‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ Pilate asked. Jesus replied,
‘Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others spoken to you about me?’
Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? It is your own people and the chief priests who
have handed you over to me: what have you done?’ Jesus replied, ‘Mine is not a
kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have
fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of
this kind.’ ‘So you are a king then?’ said Pilate. ‘It is you who say it’
answered Jesus. ‘Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world
for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth
listen to my voice.’
John 18:33-37
The last king under whose name
Australians went to war was King George VI. George became king on the
abdication of his elder brother, Edward VIII, later Duke of Windsor. George was
Queen Elizabeth II’s father. Many are hopeful that Charles will succeed his
mother (as Charles III or, apparently as he would allegedly prefer, George
VII), and then be followed by his son, William (V). I have to admit that I’m a
bit of a republican, and I my hope is that Elizabeth II will be our last
monarch. At this stage (of her reign) that seems most unlikely.
After the executions of England’s Charles
I and France’s Louis XVI, it became evident that sovereignty was vested not in
a singular person (sovereignty means ‘subject to no one’) but in the nation and
the concept of divine kingship slowly but surely came to an end. Kingship was
once the norm across Europe and in many other parts of the globe. It had its
origins in small tribal groupings (and hence its relationship to the word
‘kin’). For thousands of years kings were not so much venerated for their
status, but for their leadership in battle, the wisdom of their judgements and
the integrity of their mercy. Kingship came late to Israel and was never a
great success. There was always too much selfishness, greed, division and
intrigue. David’s kingship, however much it was filled with such attributes,
was seen as a highpoint in Israel’s history. David was indeed a successful
commander and his constant failures appealed to those who saw him as very
human. Yet it is this figure, David, who sets the mark. As Israel slowly
disintegrated, they longed for a return to a Davidic kingship. The one who
would bring Israel back from the brink would be a descendent of that same
David. He would be a warrior-king.
In Daniel we again hear the prophecy: ‘And
I saw … one like a son of man… On him was conferred sovereignty, glory and
kingship, and all men of all peoples, nations and languages became his servants
…(7:13-14).’ A king was expected, a mighty king indeed.
And yet, the disciples and evangelists saw
Jesus, the son of Mary and (apparently) the builder’s son, as a king: To
Pilate’s question: ‘Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replies: ‘Yes, I am a
king. I was born for this. I came into the world for this: to bear witness to
the truth; and all who are on my side listen to my voice (John 18:33/37).’
Jesus’ kingship is not about politics, deception and scheming, but about his
leadership in truth, the wisdom of his justice, the integrity of his mercy and
love, his absolute faithfulness to his father and his disciples, his deep
companionship and abiding presence in the Sacraments. Jesus’ response to Pilate
could not be more truly said. His kingship is not of this world (the way we
live now) and yet it is here among us (in what we do).
No. A Charles, George or William is not
needed in my books. Australians have a firm identity and we see our sovereignty
firmly entrenched in our nationhood and democratic institutions. The image of
Jesus as king may not fit our current political preferences, yet it is rich in
tradition and imagery. When we open our hearts to him, we invite him to reign
in our lives; his kingship becomes paralleled with our lived Christian
experience. This coming Sunday is the feast of Christ the King.
Peter Douglas
HEAD OF SCHOOL SERVICES, NORTH
A Good Priest by Pope Francis
A good priest
must be able to empathize with his flock, to become involved in their struggles
and lives, says Pope Francis.
The Holy Father
said this today in his homily at the morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta,
reported Vatican Radio.
“It’s interesting
that in the parable that we all know of the Prodigal Son, it’s said that when
the father - who's the figure of a forgiving God – sees his son arriving he
feels compassion," the Pope said. "God’s compassion isn’t about
feeling pity: it’s nothing at all to do with that."
“I can feel
pity,” he explained, “for a dog that is dying,” but God’s compassion is
different, it means “empathizing with another person’s problem, empathizing
with that person’s situation.”
“Jesus healed
people but he is not a healer. No! He
healed people as a sign, as a sign of God’s compassion, to save that person, to
bring back the lost sheep to the fold, the money that went missing from the
woman’s purse. God has compassion. God loves us like a Father. He does this for
each one of us. And when God forgives, he forgives like a Father and not like
an official in the law court who reads out the verdict saying: ‘Acquitted for
lack of evidence.’ He forgives us from within his heart. He forgives because he
loved that person.”
Jesus, continued
the Pope, was sent to bring the good news, “to free those who are oppressed”
and “to enter the heart of each one of us, to free us from our sins and evil.”
“This is what a
priest does: he feels empathy towards others and becomes involved in the life
of people because he is a priest, like Jesus is a priest. How many times – and then we must go to
confession – do we criticize those priests who are not interested in what is
happening to those in their congregation, who don’t care about them. He is not
a good priest! A good priest is one who
empathizes.”
Pope Francis said
a good priest is somebody who gets involved in all human problems.
He concluded his
homily by paying tribute to Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, who was present at
the Mass, to celebrate his 60 years of priesthood. He praised the Cardinal’s
work on behalf of the Church when he headed the Pontifical Council for Health
Care Ministry, and said let us give thanks to God for these 60 years and for
God’s compassion.
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