Listen to the Voice
David Brock of Redmond, OR, USA
Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that 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.” -John 18:37
On this final week of the Christian calendar year-“Christ the King” or “Reign of Christ” Sunday, we look back on the life and death of the one whose name we praise and honor, whose name we have taken, the one whose voice we listen to and follow. Christ is sovereign. Christ is royalty, but as William Loader reminds us:
He is a mad king
weak, crucified,
crowned with thorns,
pathetic, defeated….
As Jesus’ life is subversive,
so also is his death….
greatness is lowliness
and compassion,
the last is first,
loving matters most. -“Christ the King,” http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/MkChristtheKing.htm
In all honesty, that’s not who or what I had in mind when I signed on in baptism at the age of eight. I’m not sure that is who I really want to proclaim or follow or listen to on any Sunday or in any sacrament almost 60 years later! How about you?
There is a certain “madness” in a ruler who fits this description and, just maybe, a little “madness” in anyone who tries to follow such a “last is first” leader. Yet…
Here we are,
trying one more time to conform our lives to the Body of this very Christ.
Here we are,
guaranteed that our cause will often look impossible, na\xc3\xafve, and feel like failure.
Here we are,
revealing our identity as we speak of and act out these strangest of truths.
Here we are,
called again to live the here and now presence of a kingdom not of this world.
Belong to the truth. Listen to the Voice.
Prayer Phrase
“Over the years we melt into what we seek” (Joan Chittister, The Liturgical Year).
Spiritual Practice
We are in the threshold between seasons in the Christian calendar. You may have been noticing the physical transitions of the seasons wherever you live as some enter the depths of winter and others the warmth of summer. The seasons are a visible reminder that even among the most predictable rhythms and routines of our lives, change is always happening. The events of our moments, days, weeks, years form us and transform us over time. We enter each season different from when we arrived here last. This is the nature of this cyclical journey of faith. In these final days of the Christian calendar and the season of Ordinary time, there is opportunity to take a sacred pause, to notice how you arrive in this threshold. What have you been formed by this year? What has been deepening you as you’ve lived through another cycle of this life of faith?
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
