Dear Saints,

I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving. Like every year, I can’t believe it’s already here. Although our circumstances continue to be less than ideal, I’m hopeful that this Thanksgiving can still be an occasion to cultivate sincere gratitude for all of God’s gifts.

This weekend, we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, the last Sunday of the liturgical calendar. It's right that the church year culminates in this feast, because Jesus' kingship undergirds every aspect of Christian life and worship.

Jesus is King. Let's look at what that means.

The story the New Testament is at pains to tell is how God became king in and as Jesus of Nazareth. This is the substance of the Christian Gospel (the euangelion, the Good News).

It seems strange, however, to claim that Jesus is King of the Universe when the world is such a mess. But that's actually part of the point. The world is a mess because humans haven't yet lived up to our calling. Man was made to bring God's loving rule to life in the world, but we continue to live for our own purposes.

Jesus, embodying God's perfect rule of love, freely and fully lives out man's original calling. Bringing us to new life by his Spirit, King Jesus empowers us to live by - and be agents of - God's rule of self-giving love in and for the world.

That's the primary way Christ's kingship works: in and through his faithful followers. When we abandon ourselves to God - giving our total, undying, allegiance to Christ the King - we bring God's love to life for everyone we encounter.

Long Live Christ the King!

Christ’s Peace,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ