisdom may still come to them at the end.
Listen
to the voice of wisdom when you hear it.
Wisdom
is wisdom regardless of the voice that speaks it.
Truth
is truth, and lies are lies. Attenuate yourself to the differences between them.
Reflect
on this:
Do
not make the mistake of believing that God saved one of the criminals who died
next to Jesus, and condemned the other.
Both
men are children of God, and beloved by the creator.
A
person is not saved because of their ability to recognize the divinity in
Jesus, we are saved because God loves us and made us to be saved, there is no
other causal factor than love.
The
divine plan encompasses everyone; this is the good news that Jesus preached.
First Reading – 2 Samuel
5:1-3 ©
They Anointed David King
of Israel
All
the tribes of Israel then came to David at Hebron. ‘Look’ they said ‘we are
your own flesh and blood. In days past when Saul was our king, it was you who
led Israel in all their exploits; and the Lord said to you, “You are the man
who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you shall be the leader of Israel.”’
So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a pact
with them at Hebron in the presence of the Lord, and they anointed David king
of Israel.
Responsorial Psalm –
Psalm 121(122):1-5
They
filled me with joy when they said,
“We will go to the house of the Lord.”
Now
our feet are standing
within your gates, Jerusalem.
Jerusalem,
built as a city,
whole and self-contained:
there
the tribes have gone up,
the tribes of the Lord –
the
witness of Israel,
to praise the Lord’s name.
For
there are the thrones of justice,
the thrones of the house of David.
Pray
for the peace of Jerusalem:
“Safety for those who care for you,
peace
inside your walls,
security within your ramparts!”
For
my brethren and those near to me I will say
“Peace be upon you.”
For
the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will call blessings upon you.
Second Reading –
Colossians 1:12-20 ©
The Father has created a
place for us in the kingdom of the Son that he loves
We
give thanks to the Father who has made it possible for you to join the saints
and with them to inherit the light.
Because
that is what he has done: he has taken us out of the power of darkness and
created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son that he loves, and in him, we
gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.
He
is the image of the unseen God and the first-born of all creation, for in him
were created all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and
everything invisible, Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers – all things
were created through him and for him.
Before
anything was created, he existed, and he holds all things in unity.
Now
the Church is his body, he is its head.
As
he is the Beginning, he was first to be born from the dead, so that he should
be first in every way; because God wanted all perfection to be found in him and
all things to be reconciled through him and for him, everything in heaven and
everything on earth, when he made peace by his death on the cross.
Gospel Acclamation – Mark
11:10
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessings
on him who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessings
on the coming kingdom of our father David!
Alleluia!
The Gospel According to
Luke 23.35 - 43 ©
'Today you will be with
me in paradise'
The
people stayed there before the cross watching Jesus. As for the leaders, they
jeered at him. ‘He saved others,’ they said ‘let him save himself if he is the
Christ of God, the Chosen One.’ The soldiers mocked him too, and when they
approached to offer vinegar they said, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save
yourself.’ Above him there was an inscription: ‘This is the King of the Jews.’
One
of the criminals hanging there abused him. ‘Are you not the Christ?’ he said.
‘Save yourself and us as well.’ But the other spoke up and rebuked him. ‘Have
you no fear of God at all?’ he said. ‘You got the same sentence as he did, but
in our case we deserved it: we are paying for what we did. But this man has
done nothing wrong. Jesus,’ he said ‘remember me when you come into your
kingdom.’ ‘Indeed, I promise you,’ he replied ‘today you will be with me in
paradise.’
Thirty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary
Time (Year C) - Christ the King
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