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Institute for Homiletics

A Collaboration of The Catholic Foundation and the University of Dallas

Solemnity

The King of Hearts

Both the Jesus who stood before Pilate on his way to a brutal death and the  Jesus who will come as the firstborn of the dead and ruler of all can seem too far  away to make much of an impression on our lives. But holding these two images  together can speak a profound truth, offering our lives meaning and value. 

In John’s Gospel Jesus is the revelation of the Father, the Word of God, communicating who God is and what God wants to do for us: to bring us eternal life. The  image of Christ the king was one way of communicating that in Jesus, the Creator  of all and everything began to reign in a way that “does not belong to this world.” 

The use of power in our world has been an endless story of one individual,  family, group, or country using its strength, wealth, and talents to hold sway over  as many as possible. To do so, any and all means of force and violence were often  legitimate. But this is not the way of Christ or those who follow him. 

“For this was I born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth”  (John 18:37). What truth? That God so loved the world that the Father gave his  only Son, “so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have  eternal life” (3:16). That’s the foundation of this kingdom and its use of power.  That’s the plan. Do you want in? 

Consider/Discuss

  • Do you think of yourself as one who “belongs to the truth” to which  Jesus testifies? 
  • What are some ways you try to listen to his voice? 

Responding to the Word

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you spoke and the world came into being. You  spoke in the fullness of time and the Word became flesh. You continue to speak  so all who listen may be born into your kin-dom through the power of your Holy  Spirit. Help us to listen for and obey your voice.

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Scripture Study for

The depiction of the coming and arrival of the Son of Man is colored with both  mythic and royal tones. The figure comes with the clouds, which are the most  frequent accompaniment of a theophany or revelation of God. He comes riding  the clouds as one would ride a chariot. He is presented before God in the manner of courtly decorum. The one who sits on the throne is called the “Ancient  One.” This implies that God is the one who has endured and, presumably, will  continue to endure. In other words, God is everlasting. The mysterious Son of  Man is installed by God as ruler over the entire universe. 

Jesus is first identified as the anointed one (the Christ) and then described as  such. He is a witness who faithfully mediates to others the message that he has  received from God. He is the firstborn, the one to whom belong both priority of  place and sovereignty. He is the ruler of all the kings of the world. These epithets  sketch a “high” Christology, one that emphasizes the more-than-human aspects  of Jesus. The final statement reinforces this more-than-human character. Alpha  and Omega connote totality, suggesting that Jesus comprises everything that is;  he transcends the limits of time; he is the almighty, the ruler of all things. 

For the Jewish people, King of the Jews was a messianic title. Pilate considered it a challenge to Roman political authority. The Roman asks about a political  reality that may have a religious dimension, while Jesus speaks about a religious  truth that certainly has political implications. By describing his kingdom through  negative contrast, Jesus has indirectly admitted that he is a king. His answers  show that both the Jewish leaders and the Roman officials had reason to be  concerned about his claims. Though not of this world, his kingdom would indeed  challenge both messianic expectations and the powers of this world. 

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All in the Family

All Saints is the wonderful feast that reminds us how God rejoices in having a  family of infinite variety, children who strive to trust in God, even in the midst of  trials and difficulties, and who remain open to the working of the Holy Spirit in  their lives so that Christ can be born again and again in our world. 

The Beatitudes offer a profile of God’s children. They should be heard first as  good news, as gospel, proclaiming where God is to be found: with the poor in  spirit, the mourners, the gentle, those who hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness—that is, those concerned with living in right relationship with God, others,  oneself, and all the earth. In Jesus’ day these were not the usual crowd who were  declared blessed, esteemed, and honored. 

Only after hearing the Beatitudes as gospel should we hear them as a summons to action so our lives mirror the divine face revealed in Jesus: the face of  mercy, of cleanliness of heart (a heart open to God), of peacemaking and reconciling, and of willingly suffering rejection in order to help bring about a world of  righteous relationships. 

God continues to work in us by sending the Holy Spirit, the gift of the Father  and the Son, into our hearts to push and prod us, sometimes gently, sometimes  forcefully, into a new birth, again and again, until we gradually grow up to become  the divine offspring we are destined to be, God’s holy ones, the saints.

Consider/Discuss

  • Who are some of the saints God has brought into your life within the  last year? Ten years? Your lifetime? 
  • How do the Beatitudes speak a word of gospel to you? How do they  summon you to action? 

Responding to the Word

Creator God, we thank you for the multitudes from every nation, race, people,  and tongue who have heard your call to live in love, and to work for peace, reconciliation, and justice in our world. Draw us into deeper kinship with them so that we might one day join them in the kin-dom of heaven. 

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Scripture Study for

John the seer relates two extraordinary apocalyptic visions that were granted  to him. Although they differ, the second adds a dimension to the first. The events  of the first vision seem to unfold on earth; those of the second take place in  heaven. Both visions depict vast assemblies of the righteous. There is no suggestion that these people are martyrs. Instead they are those who have survived  the distress of the end-times because they were purified through the blood of  the sacrificial Lamb. This distinction certainly entitles them to participate in the  celebration held at the end of time.

The love of which the author of First John speaks is generative, transforming.  It makes believers children of God. Everything that happens in their lives is a  consequence of their having been recreated as God’s children. They are a new  reality; hence, they are not accepted by the world, the old reality. Certain similarities between Jesus and the believers are drawn. The world did not recognize  the only begotten Son of God and it does not recognize these new children of  God. The implications of this are clear. Believers should not be surprised if they  encounter the very rejection—even persecution and death—that befell Jesus. 

The teachings of Jesus are all in some way directed toward the establishment  of the reign of God. The type of behavior he advocates is frequently the opposite  of that espoused by society at large. This explains the challenges set before us  in the Beatitudes. The first and the third Beatitudes claim that power is in the  hands of the meek and the poor. The second and the fourth promise the alleviation of inner turmoil. The fifth, sixth, and seventh Beatitudes treat aspects of religious piety. The last Beatitude clearly warns that commitment to Jesus’ cause can  bring persecution. It is clear that each Beatitude invites us to turn the standards  of our world and our way of life upside down and inside out.

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A Day for Singing

Luke’s infancy narrative would make a wonderful opera. One song leads to  another, beginning with Elizabeth’s joyful greeting to Mary, then Mary’s Magnificat,  followed by Zechariah’s song at John’s birth, climaxing with the angels’ hymn at  Christ’s birth, and gently closing with old Simeon’s canticle in the temple. 

Today we focus on the event that motivated Zechariah’s great song of praise:  the birth of John the Baptist. To appreciate this story we must remember the  events leading up to what we hear in the Gospel. The archangel Gabriel had  appeared to the priest Zechariah as he was offering incense in the temple, telling  him that he and his long-barren wife, Elizabeth, would finally have their prayers  answered with a son who would do great things for God. Quite taken aback,  Zechariah asked how he could know this to be true. Wrong question! For doubting, he was made mute. 

Just as Elizabeth gave birth to a son, Zechariah gave birth to a song, one of  the most beautiful in scripture, recognizing “the Lord, the God of Israel who has  visited and brought redemption to his people,” and hailing his infant child as  one who would be called “the prophet of the Most High, going before the Lord  to prepare his way” (see Luke 1:68–79). John, of course, would go into the desert  to sing his own song: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” And,  in the fullness of time, Jesus, God’s love song to the world, came, and the singing  still goes on. 

Consider/Discuss

  • What song has God given you to sing? (And don’t say, “I can’t sing!”)
  • What song does our parish sing to God? Our country? Our world? 

Responding to the Word

God of all creation, from the beginning creation sang as you brought the world  from chaos into light. Throughout the story of Israel, men and women raised their  voices praising your holy name. In Jesus you sang your song of love to us. May our  voices join with all the angels and saints in joyful praise.

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