Verbum Dei UK

MEDITATION:

2 Sam 5:1-3 ; Col 1:12-20 ; Luke 23:35-43

This final Sunday of the Liturgical year, we celebrate the fact that our divine king, who longs for us all to be his personal friends, is the King of kings!

It hasn't been easy for Him - He struggled hard on Calvary and keeps struggling. But He wins.� Therefore it's right that we struggle with Him...in Him. At the end of the day we don't want to have a superficial crown but have our conscience pleased that we've made the most of our years on earth. neither do we want to arrive alone but as part of a large family. We'll help and stimulate and carry others and the marvel is that those others end up helping us in turn. Thereby comes the real victory for which our King longs. We want to love Him and praise Him, but the marvel is that He actually wants us to participate in the glory of his kingdom. To praise Him is great, but to follow Him is even better. In fact it's in following that we're really praising. But can we? According to Jesus Himself: "You'll do my works and better" (John 14:12 ).

It's not a question of arriving just ourselves but of bringing others with us. As the reading from Samuel proclaims today to David: "You'll guide many like a shepherd". Paul describes that as something we don't deserve: we're 'redeemed' -we've been snared in many ways by the devil and tricked into sin, but life doesn't end there -we get rescued and Life with a capital L really begins there. And it will never end. Thank you, Lord, my King. It's not a question of deserving a participation in His kingdom but of welcoming it gratefully and genuinely wanting to do our best to receive the gift well and to allow it come to life in us.

We begin mass recognising humbly that we've sinned -we listen and learn from the readings - we praise our King for who He is -and then we take communion with a sincere desire to follow and participate in his Kingdom. He becomes incarnate in our poor and sinful humanity and thereby transforms it in LOVE. I applaud you, my King. And I open not just my mouth but the door of my heart and if I sing for anyone it'll be for you. All creation was created by you and for you (Col 1:16 ). We're for you, Lord.

With so many of the human family suffering for lack of the greatest Good News, one may well cry to our King "Why don't you send a clear message on the internet or something similar?" but His answer would be very clear: "That's why I send you!". On supporting our King, we won't be imposing on other beliefs, but in fact we'll be going along with what man really seeks deep down. It's just a question of enlightening that search. Being a missionary, I use the verb 'enlighten', because that's actually what the name 'Buddha' stands for: 'The enlightened one'. The call to spread what helps is part of nearly all world religions. For example Mahryna Buddhism arose at the beginning of the Christian era. This tradition exhorts the individual not merely to attain personal 'nirvana' (happiness), but to become a trainee Buddha, or bodhisattva, and so save others; this meant the faithful could be somewhat helped by a bodhisatva without becoming extreemly austere, and thereby the cults of various Buddhas and bodhisattvas arose! But as we live our lives following Christ our King, do we exhort others to become 'trainee' Christs?

One of the admirable feats of modern medicine is of course heart transplant. But I must say the call to continue Christ's work in the world is the call to help 'transplant' many with God's heart of Love. That's admirable! Of course the first people to be transplanted are us ourselves. The MS makes my body 'slack' but that won't stop my missionary life. As St Paul writes: 'Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer' (Rom 12:11-12 ). Men can be very zealous about superficial things so let's be more profound in loving our King.

I can't write much or do much in my wheel chair but at least I can point my finger (like John the Baptist) to the throne of glory: INRI. We can all live our lives like a finger pointing to Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudeorum! We've won already - because He's won - and our joy will be when many others win also. "Jesus, thy Kingdom come!”

...............Dara

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