Monday,
November 23 - November 28
Sunday Gospel and Question of the Week
The Word in Liturgy and Catholic Doctrine
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Gospel ~ John 18:33b-37
Pilate said to Jesus, "Are you the King of the
Jews?"
Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own or have others told you about
me?"
Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief
priests handed you over to me. What have you done?"
Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my
kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me
from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not
here."
So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?"
Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and
for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my
voice."
Question
of the Week
The Question
of the Week provides a simple way to reflect on the
scripture readings we hear at Sunday Mass. Several publishers of Catholic books
have prepared questions based on weekly readings and generously give permission
for the questions to be used in parishes. The Question of the Week prompts
us to hear the Word of God proclaimed at Mass in a new way, not only with our
ears, but with also with our mind and heart. God's word to us in Scripture
is a great
gift. Question of the Week helps us open this gift of God's Word.
QUESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK
FOR
ADULTS:
How does the Kingdom of God differ from earthly kingdoms? How do you help it
to spread?
FOR
CHILDREN:
What can I do each day this week to serve others?
GOSPEL REFLECTION
What kind of king is Jesus? In this reading from the passion story in John's
Gospel, Jesus provides us with his own answer. Pontius Pilate was the Roman
official who held power in Palestine. He asks Jesus if he is the king of the
Jews. Pilate really wants to know whether Jesus might be part of a Jewish revolt
against Roman rule. Jesus assures Pilate that his kingdom is not of this world.
He is not one who rules by force. However he is a king who came into the world
to "testify to the truth." All who recognize him as "the way and
the truth and the life" will hear his voice (John 14:6).
As the Church year comes to a close, we are grateful for the ways in which we
have heard our King's voice in the liturgy this year. We consider how to live
the words of Jesus more faithfully as the circle of the new liturgical year
begins.
DISCUSSION POINTS FOR THE GOSPEL
Trial scenes are often dramatized in movies and on TV. Imagine that you are a
Roman soldier who is present at Pilate's official residence as the prisoner
Jesus of Nazareth is being questioned. What might you think when you heard
Jesus' answer to Pilate's question, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
Why might you be surprised when you heard Jesus describe his kingdom? How might
you respond when you heard why Jesus had come into the world?
What are some of the ways people your age can show that they are committed to
Jesus as the way, the truth and the life? How can you give evidence that Jesus
rules in your life?
The Word in
Liturgy
On this last Sunday of the liturgical year, the Church celebrates the feast of
Christ the King. Instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 to combat the growing
secularism and atheism of his time, it is one of the so-called “idea feasts”
that do not celebrate an event in the life of Jesus but rather some aspect of
his identity. In it we recognize and honor Christ as ruler and universal
shepherd. The original feast of Christ the King is the Ascension, in which the
Church celebrates the exalted Christ, crowned with glory at the right hand of
God. Today’s celebration should remind us of that more important feast as the
liturgical year comes to a close.
The establishment of a monarchy in Israel was initially resisted and seen as a
betrayal of the more ancient ideal of a theocracy with Yahweh as sole king.
Eventually, a king was established but a certain ambivalence toward the
institution of the monarchy can be traced throughout the history of the chosen
people. David, the shepherd king, became the idealized figure of the monarchy,
but the tradition maintained its awareness that Yahweh must always be the real
king over his people (cf. Psalms 23, 74, and 80). The repeated failures and
infidelities of the kings in both north and south only reinforced this tradition
of suspicion of earthly kings.
During the Babylonian exile, Ezekiel issued a scathing denunciation of the false
shepherds who had led the people astray (Ezekiel 34:1-10). Then, in what must
surely have been words that brought relief and hope to the exiles, he delivers
the Lord’s promise to return, to shepherd the people once again himself. The
mention of judgment (v. 17) adds an eschatological dimension that makes the text
all the more fitting for this last day of the liturgical year. The choice of
psalmody is obvious in light of Ezekiel’s use of the shepherd imagery.
In today’s reading from 1 Corinthians we can see how Paul’s thought about
the parousia has evolved in comparison to what we have been reading during the
last five weeks in his first letter to the Thessalonians. Paul realizes that
Christ’s reign has already commenced, that it is in fact coterminous with the
age of the Church, i.e., from his ascension until the parousia. This reign,
already begun, is nonetheless incomplete (remember Romans 8 and Paul’s
references to the “groaning” of all creation). There are still enemies to be
destroyed (“Christ must reign until God has put all enemies under his feet,”
v. 25), but the resurrection of Christ is our proof that the final outcome is
not in doubt. The Adam-Christ typology was an important part of Paul’s
developing understanding of the importance of the resurrection for the believer,
and especially how we participate in Christ’s resurrection through faith and
baptism. Note the liturgical context of “first fruits,” a term associated
with Jewish cultic usage. If Christ’s resurrection makes him the “first
fruits,” then the entire harvest--all of us--is consecrated to the Lord and
will someday enjoy fullness of glory with him.
The judgment scene in Matthew 25 is unique to his gospel and forms the climactic
conclusion to his Eschatological Discourse. Only here in all of the gospels does
Jesus ascribe to himself the status of a king rendering judgment. The criteria
of that judgment are most striking: They are the simple acts of love and
kindness directed to the “little ones” of this world. To have done these
everyday works of goodness is to have touched Jesus himself; to have neglected
to do them is to have neglected the needs of Christ, an omission worthy of
condemnation. This implies that doing the works of goodness called for here is
already to have gained access to the reign of God and to have chosen not to act
in love is already a choice not to belong to God’s reign.
Catholic Doctrine
To Judge the Living and the Dead
This phrase from the Nicene Creed expresses our Catholic belief that Christ who
died and was raised up again to new life has been given the right as our
Redeemer to judge the works and hearts of all (CCC 679). Christ has ascended to
heaven and participates in God’s power and authority and we acknowledge him as
Lord not only of the universe but of the unfolding of history itself (CCC 668).
Indeed, in Christ all of human history is summed up and fulfilled and, as the
Second Vatican Council affirmed, “he is the key, the center and the purpose of
the whole of [our] history . . .” (GS 10).
We also believe that the kingdom over which the Lord gloriously reigns is
present in a mysterious way on earth in the Church (CCC 669). And while
evil--definitively defeated by the cross and resurrection--still resists this
reign, the final fulfillment will be accomplished for we are in the last days
before final judgment (CCC 671). Thus, the Second Vatican Council taught,
“Already the final age of the world is with us (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:11) and
the renewal of the world is irrevocably under way; it is even now anticipated in
a certain real way, for the Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity
that is real though imperfect. However, until there be realized new heavens and
a new earth in which justice dwells (cf. 2 Peter 3:13) the pilgrim Church, in
its sacraments and institutions, which belong to this present age, carries the
mark of this world which will pass, and she herself takes her place among the
creatures which groan and travail yet and await the revelation of the [children]
of God (cf. Romans 8:19-22)” (LG 48).
This revelation that we await is the judgment Christ the King will render. There
are two judgments that occur, particular and final. Particular judgment refers
to the judging of the moral quality of one’s life immediately after death (CCC
1022) and Christ determines whether the person has chosen fundamentally to
either cooperate with God’s grace or how one has chosen to reject God’s
grace. Accordingly, judgment is rendered and the person merits heaven,
purgatory, or hell. Final judgment refers to that end time of history when
Christ will return to this world bringing the fullness of the kingdom and sum up
everything by passing definitive judgment on all people, nations, and history
itself (CCC 679).
How does Christ judge, especially in light of the gospel message (John 3:17)
that he has come not to condemn but that all might have life and be saved? The
form of judgment is a revelation from the Lord who is the fullness of God’s
revelation among us. Each person will be revealed in this judgment and, thus,
the judging has already been achieved by the way in which one lived. Hence, this
feast’s gospel image of the separation of sheep and goats indicating how one
has lived in accord (or not) with the kingdom imperative of loving one’s
neighbor.
The final or last judgment also constitutes God’s final word on all of
history. Jesus Christ, the living Word, will reveal God’s glorious triumph
over evil and at the same time manifest the ultimate meaning of the whole work
of creation. Till then, we believe that Christ is the hope of Israel and we, the
Church, continue the Pentecost preaching of Peter that all embrace the Lord
Jesus and his kingdom (CCC 674). Till then, we pass through trial and
faith-shaking events--and yet we hold firm in the Lord (CCC 675). Only through
this time of tribulation and final passover will the Church enter into the glory
of the kingdom (CCC 677) when Christ will reveal our full stature as children of
the Most High “so that God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28).
How then, in the light of our Catholic belief about Christ rendering judgment,
are we to understand the images contained in the Book of Revelation about the
end times? The images found in this last book of the New Testament are one way
that the early Christian Church expressed its faith in the God who promises to
deliver us, especially in times of persecution and trial as experienced by the
early Christians. The message of this apocalyptic literature is not necessarily
to be found in literal acceptance of its surface meaning. Rather, its meaning is
perceived through eyes of faith informed by the Church. Thus, our destiny is
firmly anchored in Jesus Christ’s saving life, death, and resurrection,
unlocked for us believers by the Church. There is no other hope or glorious
summation to the hearts and lives of all but that which is found in Christ who
is our King.
Catholic Culture
On this feast of Christ the King, the Church prays, “As king [Christ] claims
dominion over all creation, that he may present to you, his heavenly Father, an
eternal and universal kingdom: a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of
holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace” (Sacramentary,
Preface 51).
The anchor was one of the most popular early Christian symbols connected to
Christ and use of it refers to Hebrews 6:18-19. It is seen on early Christian
graves and seals and was recommended by Clement of Alexandria (c. 200) as an
image suitable for use in seal rings. The crossbar of the anchor also was
understood as a symbol of Christ’s cross (OxA&A 16). Sometimes, artisans
depicted dolphins twined around the anchor (perhaps a sign of humanity’s being
saved from drowning in the seas of sin by Christ). Some modern Catholic medals
shaped as anchors are also inscribed with the names of the theological virtues
(faith, hope, and charity)--those virtues from God that form our lives as
believers and thus “anchor” us.
St. John of the Cross (d. 1569), mystic, preacher, and reformer, wrote, “At
the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love” (Dichos de luz y amor
64).
Reflection
and Questions are adapted and reprinted with
permission from Harcourt Religion Publishers,
www.Harcourtreligion.com
, RCL-Benziger: www.rclweb.com
and http://www.blestarewe.com/misc/terms.html
,and
William F. Sadlier: www.webelieveweb.com
Visit these web sites for
additional information and formation resources for adults and children.
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Scripture references for the week
Click on underlined day/date to see the readings for the day. Right click back to return to this page.
Monday
November 23
Tuesday
November
24
~ Memorial of Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, priest and martyr, and his
companions, martyrs
Wednesday
November
25
Thursday November
26
Friday November 27
Saturday
November
28
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