Is Christ Your King?

25 Nov

“Your part can be the king, but unless people are treating you like royalty, you ain’t no king, man.”  ~ Jeff Bridges

There is a certain absurd sense to the quote from Jeff Bridges that applies to today’s solemnity. Today, we celebrate Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.  But, unless people treat Him like royalty, He “ain’t no king, man.” At least not for them.  However, the plain truth is that Jesus Christ is King of the Universe — whether or not we claim Him to be.

If we were ever to meet earthly royalty, there are certain protocols that must be observed.  One would never consider showing up to see a king or queen dressed in rags.  One would always be on his or her best behavior.  One would never speak rudely.  One would always pay attention to what the king or queen was saying.  The consequences for breaking the rules would be unpleasant.

Yet, when it comes to our King, Jesus Christ, there are many people who refuse to give Him the time of day.  They do not seek Him out.  They do not speak kindly of Him, rather, they use His name inappropriately. They claim to be His follower yet give bad example by mistreating others.

As there are consequences for breaking the rules for earthly royalty, don’t you think that there will be consequences for breaking the Lord’s rules?  Too many people commit the sin of presumption. They say and do the wrong things presuming that God will forgive them.

While God does forgive His people generously, if we live our lives  presuming on God’s mercy, there could come a point when we no longer care about being His son or daughter.  If that becomes the case, we might even abandon our relationship with Him.  The consequences for doing that are devastatingly eternal.

As Christ is our King, let us do the best that we can to follow what He asks us to do.  Let us also take the opportunity to visit with Him and listen for Him to speak to us in our hearts. The next few days give us the opportunity to do just that as we hold our annual Forty Hours devotions.  The Eucharist will be exposed each day after the last morning Mass until closing services at 7:00 p.m.  Our 7:00 p.m. guest speaker is Fr. Gregory Bim-Merle, the Associate Pastor at St. Michael Church in Schererville.  Please join us.

FAITH ACTION:  Make an effort to come to church and visit the Eucharistic Christ, our King.