Jesus Crucified: The Greatest Image of His Majesty

Solemnity of Christ the King Nov. 21, 2010
(Lk 23:35-43)

The people stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, "He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God." Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine they called out, "If you are King of the Jews, save yourself." Above him there was an inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews."

Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

At first glance, there is nothing majestic about the image today's Gospel reading is trying to present to us. Jesus is hanging on the cross, mocked by the soldiers and the rulers of the people. He is even mocked by one criminal beside Him who is suffering the same fate He was suffering. The inscription above Jesus, although it calls Him a king, only highlights the irony of the whole situation. We behold one who is called a king, but is suffering the fate of a criminal. So finally, we ask, what kind of king is this?

Jesus Himself gave us the answer even before His crucifixion. "My kingdom does not belong to this world. ...My kingdom is not here. (Jn 18:36)" Jesus is King of this world, but He is not a worldly king. He is against the ways of this world. While the world espouses selfishness and cruelty, He taught, by word and deed, the value of love and mercy. His crucifixion is the greatest demonstration of the love He preached. The repentant thief in today's Gospel is a receiver of the mercy Jesus taught. The crucified Jesus, therefore, is the greatest image of Jesus as King of Love and as King of Mercy.

In Jesus' kingship, we are reminded that there is a kingdom which is built on mercy, faith, hope and love. This kingdom is where Jesus reigns. But it is not of this world, for the world has come to hate these virtues, and thus, has also hated Jesus. That is why the world gave Jesus His proper throne and crown - the cross and the thorns.

For us who hail Jesus as king, we must remember that the kingdom we belong to is not of this world. We follow the law as dictated by God's commandments and by Jesus' teachings, even though these laws are not acceptable to the world. Our King expects our loyalty. And because of our allegiance to Christ the King, whom the world hates, the world will also hate us (cf. Jn 15:19).

Therefore, because we are followers of Christ, it's going to be difficult for us living in a world who hates our King. People who value love and mercy above all usually end up suffering in this materialistic world. It's like the world is telling us that it is impossible to live here on earth without being greedy, cruel and deceptive. The world persecutes those who live as Jesus did.

Nevertheless, the King we hail will be our salvation. If we follow His laws, it may lead to our exile from this world's kingdom. But because of our faithfulness to Jesus, the King, we shall live happily with Him in His everlasting kingdom, in the Paradise where He brought the repentant thief, where there is no longer pain nor persecution. So let us be strong and faithful to Him. As our King tells us, "In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world. (Jn 16:33)"

A Look of Mercy, A Glance That Cares

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time July 19, 2009 (Mk 6:30-34)

The Apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them.

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

In the Gospel today, we see Jesus give value to rest. He wanted His Apostles to rest as they have just returned from their missionary journeys. As disciples of Christ who bring His Word to others, we also need to rest. We need to pray and reflect. We need to have time alone with God to check our relationship with Him.

Jesus, in the Gospel, seeing the people who were like sheep without a shepherd (Mk 6:34), sacrificed His private time and the time of His Apostles in order to teach the great crowd. He knew how much the people were thirsting for God's Word. He had pity on them and He quenched their thirst for the nourishing Word.

As followers of Christ, we also ought to have great concern for our neighbor, especially for those who are in need, physically or spiritually. In these days, we usually look at people, especially those in need, as if they were just "other people". We don't see them as people we need to help, as people who, like us, are in need of God and of His life-giving Word.

This is the problem of our generation - indifference. As long as someone has no direct effect in our lives, as long as we don't need that someone for anything at all, we don't care about him. Jesus, on the other hand, looks upon people with a look of mercy, a glance that cares.

As Christians, we need to cast upon others this look of mercy, this glance that cares. We need to imitate Christ who cares for others, who does not consider the crowd as a great bother, but nourishes them and gives them what they need. We should also imitate the early Christians who sold their possessions in order to help those who are in want (Acts 4:32-35).

This is the mark of true Christians - love and concern for others. This is how we are to show Christ to others - by our love.

Jesus' Mercy Brings Peace and Forgiveness and Demands Trust

2nd Sunday of Easter/Divine Mercy Sunday April 19, 2009 (Jn 20:19-31)

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord."

But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe."

Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

The Gospel for today presents to us the disciples locked in a room, afraid for their own lives. Perhaps, we could also say that, aside from fear, they were also in sorrow for the death of their beloved Master, and were repenting for abandoning him in his passion.

The disciples were probably reprimanding themselves for being such cowards. They "locked" themselves in that room of fear, sorrow for sins, regret and self-reprimand. They were probably thinking that what they did, or did not do for Jesus, was an unforgivable sin. They were also, perhaps, unable to forgive themselves.

In this dreadful scene, Jesus entered, although the doors were locked. He showed them his hands and his sides, the wounds which signified the death he had defeated. He greeted them, "Peace be with you." And they rejoiced.

The risen Lord gave peace to His disciples. If you read the Gospel passage carefully, you'd notice that Jesus gave the greeting of peace thrice. Together with peace, He also brought forgiveness, though he did not mention it explicitly. Just seeing the risen Lord was enough for the disciples to feel at peace, confident that they have been forgiven. Jesus now extends this gift of peace and forgiveness to the whole Church, and even to us, by saying, "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained" (Jn 20:23). With these words, He instituted the sacrament of His mercy, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as a gift of peace for all His disciples.

In our lives, we often live like the disciples, locking ourselves in rooms filled with grief and sorrow. It's fine if our sorrow is a sorrow for sin, but even this should not hinder us from letting Jesus enter our hearts and show us how He defeated all sorrow and death. We must never lose confidence in Jesus' mercy. He is alive, and His resurrection is our hope.

This Sunday, we also reflect on the story of doubting Thomas. Like the disciples, he was too overwhelmed by grief. He had lost all hope and did not even believe the testimony of his fellow disciples who had seen the Lord. What happened to Thomas reminds us of the value of faith. Faith, by definition, is believing without sufficient evidence. As Christians, we live by faith. We believe in a God whom we have never seen, for we have experienced Him in our lives.

Jesus' mercy calls us to trust in Him, to have faith in Him so that He could pour out His peace and forgiveness unto our hearts. We need to believe that Jesus is loving enough, and is powerful enough to bring us out of the misery of our locked rooms.