“This is the King of the Jews.”
As I prayed over what reflection to share for the Solemnity of Christ the King, I could hear a song playing in my head that the Sacred Heart School students have sung at their monthly Masses: The King Shall Come (#70 in our parish hymnal). There is something so hope-filled and prayerful in the words of this song. It bothered me, though, that it was in the Advent section of our hymnal.
While on a Franciscan retreat (November 3-12) to Assisi, Italy, during which we spent nine days reflecting on the Journey into God by St. Bonaventure, my husband Jeff and I joined 30 other pilgrims from the US, Canada, England, Germany, and the Philippines to appreciate how contemplation leads us to God, the Summum Bonum (Highest Good).
On our fourth day together, our retreat leaders asked the group: How does the outside enter us? This was an important spiritual question for those whose desire was to be a lover of God. As we considered that question, we had help from St. Bonaventure regarding three powers of the psyche that are relational:
- Memory → eternity (the image of God);
- Intellect → Truth (meaning of words, sentences, logical conclusions);
- Will → Highest Good (deliberate, judge, desire).
In this chapter, St. Bonaventure wrote, “The function of the memory is to retain and represent not only things that are present, physical, and temporal, but also things that are successive, simple, and everlasting. Memory holds past things by recall, present things by reception, and future things by anticipation.” After reading that, I knew that the song I was hearing was meant for this reflection.
What does our memory tell us about our image of God? Do we understand who Christ the King is and where His Kingdom exists? Do we anticipate the coming of our King by remembering what Christ promised to us?
In this weekend’s first reading, we remember how David became king of Israel, anointed before the Lord to serve the people. Future prophets would later foretell that the Messiah would come from the royal line of David. The Jewish people held that hope in their memory. When Jesus came, though, it was not in the way people would imagine their King would come.
In the song The King Shall Come, the composer Trevor Thomson gives us a song about the King who has already been with us, but told us that He was returning. How are the faithful waiting and longing for that return? Do we see signs of the King in our midst?
The King shall come when morning dawns
and light triumphant breaks,
When beauty gilds the eastern hills
and life to joy awakes.
Not, as of old, a little child,
to bear, and fight, and die,
but crowned with glory like the sun that lights the morning sky.
This weekend’s Gospel account by St. Luke looks at the kingship of Christ through the lens of the Cross. Who would ever expect their king to be crucified by their oppressors? Part of the mockery that Jesus endured was to have the sign above His cross that said, “This is the King of the Jews.” For the people who journeyed with Jesus, this present situation challenged their memory. Nobody yet knew what was to come. One of the criminals that was executed with Jesus did understand it, though, and he asked Jesus to remember him when He entered into His Kingdom. Jesus promised Him that he would be with Him in paradise.
Through the Sacred Scriptures, our memory is able to recall the birth of Christ, the proclamation of the Kingdom, and the Passion of Christ. They are significant past events that shape our faith and our desire to know Christ better.
The people of God today live in much different circumstances than when Jesus preached the Good News. Technology continues to advance rapidly, sometimes with harmful effects on people. Major conflicts continue to erupt in the world that cause great human suffering. Seeing the face of Christ in our midst, a present memory, remains a challenge for all Christians because it requires the full embrace of the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love.
The criminal who put his faith in Christ trusted that His Kingdom truly existed. Through memory, we know that the death of Jesus was not the end. The resurrection of Jesus was the King’s glory, witnessed by many people. How beautiful, then, is verse 2 of the song for those who believe and hope for the King:
O brighter than the rising morn
when He, victorious, rose
and left the lonesome place of death,
despite the rage of foes.
O brighter than that glorious morn
shall this fair morning be,
when Christ, our King, in beauty comes,
and we His face shall see!
Memory teaches us that the desire for God is something that should be with us daily, shaping our prayer life and our choices to think and act. This weekend, let us sing confidently…
“Come quickly, King of kings! Come quickly, King of kings!
The King Shall Come – Lyrics Video
May God bless our Advent with longing, joy, and hope for what we see and what we await!
Teresa S. Redder, OFS
Saint Katharine Drexel Regional Minister
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