The Solemnity of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Year of Grace 2017. Next weekend will bring us to the First Sunday of Advent in 2017. (On the liturgical calendar, the First Sunday of Advent is a kind of New Year's Day!)
Our first scripture was from the Book of Daniel and included the title "Son of man" (which we often hear in the Gospels, though not in this week's Gospel passage). This vision in Daniel gives us an ancient reference for the kingship of Christ. The Gospel is from John and took us to the dialogue between Jesus and Pilate, a text we hear every Good Friday. Here Jesus and Pilate debated their notions of kingship.
The second scripture of the day was from Revelation: the text echoed some of the imagery from the Daniel passage and made a fleeting reference to the Passion in the words, "those who pierced him."
Kingship, dominion, kingdom, the Almighty... these scriptures draw us to consider the power of God in our lives and God's sovereignty over us. These are categories somewhat foreign to our times and culture. The question comes, then, "Who and what reign over my heart and my life?"
