November 24: The Work of the Kingdom / El Trabajo para Construir el Reino

Having celebrated the final Sunday of the Church Year, we are now faced with the on-going work of building the Kingdom (about which we heard on Sunday). One of the best ways to honor Christ our King is to work for the unfolding and promoting of His Kingdom. For example, in working for the relief of the deprived, the oppressed, and the marginalized people of our world (and our corner of that world), we are serving Christ “in person,” because He fully identified with people in need, right up to His final moments in this life.

We and all the disciples of Christ the King cannot afford the luxury of living in gated isolation, resolutely secure in fortresses, comfortably “keeping ourselves to ourselves” with the lame claim that “We do nobody any harm.” To be deaf to the cries of our neighbors in need is to be deaf to Christ. To be blind to the anguish of the dying is to be blind to Him. To be half-hearted in our willingness to live the Gospel is to be half-hearted in our willingness to follow the Lord at all.

To recognize Jesus Christ as our Shepherd-king involves being dedicated to caring for and shepherding others over the long haul – for the work of the Kingdom goes on until He comes again.

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Hemos terminado el año litúrgico con la Fiesta de Cristo Rey. Su realeza tiene poco que ver con los sistemas políticos de este mundo. Su muerte en Cruz es la prueba del fracaso de todo tipo de triunfalismo puramente humano. Pero al mismo tiempo la Cruz manifiesta la venida del Reino de Dios, precisamente en la persona del Crucificado. 

En la Cruz Dios comienza a reinar y a hacer justicia. Su juicio no es simplemente una condena del pecado, sino más bien una oferta de misericordia para el pecador que se convierte y empiece en cooperar con su gracia para construir su Reino. Que la celebración de la Fiesta de Cristo rey haga de nosotros constructores del Reino de Cristo – Reino de verdad, de justicia, de amor, y de paz.