Contacts & Publisher

Subscription Form

Home  / News & Publications /  Michigan Catholic News / 2009 /  The King is coming and already among us!

by Fr. Richard C. Macey special to The Michigan Catholic
Published November 13, 2009

This feast replaces the Thirty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, the last Sunday of the liturgical year. Pope Pius XI announced this feast in 1925 and assigned it to the last Sunday in October, before All Saints Day.

In 1969 Pope Paul VI assigned this feast to the last Sunday of the liturgical year, before the First Sunday of Advent.

Other Christian Churches, which use the Revised Common Lectionary, also observe this feast.

First Reading: Daniel 7:13-14

The narrative is recording "visions during the night." They are visions, the medium of prophets, not dreams. The night often stands for a time of trial or uncertainty or danger for the individual or the whole community.

This passage presents the fifth image used in the text. It comes from the Aramaic part of the Book of Daniel (2:4b-7:28). The phrase, "Son of Man" can refer to a human being. In later Jewish apocalyptic literature, the figure referred to a specific human individual, who would announce the final judgment day of the Lord.

Here, however, the author describes the appearance in his vision as "one like a Son of Man." It is a divine or semi-divine figure. The source of his coming is from "heaven," rather than the earth or the sea.

Earlier, in Daniel 7:1-8, the biblical author presented four successive empires by using beasts: a lion, a bear, a leopard and a beast with horns. They represented the Babylonians, the Medes, the Persians and the Seleucids/Hellenists. The kingdom announced by the coming Son of Man would replace the imperfect human kingdoms, which preceded it.

Second Reading: Revelation 1:5-8

The Book of Revelation relies on some of the same imagery as the Book of Daniel. Jesus Christ is given three titles: "the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of the kings of the Earth."

A kingdom is established, renewing the promise of God. The faithful are called "priests," those who have immediate access to God. It is also stated in the covenant, in Exodus 19:6: "You shall be to me a kingdom of priests ..." It refers to the special call of the people to become a holy people. They become holy by their connection to God.

The "first born of the dead" reflects opposites, the beginning and end of life. The end of this passage mentions the alpha and the omega, the beginning and end of the Greek alphabet. Also, the firstborn is the one who inherits the legacy of the family. Jesus enjoys a primacy. Paul will also speak of Jesus as the "first fruits" (1 Corinthians 15:20), a promise of more to follow Him into eternal life.

The author assumes the role of a prophet or an interpreter of prophecy. There is an allusion to a line in the first reading (Daniel 7:13), where the author refers to Christ "coming amid the clouds." The reference to "those who pierced Him" and "all ... will lament Him" recalls Zechariah 12:10, 12. The author alludes to passages, which refer to the coming judgment of God upon the Earth. It shows that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Israel.

Gospel: John 18:33b-37

All four Gospel narratives record the first words of Pilate to Jesus to be a question about His kingship. The ultimate King of the Jews was always God, even during the monarchy. Jesus clarifies the idea of being a king by saying that the reason He "came into the world" is "to testify to the truth." It is to be a witness, not to rule. Pilate did not understand, nor was he open to what Jesus had to say. In the verse immediately following this passage, Pilate says: "What is truth?"

The term, "my subjects," is the same Greek term, which the evangelist uses for those who arrested Jesus in the garden in John 18:3 (translated as "guards" or "temple police"). He contrasts the loyalties of the two groups. To whom are they subject? It is shown in their response to Jesus.

When you call chanceries or parish offices, you get an answering machine or a secretary. (Although I once called the chancery of the Diocese of Kalamazoo and the bishop picked up the phone - to my great surprise!)

However, there is a simple priest, who will probably be canonized soon, who answered the door, and the telephone and took Mass intentions - Fr. Solanus Casey. Through that direct contact with so many people at St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit, he became the instrument of God in their lives, by his example as much as by the words he spoke. In every assignment I have had, I have met people who spoke with him directly. It is astounding how many and how much people were touched by his kind attention.

Even God knew that He had to walk among us to provide for us. Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lord, is the living Word of God, who still is present through the ministry of His disciples. We must have that same humility of service, in order to offer the Real Presence of the Lord among us.

Fr. Richard C. Macey is pastor of Our Lady of the Woods Parish, Woodhaven.