{"id":7075,"date":"2018-11-25T18:42:45","date_gmt":"2018-11-26T02:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/?p=7075"},"modified":"2018-12-27T18:53:05","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T02:53:05","slug":"bumper-stickers-and-masters-homily-for-the-solemnity-of-christ-the-king-year-b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/bumper-stickers-and-masters-homily-for-the-solemnity-of-christ-the-king-year-b","title":{"rendered":"Bumper Stickers and Masters: Homily for the Solemnity of Christ the King – Year B"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ChristThe other day I was driving home from work,
\ncoming up Freya hill,
\nand I noticed a bumper sticker
\non the car in front of me.
\nPeople put bumper stickers on their cars
\nfor all kinds of reasons,
\nbut mostly because they have something to say to the world.
\n\u201cVote for this or that candidate.\u201d
\n\u201cWork for world peace.\u201d
\n\u201cSupport my kid\u2019s school.\u201d
\nWell, this particular driver had a different message.
\nIt was a big, red rectangular sticker,
\nand in white letters it read,
\n\u201cNo Gods. No Masters.\u201d<\/p>\n

I suppose that\u2019s how a lot of people today view life,
\nespecially here in America.
\nIn America we\u2019re pretty proud of the fact
\nthat we broke away from England,
\nwe cast off the monarchy.<\/p>\n

That idea has permeated our culture so much
\nthat it\u2019s become part of the intellectual air we breathe.
\nWe do take pride in the fact that we can forge our own fate,
\nthat no one is our master.
\nLike that line from the poem \u201cInvictus,\u201d
\n\u201cI am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our TV shows and our movies hold up for us as heroes
\npeople who take charge of their own lives
\nwho reject being mastered by anyone,
\nbeing controlled by anyone,
\nwho \u201cstick it to the man.\u201d
\nWe\u2019re suspicious and resentful of anyone in authority.
\nWe Americans are fiercely proud of our independence,
\neven celebrating an Independence Day.<\/p>\n

No kings for us, we rule ourselves.
\nNo gods. No masters.<\/p>\n

So with ideas like this permeating our culture,
\ntoday\u2019s Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe
\ncould be very difficult for us to relate to.
\nThe responsorial psalm tell us \u201cThe Lord is king.\u201d
\nThe reading from Daniel says,
\n\u201call peoples, nations, and languages serve him.\u201d
\nThe book of Revelation tells us,
\n\u201cJesus Christ is the\u2026ruler of the kings of earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

On this last Sunday of the Church year,
\nwe gather around the altar to celebrate the fact
\nthat someone has kingship over us.
\nSomeone else besides me is the Lord of my life.<\/p>\n

We say that,
\nwe talk about Jesus being our king,
\nbut are we really willing to allow him to lead us?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so contrary to the message that we hear in our culture,
\nwhere we\u2019re used to hearing,
\n\u201cDon’t let anybody tell you what you can or can’t do,
\nyou forge your own future.\u201d
\n\u201cNo gods. No masters.\u201d<\/p>\n

But ultimately Jesus Christ is the King of the Universe.
\nWe cannot believe that away
\nIt is a fact.
\nIt is a cold hard fact.
\nWe can say \u201cno gods, no masters\u201d all we want
\nbut the truth is there is a God and it\u2019s not us.<\/p>\n

So what do we do with that?
\nWhat do we, who aspire to so much independence,
\nwho aspire to be the controllers of our own destinies,
\nwhat are we to do with this fact that we are not the lord of our lives?<\/p>\n

Do we simply pay it lip service
\nfor this one day of the Church year?
\nIs it something that we grudgingly believe,
\nthat we just grit our teeth and tolerate,
\nand try not to think about too often?<\/p>\n

Or is it something that we can embrace?
\nIs there some way that we can look at this truth
\nand embrace it,
\neven if it means acknowledging our limitations
\nacknowledging that we’re not all that?<\/p>\n

Yes, there is a way for us to embrace it,
\nas long as we understand and believe two important truths.<\/p>\n

And the first truth is this:
\nJesus is not a king like other kings.<\/p>\n

Our experience with human kings
\nis that they grab power and keep it
\nthrough force, through intimidation, through fear.
\nOur experience with human leaders
\nis that no matter how good they are
\nthere’s always a flaw in the way they govern.
\nHow many kings and queens and leaders throughout history
\nhave simply used their power for their own selfish gain?
\nLord Acton hit the nail right on the head when he said
\n\u201cPower corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.\u201d
\nThat’s why breaking away from England was so important to us.
\nWe felt justified because we were breaking away from a tyrant,
\nand that’s a good legitimate exercise of our free will.<\/p>\n

And think of the people under Hitler\u2019s leadership in Germany.
\nHe ruled through fear, he ruled through force.
\nThere have been tyrants throughout all ages and all countries.
\nEven U.S. presidents and church leaders have misused their power
\nfor their own selfish gain.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no wonder we have have a hard time
\naccepting kings, queens, and other leaders.<\/p>\n

So it is very important of us to understand and believe this truth:
\nthat Jesus Christ as King of the universe
\nis not like human leaders.<\/p>\n

Human leaders rule through fear;
\nhuman leaders tell lies or deny the truth,
\nor create their own truth,
\nin order to protect their power,
\nin order to remain in authority.<\/p>\n

They have to do that, otherwise they risk losing their power.
\nBut Jesus Christ can never lose his power.
\nHe doesn’t have to use fear,
\nhe doesn\u2019t have to tell lies to remain in authority.
\nJesus Christ is in authority, Jesus Christ is our king,
\nand nothing we can think,
\nnothing we can do,
\ncan change that.
\nJesus doesn\u2019t need to protect his power,
\nhe has it by his own nature as the Son of God,
\nthe second person of Holy Trinity.
\nSo the first truth is Jesus is a king unlike human kings.<\/p>\n

And the second truth is that Jesus uses his power
\nin a way that is utterly different from the way human kings use power.<\/p>\n

Jesus is a king, and kings issue commands.
\nWhat does Jesus command us to do?
\nHe could command us to hand everything we possess over to him.
\nBut he doesn\u2019t command us to do that.
\nHe could command us to attack his enemies,
\nbut he doesn\u2019t command us to do that.
\nSo what is his command?
\nWe heard it clearly several weeks ago,
\nbut really we hear it in every gospel story.
\nOf all the things that the King of the Universe could command,
\nthe greatest commandment is this:
\nLove God with all your heart, with all your soul,
\nwith all your mind, with of all your strength,
\nand love your neighbor as yourself.
\nThat\u2019s the greatest commandment<\/p>\n

This is the command of our king.
\nThis is the command of our King:
\nLove.
\nTo love God, to love our neighbor.
\nAnd why does Jesus command this?
\nNot for any selfish motive.
\nJesus, the son of God, needs nothing from us.<\/p>\n

Jesus commands us to love,
\nbecause the more we love God and neighbor,
\nthe better we become,
\nthe more deeply happy,
\nthe more deeply fulfilled.<\/p>\n

The more we love God, the more we love neighbor,
\nthe closer we come to achieving our life’s purpose
\nof living a complete, happy life in eternity.<\/p>\n

So on this day we celebrate with joy
\nthe kingship, the lordship of Jesus over us,
\nthe absolute power Jesus has over us.
\nWe celebrate that!
\nWhy?
\nBecause that is what allows us to live a full life.
\nWe have a king whose interest is in us,
\nnot in himself.
\nIn fact, he has such an interest in us,
\nthat he became one of us and sacrificed himself on the cross for us.
\nThere is our king, with his crown not of gold or silver, but of thorns.<\/p>\n

He has such an interest in us,
\nthat he makes us one with him through baptism.
\nThat means we all share in Jesus\u2019s kingship.
\nWhen we were baptized we were baptized priest, prophet, and king.
\nNot the kingship of authority,
\nnot the kingship of fear or intimidation,
\nbut the kingship of truth, sacrifice and love.
\nThat is true kingship.<\/p>\n

We can embrace the lordship of Jesus over our lives
\nbecause of these two truths:
\nJesus is a king far better than any human king;
\nand Jesus uses his power far better than any human king.<\/p>\n

And so that bumper sticker was right after all,
\njust in a different way than the driver intended.
\nNo gods. No masters.
\nThat\u2019s right.<\/p>\n

One God. One Master.
\nOur Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.<\/p>\n