This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Year of Grace 2015. Next weekend will bring us to the First Sunday of Advent in the Year of Grace 2016. (On the liturgical calendar, the First Sunday of Advent is a kind of New Year's Day!)
It's time to sit down with the scriptures and prepare for hearing them proclaimed at Mass on Sunday. You'll find the readings and background material on them here and if you're shepherding young ones to church you'll find hints for helping them prepare to hear the Word here.
The first scripture is from the Book of Daniel and includes the title "Son of man" (which we often hear in the gospels, though not in this week's gospel passage). This vision in Daniel gives us an ancient reference for the kingship of Christ. The gospel is from John and takes us to the dialogue between Jesus and Pilate, a text we hear every Good Friday. Here Jesus and Pilate debate their notions of kingship. The second scripture of the day is from Revelation: the text echoes some of the imagery from the Daniel passage and makes a fleeting reference to the Passion in the words, "those who pierced him."
Kingship, dominion, kingdom, the Almighty... these scriptures draw us to consider the power of God in our lives and God's sovereignty over us. These are categories somewhat foreign to our times and culture. The question comes, then, "Who and what reign over my heart and my life?"
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