WORD FOR MISSION
Missionary reflection  on Sunday Liturgy

XXXIV Sunday in O.T. – Solemnity of Christ the King

Year C - 25.11.2007

2Samuel 5:1-3

Psalm 121

Colossians 1:12-20

Luke 23:35-43

Reflections

We hear a lot about the “Seven Words of Jesus on the Cross”. But there are also “seven words spoken to Jesus on the Cross” There are countless sermons and writings on the first group. But even the second gives us plenty of material for comments and reflections that are quite fruitful. In the Gospel of Luke we find four “words” addressed to Jesus by the leaders (v.35), the soldiers (vv.36-7), and the two criminals crucified with Him (vv.39-42). All these words are, in one way or another a challenge to Jesus: “Show who you are (the Christ, the King)..., save yourself, come down from the cross...” The words of the leaders, the soldiers and of one of the thieves are insulting, contemptuous, merciless. It is like the old cliché: kicking a man when he’s down – while showing a total inability to understand the identity of Christ.

The inscription over the head of Jesus speaks for itself: “This is the King of the Jews” (v.38). It actually states the full truth about that condemnation. But who is able to decipher it; who understands the fulness of that truth? For the religious and political leaders they are words of scorn, a joke; but for God and for the sincere Christian they are words of truth, stating precisely the identity of that mysterious man on the cross! The plaque is a challenge throughout the centuries: take it or leave it; believe or deny! With opposite consequences! “The people stood by and watched” (v.35): silent, perplexed, both curious and impotent, not understanding what was happening, not knowing what to do... but shortly afterwards, when the spectacle ends in death, the crowds move away beating their breasts (v.48).

It is possible, however, to grasp the meaning of that death from the words of the second criminal, the famous “good thief”, the only one who recognises the meaning of the inscription and the identity of Jesus. He does not ask for a dramatic liberation, but only to remain close to Him during the concluding part of his life: “Remember me...” (v.42). A request with an immediate answer: “Today you will be with me in paradise” (v.43). Jesus has only words of full salvation: today, in paradise! The silences of Jesus, his gesture of forgiveness, the few words (to the Father, his mother, his friends) reveal the mystery of a king of splendour and power, but who ends up on a cross. His royalty is strange: it has confounded Herod, Pilate, Tiberias, the leaders, the people... A Royalty that is hard to understand, and even harder to accept and to share. A royalty that is often misunderstood and misinterpreted! But for those who do accept it, it is a full, true Royalty that gives meaning to life. (*)

The mystery of that death lies in the reply to the ‘logical’ questions of all: “Why don’t you come down from the cross? Why don’t you clarify, settle everything with a miracle? You have performed many astounding miracles for others... If you came down from the cross, everyone would believe in you...” But what belief would it be? “In a strong and powerful God, a God who defeats and humiliates His enemies, who gaves back as good as he gets, responding blow for blow to the provocations of the wicked, who arouses fear and respect, who is never joking... This is not the God of Jesus! If he came down from the corss he would betray his mission: he would give credence to the false idea of God that the spiritual guides of the people have in mind. It would confirm that the true God is the one that the powerful ones on this earth have always adored because he is like them: powerful, arrogant, oppressive, vindictive... human! This powerful God is incompatible with the one that Jesus revealed to us from the Cross: the God who loves everyone, even those who fight against him; who always forgives, who saves, who, for love, allows himself to be defeated” (F. Armellini).

The reflection has immediate consequences for the mission field: Which God do we proclaim? Which face of God reveals the mission that we are carrying out: a God of poverty and weakness or a god in search of recognition and power? This one would be in tune with human logic and with most of the kings of history. In missionary methodology there are sometimes concessions, there is a fear to proclaim, with words and deeds, a God who loses, who pardons, suffers, is defeated... Sometimes the provision and abundance of material goods threatens to obscure the message, making it no longer ‘transparent’. A mission carried out with few means, that proclaims the God of poverty, of humility, of expulsion, persecution, destruction... Because this is the kind of logic of the King who conquers and reigns from the cross! This kind of King upsets our plans, because he demands a change of life, readiness to forgive, openness to everyone, the giving of more time, prospects that are not rosy. The conditions are very demanding, but with Him, the success of the Mission is assured.!

The Pope’s words

(*)  “It is not power, but love that redeems us! This is God’s sign: he himself is love. How often we wish that God would show himself stronger… God, who became a lamb, tells us that the world is saved by the Crucified One, not by those who crucified him. The world is redeemed by the patience of God. It is destroyed by the impatience of man”.

Benedict XVI

Homily at the start of his Pontificate, 24 Aprile 2005

In the footsteps of Missionaries

- 25/11: Solemnity of Jesus Christ, Universal King.

- 26/11: St. Leonard of Porto Maurizio (1676-1751), a Franciscan priest and itinerant, who preached missions to the people. His ideas inspired the Way of the Cross.

- 26/11: Bl. James Alberione (1884-1971), Founder of the Pauline Family (with almost a dozen Institutes) to increase and foster the presence of the Gospel in the means of social communication, and to foster vocations.

- 26/11: Cardinal Charles Lavigerie (1825-1892), Bishop of Algiers, Founder of the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers).

- 29/11 and days around it: Bl. Edward Burden (+1588), George Errington (+1596) and companions; St. Cuthbert Mayne (+1577), St. Edmund Campion (+1581) and companions; Bl. Richard Langley (+1586) and many other priests and lay people martyred in England during the reign of Elizabeth I.

- 29/11: Bl. Denis Berthelot and Redento Rodríguez, Carmelites, who were enslaved and then martyred by Moslems (+1638) at Aceh (Sumatra, Indonesia).

- 30/11: St. Andrew, Apostole, brother of Simon Peter. He preached the Gospel in Greece, where he was crucified. Patron of Greece and Scotland.

- 1/12: Bl. Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916), priest, killed at Tamanrasset, in the Algerian desert, by a band of raiders. He is an example of mission, interreligious dialogue and love of the Holy Eucharist.

- 1/12: Bl ClementineAnuarite Nengapeta (1940-1964), a nun in Congo (Democratic Republic) who was killed at Isiro during the Simba rebellion. She is a martyr for purity and forgiveness.

- 1/12: International Day against AIDS, instituted by UNO and WHO in 1988.

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Compiled by Fr. Romeo Ballan, mcci - Comboni Missionaries (Verona)

Translated by Fr. J.M. Troy, mccj

Website:    www.euntes.net    “The Word for Mission”

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