CHRIST THE KING SUNDAY
First Reading: 2 Samuel 5:1-3
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5
Second Reading: Colossians 1:12-20
Gospel Reading: Luke 23:35-43
Reflection: In today’s Responsorial Psalm we responded, “Let us go rejoicing to the
house of the Lord.” It is an invitation of joy as we join the whole Church to celebrate the
Solemnity of Jesus Christ the King of the universe, the feast which marks the end of our
2024/25 Liturgical Year in Year C. As God’s own creation, we have all the reasons to
rejoice for all the salvific blessings we have received through Jesus Christ who is our
Lord and Savior. In today’s Gospel Reading, we see that even those who crucified Jesus
testified, “This is the King of Jews.” The king is the leader with the powers to rule. The
ruling power of Jesus is primarily centered in saving the humanity from the reign of sin.
When other people were condemning Jesus while on the cross, one of the thief crucified with him prayed to him, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” When in his trial, Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?” (John 18:33). Jesus responded to him, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here,” (John 18:37). When Pilate pushed asking him,“Then you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say 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). In today’s second reading, Paul writes to the
Colossians informing them to return thanks and praise to God the Father who “delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have the redemption of sins.” In his classical prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, here on earth as it is in heaven.” We are praying for the kingdom of God to be established here on earth and in that kingdom, Jesus is our king. As Christians, though we have citizenships of various kingdoms/countries of this world, our first and foremost citizenship is in the kingdom of God and Christ is our King. As a citizen of the kingdom of God, I fully abide to God’s constitution constructed with Holy Scriptures and the Tradition of the Church. As I daily walk in my life, I need to ask myself what does my king wants me to be and do? Am I obedient to God’s constitution? Do I educate to know the constitution of my kingdom? It is in delving into this constitution that I will fully know the will of my Lord and King and thus be able to live his will until that day when he returns the Second time in glory to judge the living and dead. Our King is not in our midst to condemn us but rather to bring us salvation so that we may attain the gift of the everlasting life. In this we again join the psalmist, “Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.” Yes! Amen! Fr. Severine.

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FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT (YEAR A)
First Reading: Isaiah 2:1-5
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Second Reading: Romans 13:11-14
Gospel Reading: Matthew 24:37-44
Reflection: In today’s Responsorial Psalm we responded, “Let us go rejoicing to the
house of the Lord.” Today the church starts a new Liturgical Year. Our Liturgical Year
starts with the Advent Season, a season preceding the Christmas Season, the season when the Church celebrates the birth of our Savior. Today the church celebrates the First
Sunday of Advent and the Psalmist in today’s Responsorial Psalm invites us to rejoice to
the house of the Lord. The four weeks of the Advent Season represent four thousand
years in which the Israelites of old waited for the fulfilment of God’s promise to send
them the Messiah, the savior of the world. The Advent Season is the waiting season when the Church invites us to remember the journey in which our fore parents in faith walked through as they waited for the fulfilment of God’s promise. Advent Season does not only remind us of the journey our fore parents in faith journeyed to wait for the first coming of the Savior, the season also invites and prepares us to get prepared for the Second  Coming of Jesus Christ in glory to judge the living and dead. In today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus isinviting the people of his own time to recognize the presence of the Son of Man in their midst. He quotes in the Scriptures as to how the people in the days of Noah got perished in the flood despite the preaching of Noah who alerted the people of the coming of the flood. People ignored Noah’s preaching and continued with their life “business as usual.” They continued with their life styles: eating and drinking, marrying and giving to marriage until on the day of the flood when they perish. Jesus wants people in his own time as well as in our times to always be prepared in our spiritual life as we build health relationship with God so that we may not be caught unaware. Paul writes to the Romans with the same Advent tone as he writes, “Brothers and sisters: You know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” He wants them to stand up and get prepared in their spiritual life as they abandon the life of the flesh and embrace the life of spirit. The same tone of the preparation is found in today’s First Reading from the Book of Isaiah. The prophecy in this reading is the invitation to the elevation of Judah and Jerusalem. “In days to come, the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills.” The reading concludes with the noble invitation, “O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.” The reading brings to the tone of great transformation in the lives of the people. We are called to know that we are of the Lord and we need to return and remain in the Lord as we journey in this world. Advent is the holy season which invites us to embrace the theme of waiting in prayer and hope. As we wait for the fulfillment of God’s promises, the psalmist invites us: “Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.” Happy Advent. Yes! Amen! Fr. Severine.