Rich Detrick – Page 17 – St. Patrick's Catholic Church

November 21, 2021 Christ the King

Introduction

Our gospel for this feast of Christ the King portrays the ultimate confrontation: the secular powers of this world represented by Pontius Pilate confronts the power of God in the second person of the Blessed Trinity made flesh.

Here Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Palestine, stands face-to-face with the Lord of the universe.
Here the might and wealth of all secular powers and governments stands face-to-face with the might and power of the Eternal Word, through him all things were made.

Gospel

Jesus before Pilate

The dialogue that follows is significant.

It’s early in the morning, Pilate may have been a bit agitated and Jesus would have been exhausted from the abuse of the Roman soldiers.
However, Jesus is not about to let this moment of his trial pass by.
Jesus speaks to the heart of Pontius Pilate
Some of the gospel narratives record that Jesus remained silent.
That is certainly not the case in Saint John’s gospel for today.
Pilate begins the interrogation by stating the charges: “are you the king of the Jews?”
Pilate is laying the groundwork for the capital offense of treason and sedition.
Jesus’ response is strange. He asks Pilate where he got this idea by saying, “do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?”
Pilate responds by telling him that the Jewish authorities have accused him of pretending to be their Messiah and King of Israel.
Pilate then inquires, “what have you done to deserve this?”

Kingdom not of this world

The conversation takes an interesting twist. Jesus doesn’t answer the question. His reply is negative.” My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to you.”
This must have seemed to be a strange and troubling response.
There are indications that Pilate may have been very superstitious.
In that response, Jesus clarifies the nature of his kingdom.
It is not a political kingdom that can be identified by a particular time or place.
It is a kingdom based upon divine power and unlike any secular human experience of authority or power.
Pilate pressures him, “then you are a king?”
Yes, in a sense.
Jesus’ followers are not subjects in a kingdom but persons who hear the truth and follow it. It is in this sense, not in a political sense, that Jesus can be understood as king and possessing a kingdom.

The truth

Finally, we come to the climax of the conversation.

Jesus who is on trial then boldly challenges the judge, Pontius Pilate: “I came into the World to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice”.
Implicitly He challenges Pilate,” will you listen to me and accept the truth?”

Pilate’s response begs the question “what is truth?”

Hear the truth

Jesus challenge to Pilate challenges every single human being, “everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.”

The implication is that if you do not recognize and love the truth you will not hear the voice of truth which is Jesus himself.
Perhaps the reason why the world is in such a mess is that so many do not love the truth.

Application

The Liturgical year

This is an appropriate gospel for the conclusion of our liturgical year.

I like to think of our Year of Worship as one giant yearly procession beginning with Advent and our anticipation of Jesus’ coming at the end of time, Christmas, Lent, The Resurrection, reflection on discipleship and now the culmination with Christ the King.
This final celebration offers each of us a challenge.

Lordship of Jesus

The early Christians use the word “Kyrios” to describe Jesus as Lord.

It was a subversive title that was given only to the emperor. The Christians applied it to Jesus.
The Latin word for “Lord” is “Dominus.”
It sounds a lot like the word dominate.
Actually today’s gospel gives us the opportunity to reflect upon this question:
Is Jesus the Lord of my life?
Does Jesus dominate every aspect of my life?
Of course it’s easy to give Jesus one hour each week here in church.
However, is Jesus the Lord of every aspect of my life?
Is he present in my family; is he present in my work; is he present in my entertainment; is he present when I relax?

Kingdom of God

The kingdom of God, or God‘s vision for the human family, is present only to the degree that the kingdom of God is present in me.

If God reigns over me, then the kingdom of God is present.
If the Lordship of Jesus does not reign over my life, then the kingdom of God is not present.
Remember what Jesus said, “my kingdom is not of this world, if it were my followers would prevent me from being handed over to you.”
Jesus’ kingdom is not a political kingdom nor is it a kingdom of time and space.
God rules over the cosmos! God rules over humanity.
The question remains: “does God reign reign over me”
We can recognize God‘s kingdom because it is a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace.

Conclusion

As we continue with today’s solemn celebration of Christ the king, let us pray that Jesus may capture our hearts and that his kingdom may reign over us and ultimately over all human hearts.

STEWARDSHIP 2021 33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Introduction

How do you imagine that the world will end?

Maybe it will be hit by a comet or an asteroid and will explode in fire
Maybe it will explode from its core because of some kind of chain reaction.
Maybe some foolish human activity will trigger something and it will explode

If you had the opportunity, would you really want to know how the world will end and when that will happen?

Gospel

Those questions are the basis for today’s gospel.

Description of the Temple

Jesus and his disciples are sitting under an olive tree on the Mount of Olives.

The Mount of Olives is located across the Kedron Valley east of the temple.
The disciples were admiring the size and the beauty of the temple of Jerusalem.
Even by modern standards it was a spectacular structure.
The courtyard of the temple measured two football fields wide by four football fields long.
It sat on a 90-foot-high foundation.
Surrounding the perimeter of the courtyard was a colonnade that rose three stories above the foundation.
Located in the center of the courtyard was the sanctuary.
The sanctuary was a rectangular building that measured 15 stories high and was faced with white marble and gold.
The historian Josephus wrote that when the sun rose in the east and shown on the temple, it literally glowed with the fire of God.

The end of the world

Jesus tells them, “you better look at it now because before long not one stone will be left upon another. It will be reduced to a pile of rubble.”

The obvious question is when is this going to happen.
Jesus then tells them that the world will come to an end in a giant fiery cataclysm.
They must have been stunned by his words as they gazed at the Temple lying before them.

When?

It is obvious from Jesus’ response that the answer is a secret locked in the heart of God the Father.

Stewardship

The gospel today reminds us of two things.

Reminders

First it reminds us that no matter when or how, the world will someday come to an end.

It will not go on forever.
Similarly, our world will come to an end when we die.

Second, it reminds us that everything is gift and belongs to God.

The day will come when we have to return everything back to God.
God gives us things to use, but they don’t belong to us.
They belong to him.
Even our very life belongs to God.
The day will come when we will need to surrender life itself back to God in the moment of our death.

Everything is a gift from God

This weekend our parish continues to reflect upon stewardship and God’s place in our life.

At the heart of stewardship is the principle that all we have comes from God.
Each of us is made in his image and likeness.
Our life comes from him. In a very real way, we are not our own; we belong to God.
Everything that we have comes from him.
That means the things we have are not our own either.
We really do not own them; we just steward them.
God gives us things to use.
Even our talents and our abilities are not our own. They have been given to us by God as he formed our personality.
Think about it this way:
1.) it is by God’s grace that I have the talents and ability to do my job.
2.) it is by God’s grace that I have my health in order to do my job and provide for my family and their needs.
3.). It is even by God’s grace that I have a job.

Love means giving and receiving

God provides for us and gives us so much because he loves us.

All he asks is that in gratitude we make a return to him.
Love requires that a person gives.
Think about this for a moment: within our families if all we do is take, take, take that really isn’t love.
To the contrary, love requires that we give as well as receive.

Abundance vs. Scarcity

Unfortunately, most of us hear the word “Stewardship”, we think that it means, “Give the Church more money “.

That’s really not what stewardship is all about.
Stewardship is about God‘s abundance and our trust in that abundance.
Last week we heard stories about two widows who gave everything they had because they trusted in God‘s abundance.
However, most of us live our lives on the level of scarcity.
In other words, there may not be enough to take care of my needs and the needs of my family.
God, on the other hand who is the Creator of everything and Lord of all exists on the level of abundance.
God can never run out of things; God can never run out of good things to give us because he is abundance itself.
God will never say, “sorry, I can’t help you. I’ve already given away all of my store of good health or wisdom or financial resources to your neighbor. So, you will need to try again later!”
God‘s abundance is there in its fullness for each and every one of us for the asking.
Because God is good to us and blesses us from his abundance we choose to give back to him out of gratitude.
In other words, stewardship is about giving back to God what is already his out of gratitude for his blessings.

Stewardship Commitment

This weekend is Stewardship Commitment weekend in our parish.

In a moment I’m going to ask you to consider making a commitment to the parish for the coming year by filling out a pledge or intention card.
Be mindful of God‘s generosity to you and the blessings that you have received.
Let your commitment to Saint Patrick’s be a sign of your gratitude to the Lord for his goodness.

Commitment cards

Commitment cards and pens and pencils are located along the center aisle.
Let’s take a moment to pray together the stewardship prayer.
Turn the card over and at the top fill out your name address and necessary information and then prayerfully consider what your commitment to Saint Patrick’s will be for this coming year.
Consider automatic withdraw.
Place the completed intention or pledge card in the collection as the basket is passed. We will place those in front of the altar as a sign to the Lord of your commitment.
Please return any unused commitment cards as well as pens and pencils to the center aisle.