Christ Is Our King

22 Nov

“Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me.” ~ Saint Patrick

This portion of the prayer from St. Patrick’s breastplate is a vivid reminder to us of the relationship we should have with Jesus Christ, our Savior and our King.  We pause to consider this as we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe today.

If we claim Christ as our King, we need to be aware of what is necessary in order to be His faithful subjects.  First and foremost, we have to take into account who is in charge.  If we hail Christ as our King, He is the one who is in charge and not us.

Remembering that Jesus is the one in charge will help us to be able to fashion the way we act and to guide us in the words that we choose to say to others.  Being a subject of Jesus Christ, it is incumbent on us to live as faithful followers of the Lord.

If we are confused on how we should live our lives, all we have to do is look at the example of Jesus.  Throughout the Gospels, we are given stories of how He reached out to others, forgave others, spoke kindly to others, and cured others.

We might say to ourselves, okay, I can do three out of four of those.  I can reach out to others, I can forgive others, and I can speak kindly to others. I cannot cure anyone, however.  Ah, how wrong you would be.

We can do all of those things.  There are many people who have quit reaching out to others because they have been hurt too many times when they trusted that others would care for them.  When we reach out to those who have been harmed in the past, when we forgive someone who is hurting because of what they said or did, or when we speak kindly to those who only have harsh words spoken to them, we go a long way in healing their wounded and crushed spirits.

Some of us might say that this is all too difficult to do.  It would take a perfect person to speak as Jesus spoke and do what Jesus did.  Some might say that they could never do it all.  Jesus doesn’t ask us to do it all.  He asks us to do something.

Don’t think you have to start big and accomplish everything.  Start small.  Pick one thing, one work of mercy, one kindly word, and make that the start of showing your allegiance to Jesus.  Once the first is accomplished, others come easily.

FAITH ACTION:  Show the Lord by some manner of word or deed that you claim Him as your Lord, King, and Savior.