Glory to Come
THE SOLEMNITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE
Christ will come in glory to bring all humanity together. This is the main idea of what we are celebrating today as we end this liturgical year. The Church reminds us that Our Lord Jesus Christ is the King of the universe. “When he comes at the end of time to judge the living and the dead, the glorious Christ will reveal the secret disposition of hearts and will render to each man according to his works and according to his acceptance or refusal of grace” (CCC, 682). The glory of God will be revealed when all things are under His love. In the readings for today, we see the different characteristics on how Our Lord rules as a King. Jesus is the King who guides, sanctifies and restores all the things that exist.
Christ the King guides us. By virtue of our baptism, we became sons and daughters of God. We have the capability to cry out to God- “Abba, Father.” This grace we received enables us to share in the belonging of God’s family. On the first reading today, we’ve heard the story of how God chose David to be the shepherd and commander of his Chosen People and so Our Lord had been chosen to be shepherd and commander who guides all the human beings. This was put into fruition through His passion and death in which He redeemed us and delivered us from our sins.
Christ the King restores us. In Christ the fullness of God dwells. He delivered us from the domination of evil by dwelling among us through His incarnation. With that, we can see ourselves for who we truly are as human persons. In Jesus as King, we are enlightened that a true ruler knows his people well, how personal he is to his people and how he wishes to be with them always. In the second reading, we’ve heard an account of who Jesus is. “Through him and for him all things, including the angels, were made. Christ is our redeemer, by his cross delivering us from the devil and forgiving our sins. He is our sanctifier, making us fit for heaven. He is the head of the Church, which is his body. He is the first to rise from the dead. He is, as today’s feast says simply, the King.”
Christ the King sanctifies us. Through His passion, He sanctifies us with His Precious Blood that flowed on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. He continuously sanctifies with the Sacraments. The baptism that gives us identity, the Eucharist that nourishes us, the Confession that liberates us from the bondage of sin and such. Our Lord wills what is best for us which is our salvation and we can only attain it on how we accept and cooperate with His grace. We can see this in the Gospel we’ve heard when the repentant criminal accepts the truth that Jesus is the Christ and He replied "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Through Him, with Him and in Him we are guided, restored, and sanctified under His Mighty Kingship that is personal, passionate and perfect. Our Lord Jesus Christ as King of the Universe will bring all humanity together and everything will be magnified and glorified under the love of God.
