Corpus Christi Blog

Lord of creation and our lives

11-23-2014HomiliesFr. Chad King

Our Church liturgical calendar is meant to guide us each year through a journey, a journey of life in which there are peaks and valleys.  Throughout the year we remember and enter grandly into great high feast days, as well as journey through the valleys, the ordinariness and routine of life through ordinary time.  But this journey that the Church calls us to is not just a journey of this life, but it is a journey growing closer to eternal life.  Today we conclude Ordinary Time with a great high feast- the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King.  After this feast of Christ the King, we enter back into the time of preparation called Advent for the great event which is the beginning of time, the beginning of a new life itself, Christmas.

But before we begin to prepare ourselves for the birth of the child Jesus into our world, we need remember the fullness of who Jesus is.  That is what this feast day is about.  I think it is easy for us who hear the stories of Jesus throughout the year, who know all the good things this man did, all his teachings about loving one another, and can take Jesus’s works for granted.  Indeed, Jesus’ good works and teachings are important for us to follow and imitate, but in doing so I think we have the tendency to kind of domesticate Jesus.  To keep Jesus as a man who lived a good life, who taught good things in which we should follow.  And don’t get me wrong, on one hand Jesus is this man from whom we should learn from and emulate.  But on the other hand, this same Jesus is Christ the King.  If He is King, then what is He King of?  Jesus, the second person of the Trinity is God, the King of the Universe.  He is the King of Creation.  Think about how big and vast the Universe is, and how even the universe and creation would not exist if it was not for God.  Jesus is the Word which God spoke and through which all of creation and life comes.  Even though it is not one of our readings today, listen to Scripture- the beginning of Colossians chapter 1, as it proclaims in a beautiful way who Jesus is.  “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For in Him were created all things in heaven and earth, all things were created through him and for him.  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together”. 

Although we don’t think about it too often, Jesus existed before all of creation.  So as the eternal Son of God who does not have a beginning or an end, He exists before all things.  All things came to be from the Father, through the Son, and in the Holy Spirit.   Everything that is, every created thing is created through God and for God.  The life of every created thing is oriented towards God, and as an image of God, reflects God’s Beauty and Goodness.  The sun rises and sets according to God’s order, the seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall, are according to His design.  Every bird of the air and the song they sing.  Every tree in the forest and the sound of the wind through their leaves.  Every beautiful flower that blooms in the field is oriented toward God, the very beauty and goodness of their existence gives praise to God.  Every creature encounters the fullness of God in their existence.  Take a moment, and picture the beauty of God’s creation.

Nature, and creatures are created in God’s image, but in a limited way.  Just as Jesus, now become human, is the image of God the Father, so is all of creation an image of God as well.  The very life of every created thing is given and is sustained by God’s goodness, their very nature of being gives praise to God.  All of creation worships God, by their nature of living they worship Jesus Christ, the King of Creation. 
But even more than all the rest of creation, human beings are made in the image and likeness of God.  While every created thing, including human beings, reflect the love and goodness of God simply by their very existence, we as human beings are set apart from other created things- we are made with the ability to choose, to will, to show the love and goodness of God or not.  And like all of creation, Adam and Eve were orientated toward God- in the beginning, they were in perfect love and communion with God, with themselves, and with all of creation.  Adam and Eve experienced the fullness of life and love of God, they too encountered the living God and walked with Him in perfect harmony and peace. 

But we know what happened in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve chose not to obey, serve, or worship God alone.  Adam and Eve sinned, and that tragic choice against God severely affected not only their relationship with God, but also with each other, and all of creation as well.  Through sin, Adam and Eve’s love turned from perfect love in union with God to lust.  They began to hide themselves from each other and from God.  And they began to use one another and all of creation as well.  Now they did not always see creation for the beauty which reflected the Creator, but they began to use and abuse creation purely for their own desires.  The life and communion they had with God, now was to entail suffering and end with death.  We know well the tragic consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin- it is seen in each person’s thoughts and desires, the disunity and distrust is in our relationships, the violence, hatred, and selfishness is all around us.
But you know how our amazing story goes in God’s love and graciousness, He did not leave us in that helpless and hopeless state forever.  Throughout the Old Testament stories show God raising up people who will shepherd and lead the now sinful people of God, he gave kings to the people to help rule them according to God’s designs, and prophets to help to turn the hearts and minds of the people back to God.  But no matter how faithful the leaders were, no matter how much good they did, they could not save all the people.  They could not re-establish the life and communion with God and all of creation once again in a perfect way.  And therefore, God sent his eternal Son, the One through whom all of creation exists, to re-order creation, to gather the scattered people and to re-orientate their hearts and minds to choose life and love again. 

We know that John the Baptist, when Jesus had come of age, announces that the Kingdom of God is at hand.  The Kingdom of God which began at creation, now has its perfect king to lead it.  This is what the Church is celebrating on this feast day, we celebrate the triumph of Jesus who comes into the world as a baby.  He then goes out to the world to serve the outcasts and marginalized the poor and lame.  He set the prisoners free, he forgave and healed the sinners and all those in need.  He raised the dead to life, both physically and spiritually.  He went out and called everyone to become his disciple, to follow him to eternal life.  Through His Death and Resurrection, Jesus, the King of creation perfectly restored the Kingdom and re-orientated all of creation that came into being through Him.  But the question is has He re-oriented our lives?

We human beings are created with free will, and so we must consciously choose Him.  If we believe Jesus is the King, we shouldn’t just follow his teachings, we should actually worship Him.  If we believe him to be our King, then we must submit ourselves under His authority, we must obey his teachings, we must choose to make Him Lord of our lives.  And to the degree we establish him as Lord and rid sin out of our hearts, will be the degree that our relationships with each other and all of creation will be orientated rightly.  So let us enter into this worship with all our hearts, and give God permission to establish himself as Lord and King of our lives.  Will you join me in praying right now that Jesus will become Lord and King of every aspect of our lives?

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