November 21, 2010 Christ the King 2 Sam. 5:1-13; Col. 1:12-20; Lk. 23:35-43 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/nab/112110.shtml ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   Today we celebrate Christ as the King, the first born of the dead, the head of the church. What kind of king is this anyhow? What kind of king is this who does not use his power, who does not use his divine connections, to get himself off the cross? What kind of king is this who does not use his connections, influences, and resources to get you and me off the cross? What kind of a king is this who allows so much immense suffering on this planet earth?   I would like to say that today we are at the very mystery of God, the mystery of the universe, at the very heart of the mystery of love.  God chose to experience the place of the greatest pain, the cross.  In the cross, we are meet with the very mystery of God, where God chose not to avoid the suffering of this world.  We hear the statement, “Where suffering is, love is. And where love is, God is.” We are at the very heart of the incomprehensible mystery of God that is symbolized by the cross.   We try to avoid suffering, often at all costs. When we get the cross put on our back, we often complain, “Why me, God? Why us?” We get angry at God; we become depressed; we become hurt; we no longer believe in God or that God intervenes in our lives.” Isn’t it an interesting quality of human beings that the whole world can be suffering, and we never ask the question, “why;” but when something goes wrong with me, with my family, with my friends, with my loved ones; when something goes wrong with my life, I then ask the question deeply and personally, “Why God? Why me? Why us? Why my loved one?   It needs to be clearly said that the nature of God is not to avoid suffering; that the nature of love is not to avoid pain or the places of pain. That’s the way love is. That’s the way God is; not to avoid pain and not to avoid the places of pain. Intuitively, we all know that. Intuitively, we all sense that.  Loving people do not use their resources and connections to avoid the pain of their loved ones. I’ll say it again: loving people do not use their resources and connections to avoid the pain of their loved ones.   Why did God not stay up in heaven where it was safe? When God looked down on this earth, God saw all the pain that was down here and God came down here to this earth to be with us. God came down to earth to be in our places of greatest pain. The Lord God says to you and me. “I love you. I am with you. I will strengthen you. No matter what your situation, I will be with you in the midst of your pain. Today you will be with me in paradise.”     <<   Previous: 33rd Ordinary Sunday  | Next: 1st Sunday of Advent >>   Go Back to SERMONS (Year C)