Reflection for Christ the King Sunday
St John 18:33-37
Today we are celebrating the feast of Christ the King, and to add to a red-letter week for the Fellowship, we also celebrated American Thanksgiving on Thursday and the feast of St. Columbanus on Friday.
Celebrating our patron saint on Friday, I found myself frustrated with our lack of progress toward establishing our vision of a teaching community. The more we learn, the more obstacles we find there will likely be to creating such a community. So I was encouraged while reflecting on the life of Columbanus, who was expelled from France by Theuderic II. But as the boat left the shore, a great storm rose up and drove them back. The captain, a God-fearing man, believed that the storm came up because of St. Columbanus, and would have nothing to do with further attempts to remove him back to Ireland.
Then we come to Christ the King, and our Gospel this week is a striking portrait of two kings face-to-face. The cowering Pilot who, with all of the might of the Empire behind him, is too spineless to admit even that there is truth (v. 38), and bows down to the will of the mob contrary to his own judgment (19:1-16). The other king, Christ, stands calmly and refuses even to recognize the authority of the court (19:11). His is "a kingdom not of this world" (18:36), and so he answers to a higher court. He is a king who was born to proclaim the truth (v. 37).
This is our King. He was born to proclaim the truth, and he commands even the stormwinds and they obey (Matt. 8:24-27). While the Fellowship of St Columbanus may not know the plans that God has for us, we are confident in the sovereignty of our king as our patron saint was. We know that he has begun a good work in us, and he is faithful to complete it in us (Phil 1:6)
Today we are celebrating the feast of Christ the King, and to add to a red-letter week for the Fellowship, we also celebrated American Thanksgiving on Thursday and the feast of St. Columbanus on Friday.
Celebrating our patron saint on Friday, I found myself frustrated with our lack of progress toward establishing our vision of a teaching community. The more we learn, the more obstacles we find there will likely be to creating such a community. So I was encouraged while reflecting on the life of Columbanus, who was expelled from France by Theuderic II. But as the boat left the shore, a great storm rose up and drove them back. The captain, a God-fearing man, believed that the storm came up because of St. Columbanus, and would have nothing to do with further attempts to remove him back to Ireland.
Then we come to Christ the King, and our Gospel this week is a striking portrait of two kings face-to-face. The cowering Pilot who, with all of the might of the Empire behind him, is too spineless to admit even that there is truth (v. 38), and bows down to the will of the mob contrary to his own judgment (19:1-16). The other king, Christ, stands calmly and refuses even to recognize the authority of the court (19:11). His is "a kingdom not of this world" (18:36), and so he answers to a higher court. He is a king who was born to proclaim the truth (v. 37).
This is our King. He was born to proclaim the truth, and he commands even the stormwinds and they obey (Matt. 8:24-27). While the Fellowship of St Columbanus may not know the plans that God has for us, we are confident in the sovereignty of our king as our patron saint was. We know that he has begun a good work in us, and he is faithful to complete it in us (Phil 1:6)
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