A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 5, n. 52)
Solemnity of Christ the King, Year C – November 25, 2007
“Christ the King, A Sign of Hope”
BIBLE READINGS
II Sm 5:1-3 // Col 1:12-20 // Lk 23:35-43
N.B. Series 5 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year C from the perspective of the First Reading. For another set of reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year C, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US and open Series 2.
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
When I was a young girl, I saw the movie version of the Broadway musical, “The King and I” by Rodgers and Hammerstein. I really enjoyed the film, especially its excellent music. The King of Siam, portrayed by Yul Bryner, was fascinating. I chuckled at the scene when the King was dictating a letter to the English governess. In that letter addressed to the President of the United States of America, he was offering a gift of several pairs of elephants. The King suggested that the elephants be released in the forests where they would rapidly multiply and soon be of great service as beasts of burden to the American people. On October 5, 2004, I went to the Canadian consulate in Los Angeles, California to apply for a visitor’s visa since I was scheduled in November to conduct a liturgy workshop for our PDDM Sisters in Toronto. I arrived early at the Canadian consulate on Flower Street to file my application, but my papers needed about four hours to be processed. To while away the time, I headed off to the nearby Los Angeles Public Library where there was a special exhibit on “American Archives”. The historical documents on display were exceedingly interesting. I experienced one of the most marvelous and educational moments of my life. I was awed by the letter of Queen Leilani of Hawaii addressed to the American Congress requesting respect and integrity for her nation, which were not heeded. I read with great interest the speech to be read by the American President “just in case” the first American astronauts who landed on the moon would not be able to take off and be marooned there forever. Above all, I was spell bound when I came across a grainy, black and white photograph of the King of Siam (a real historical character!), pictured with a boy prince, one of his many, many sons. Moreover, I was overwhelmed with delight when I saw the letter that the King of Siam dictated to his governess Anna, graciously offering the gift of elephants to the American president. Equally fascinating was the cordial letter written by President Abraham Lincoln gently refusing the elephants, which would not survive the harsh climate of the American forests. President Lincoln, however, accepted with gratitude the other gifts: an ornamented dagger and the nice photograph of the King of Siam with his little prince. As I surveyed those historical documents in display at the Los Angeles Public Library, I experienced greater fascination for the King of Siam. He had a seemingly “hard front”, but was essentially a benevolent sovereign and wise ruler of his people.
On this last Sunday of the liturgical year, we are invited as Church to contemplate the benevolent King par excellence – Jesus Christ, the Lord of all creation and the Good Shepherd who came to save and unify all nations. The figure of David in the Old Testament as Shepherd-King helps us to delve into the meaning and uniqueness of the “anointed of Yahweh” - Christ the King.
As a young shepherd, David was anointed by Samuel, the prophet of Yahweh, and was destined to rule as king in some future time (cf. I Sm 16). After the death of King Saul and his sons, the members of his tribe of Judah anointed him – a great military leader - to be their king (cf. II Sm 2). In this Sunday’s Old Testament reading (II Sm 5:1-3), his regal power became more extensive for all the tribes of Israel had chosen him to be their sovereign. The elders prevailed upon him, saying: “Here we are, your bone and flesh. In days past, when Saul was our king, it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back. And the Lord said to you, You shall shepherd my people and shall be the commander of Israel.” David and the elders of the various tribes made a covenant before God at Hebron. They anointed him King of the twelve tribes of Israel. It was a great moment in the life of King David and the entire nation. The great military hero was being consecrated to be the caring shepherd of God’s chosen people. A thousand years before the birth of Jesus Christ, David tried to embody in his person the great ideal of kingship longed for by the Israelite nation.
The liturgical scholar, Adrian Nocent describes the special character of a king in Israel: “He was not a king such as the pagans had. The people of Israel were God’s people and belonged to him alone, so that the king’s role could only be to direct and lead the people for the time they were entrusted to him. The king was thus meant to be a manifestation on earth of God’s presence and power. If the king wins a victory, it is God who really wins it. At the same time, his function is a sacred one, for he is the anointed of the Lord. God manifests his presence to his people through the person of the king; through him, too, God manifests his sovereignty, power, and glory. He is there as a sign of hope.”
The idealized concept of the king, however, remained elusive in the history of Israel. The human kings were often abusive, wounded or fragile, and showed a frequent disregard for the divine sovereignty, which the prophets vehemently denounced. The biblical scholar, Eugene Maly comments: “But even the bitter experience of human kingship was not without value. It brought home to the more religious persons of Israel the unparalleled character of Yahweh’s kingship. He was all that they were not. And because of him the people could look forward to an end-time king who would fulfill all the promise that those ancient tribes hoped for in seeking a king. That end-time king is described in the Old Testament in what are called the royal messianic prophecies. He is presented as a descendant of David, the one king who was thought to have realized in some way the hope of ancient Israel … In Jesus’ time the hope for the coming of just such a king burned brightly. And in the time of political subjection, the Jewish people yearned for the independence and greatness they associated with David’s reign a thousand years earlier.”
Against the Old Testament yearning for the advent of the “end-time king”, prefigured in King David, Jesus Christ appeared in salvation history as the ultimate “King” and the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies. Jesus, of the line of David, is the true King, not in political-military terms, but according to God’s saving plan. Eugene Maly explains: “The evidence is conclusive that Jesus avoided the title of king during his ministry because he did not wish to be understood as fulfilling a political role. Rather, he spoke openly and often of the kingdom, or reign, of his Father to which he was bearing witness and which he was inaugurating. That kingdom was, above all, a spiritual one, but affecting the whole of human society … What Jesus’ kingship really means is brought out in forceful terms in the letter to the Colossians, our second reading. He is the Lord of all things, of principalities and powers, of all creation. This is the kind of king we praise and glorify and to whom we give ourselves in the complete surrender of faith. This kingship is something far greater that the ancient Hebrew tribes could possibly have anticipated.”
The kingship of Jesus Christ is unique. He reigns from the throne of the cross. And in his reign and triumph on the cross, he opens the doors of paradise to those who recognize him as the crucified King of all. Indeed, Christ’s kingship is intensely eschatological. It is deeply accomplished in his triumph over evil and death and his glorification at the right hand of the Father, and we look forward to the definitive coming of his kingdom at the end time. The crucified Lord is also the “king of eschatological glory”.
Harold Buetow concludes: “Clearly the liturgical celebration of Christ the King reveals the tension between a king of shreds and patches and a king of eschatological glory. It is precisely the kind of tension most appropriate as we stand on the threshold of a new liturgical year and look back upon the old one. In the contradictory images of this strange king we see clearly the personification of a kingdom that has come, but is not yet fully revealed. This king rules us in the realm of already … but not yet.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
What is the meaning of “anointing” in the Old Testament? What is the implication of David being “anointed” king of Israel? What is the mission of the “anointed” king? How is he a sign of the presence and power of God? Was King David a “sign of hope” for the people of Israel?
2 Why is Jesus Christ the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies and expectations for the end-time king? How did he disillusion the expectations of many of his countrymen? Why is the kingship of Christ unique? Why did he fulfill his kingship on the throne of the cross?
3 Are we willing to subject ourselves to Christ the King? Do we embrace his kingship of love and sacrifice, not of political power and domination? Do we relish the “already … but not yet” character of his kingdom? Do we look forward to the coming of his kingdom in glory at the end-time?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
(Adapted from the Preface of Christ the King and a Prayer by St. Bernard of Clairvaux)
Leader: Father,
all-powerful and ever-living God,
we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks.
You anointed Jesus Christ, your only Son,
with the oil of gladness,
as the eternal priest and universal king.
As priest he offered his life on the altar of the cross
and redeemed the human race by this one perfect sacrifice of peace.
As king he claims dominion over all creation,
that he may present to you, his almighty Father,
an eternal and universal kingdom:
a kingdom of truth and life,
a kingdom of holiness and grace,
a kingdom of justice, love and peace.
Assembly: Blessed are they in whom Jesus will reign for ever,
for they shall reign with him,
and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Oh, that Jesus, out of the love he has for his people,
may remember me, a sinner, when he comes into his kingdom!
Oh, that he may deign to come and save me
on the day when he delivers up his kingdom to his God and Father,
so that I may see the joy of his chosen ones
and rejoice in the gladness of his people.
Then I too shall be able to praise him together with his inheritance.
Jesus is my Lord.
I keep myself for him since I acknowledge his rights over me.
To me he is God, to me he is the Lord,
and I declare: I will have no king but the Lord Jesus!
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Lk 23:42)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Meditate on the personal meaning and challenge of Christ’s kingship for you. In your life of service to others, especially the poor and underprivileged, seek to promote Christ’s kingdom of justice, love and peace.
ACTION PLAN: To help us proclaim with greater zeal the beauty and saving grace of Christ’s kingship, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR (Vol. 3, n. 52): A Weekly Pastoral Tool.
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
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