Christing the World

Lift up your heads, O gates;
rise up, you ancient portals,
that the king of glory may enter.
Who is this king of glory?
The Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory.

Psalm 24:9,10

I’ve just returned home after celebrating Christ the King of the Universe Sunday at our parish; this particular Sunday is one of the most treasured masses of the year for me. Throughout the liturgical calendar, we ascend to the throne of Christ in the worship of the Mass, but on this day of solemnity, we ask Christ, the King, to descend onto the throne of our hearts to be Christ OUR King. Tears flowed as I joined our congregation in singing the high hymns of the Church. “Jesus shall reign, and to him shall endless prayer be made and praises throng to crown his head. His name, like sweet perfume, shall rise with every morning sacrifice!” On this day, I am keenly aware that my life is a prayer of gratitude and thanksgiving to the One who knows me better than I know myself and waits for me to respond to his presence in humble acceptance of his lordship of my life. My worship of him ascends like a fragrant offering; I wonder if he is pleased by the fragrance of my life.

We responded to His sacrifice of love as we received his body and blood in the Source and Summit of our Faith–The Worship of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist! With all the pomp and circumstance of a royal court, we responded to this solemn truth with the hymn of thanksgiving, The King of Love. As we sang, “The King of love my Shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never: I nothing lack if I am his and he is mine forever.” I was reminded that I can only receive his abundance when I humble myself before him as Sovereign Lord!

We call today’s mass The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, because it is a fitting preparatory mass celebration for the Sunday before Advent. We are closing the liturgical year with thanksgiving for Christ the King’s coming into our hearts, and we open the new year by remembering Christ’s incarnation as a baby and his entrance as the King of Glory! A Baby King! Of course, it’s the most wonderful time of year. Jesus, the very Light of the World, entered our darkened world wearing a swaddling cloth as a Crown of Glory to begin the final battle between good and evil in our lives and, ultimately, in the last battle in the history of the world.

Caryll Houselander wrote that we are “Christing the world” as we bear His Light in our corners of the world. “…Light’s glory is to dispel darkness. Christ has illumined you with wisdom and the fire of his presence. It has been sparked and kindled in you. Let it blaze.” I desire to bear that blazing light! The prophet Malachi described how we do this when he spoke for God by saying, “A great King am I, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be honored among the nations. And now, all priests, this commandment is for you… give glory to his name.” (Malachi 1:14b-). We give God glory in our worship. We join our priests, the vanguard, advancing the truth that Christ is the King. We are the rearguard for our priests as we reveal the King of Glory to our corner of the world. The last words of the mass literally mean, “Go, you are sent to bear Christ to the world.” We carry the banner of Christ the King from the proper worship of Almighty God in the mass to the proper worship of Christ with our lives!

We sing our victory songs as we did this morning when we sang, “All hail the power of Jesus’ name…to him, all majesty ascribe…we’ll join the everlasting song, and crown him Lord of all!” We sing them in how we live and move and have our being in the royal court of heaven in the here and now. My corner of Christ’s court is small, and the number of people I interact with in a week is negligible by the world’s standard, but I know my orders, and I am a faithful courtier in the court of The Most High God! I choose to ascribe to him praise and honor before my loved ones and friends with every word I speak and every prayer I pray!

Pray
Christ, the King of Glory, I glorify you! I ask that you strengthen my arms as I carry your Victory Banner before my loved ones. I confidently proclaim you in my corner of the court of heaven as a shield of righteousness that I may be ready to testify to your reign of peace in each moment. You promise to help your anointed; you will answer me and give victory as I worship you as King of my life. Even when I collapse and fall, you will help me to rise and stand straight! O, Lord, thank you for consoling me today with that beautiful truth.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
~Amen

(Adapted prayer from Psalm 20:5-9; I Corinthians 15; Isaiah 55:12)