Feast of Christ The King

What a beautiful yet powerful way for us to end the Church’s liturgical year: to celebrate the great feast, Jesus Christ, King of The Universe. And it comes during the same week as Thanksgiving. So, we give thanks to Jesus, who is our King personally and for the whole world! Christ the King is truly the Lord of the world since all things were created through Him and for Him. When we were lost in sin and self-alienation, our King died for us so that we could live forever with Him. Christ the King remembers us. That gives us the confident joy of the redeemed. Some people are naturally optimistic. They seem to find laughter and enjoyment in every situation, even tough and uncomfortable ones. Other people are naturally pessimistic. They seem to find storm clouds on the horizon even on the sunniest days. The peace that Christ offers us goes deeper than natural optimism. Because we know with the certainty of faith that God is all-powerful and all loving, we also know with certainty that He can use even the most painful tragedies to draw us closer to Himself, which is the same as coming closer to lasting happiness. An old framer’s story illustrates this truth:

• Once upon a time a farmer’s mule fell into a dry well.
• When the farmer heard the mule’s braying and realized what had happened, he decided the mule, nor the well was worth the trouble of saving.
• Instead, he enlisted his neighbors’ help in simply burying the old mule in the well. Initially, the mule was very upset.
• But as the dirt rained down on his back, the old mule had a thought.
• He decided that every time a shovel of dirt landed on his back, he would shake it off and step up. And that’s what he did.
• As the dirt cascaded down the well, the old mule kept shaking it off and stepping up.
• Hours later, the exhausted mule finally stepped over the wall of the well. What was meant to bury him actually helped him!

Because Christ has conquered sin and evil, Christians too are able to conquer sin and evil – not by being exempt from trials, but by living them in the light of faith. Temptations, sufferings and injustices, when united to the cross of Christ our King, are like those shovelfuls of dirt – the evil one wants them to bury us, but God uses them to lift us up.            ~ Fr. John