34th Sunday - Feast of Christ the Universal King
The Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe
“Hail Redeemer, King divine, Priest and Lamb the throne is thine”. One of the oldest hymns that I know and love so much. I love singing the chorus with as much gusto – if not maybe the best tune – as possible. The hymn lifted me up with its words and with its music. Singing amidst a congregation always made me feel connected: connected to them and connected to my Lord.
Its very chorus reminded me that I was a part of a much bigger community, one that was, and is, worldwide, international and stretching across time, space and heaven.
“Angels, saints and nations sing: Praise be Jesus Christ our King: Lord of life, earth sky and sea. King of love on Calvary.”
A community that was, and forever would be, joined in its single purpose: to love and serve our Universal King, our Lord Jesus Christ: our Shepherd.
This is a hymn that always makes me feel secure: secure in myself, secure in my faith and secure in and among my parish and church community. We are all there as one body, joined together in our faith, in our prayers, in our singing, in the declaration of who we are and what we believe. This is one of my favourite feast days of the year.
But it is also one that comes with a reminder that it is not enough to simply come together and sing in worship and praise. It is not enough to offer up our prayers in splendid isolation, knowing or feeling that through this practice we will be joined forever to our God our Father and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. No
It is Jesus himself who says very plainly and clearly to each one of us that he expects and demands that we put our prayerful ways into action. He wants us to do stuff: to be active and engaged in the practice and demonstration of our faith. He wants and demands that we show through practical means what we understand God’s love to be. He wants us to mirror this love in how we treat each other, in how we deal with our neighbours. He speaks of feeding the hungry, giving water to those who thirst, welcoming in the stranger and offering clothing to those who are naked, visiting those who are sick or are in prison.
I don’t know about you but I have often fond this list to be quite demanding. I mean how often am I likely to see someone naked in need of clothing or in prison needing a visit or even thirsty and in need of a drink. It all seemed to be a stretched beyond me. Until now.
Now we live in times we have never experienced before, certainly not at this time of the year. Now we live in times where some people are still in the prisons of their own homes, isolated, trapped, some lost and bewildered by what is occurring all about them. We have so many people without food to eat or water to drink, who are struggling to clothe themselves and or their children. And we have countless people who are sick, who are unwell, who are suffering because of COVID and the fear related to it.
How do we stay a people of action, of faith-in-action, ensuring that no one sheep is lost or left untended but that all are seen, are known and are cared for by us as representatives of God our Father and of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe?
On this special weekend, we need to celebrate our faith in and with action. We need to let our King rule our minds, our hearts and our wills until a universal peace is achieved. We need to ask our King to guide us all, the aged, the lowly and the youth “… ‘til in peace each nation rings with thy praises, King of Kings.”
I know that it is hard what with all of the restrictions we still face in meeting, singing, praying together and in coming together in any sort of numbers, but I also know that there are many ways in which we can reach out to others: those in a less secure place than us maybe.
If we repent of our sins, we will be with Him, our Universal King, in Paradise. If we truly want to live the love of God in our lives then we will reach out in every way possible to those less fortunate than we are and show them this love, through our actions and deeds.
Bidding Prayers
1. That all peoples recognise that the Lord is their King and live their lives full of love, care, consideration and charity. Lord in your mercy
2. That we repent of our sins and recognise that Christ is our Saviour. Lord in your mercy
3. That all nations come together in a spirit of peace and harmony and seek ways to work together to benefit one and all. Lord in your mercy
4. That our young people are able to grow through their preparations for their sacrament of Confirmation to become active, honest and productive messengers of the Holy Spirit. Lord in your mercy
5. That those suffering from illness, disability or loneliness may feel united with their brothers and sisters in Christ the Universal King. Lord in your mercy
6. That those who have died recently, especially Geoffrey Williams. Joseph Kelly and Maureen Concannon may find eternal rest with Christ, their King, Lord in your mercy
7. That Mary our Mother may join her prayers with ours as we pray together, Hail Mary, full of