24/11/2024

Christ the King

“Mine is not a kingdom of this world”

The Kingdom of Jesus is present wherever love, justice, and peace are lived.

According to Matthew and Mark, both John the Baptist and Jesus started their preaching with “repent the kingdom of heaven – or God – is at hand.”

Repent – in Greek metanoia – means “change the way you think.” Change your perceptions – and your values. Make yours like those of Jesus The Christ.

See the divine presence in everyone. “What you do to the least of mine, you do unto me.”(Mt25,40). Every person is akin to the consecrated host. 

Inside each person is Christ. For those who are not spiritually blind, every person you meet is the divine, palpably present in space time.

What about your values?

Christ’s values are underpinned by love; not just a warm feeling but appreciation and respect; service. “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve”: living by giving.

Belonging to the Church, leads to a believing – a way of seeing our SONG, our self, others, nature and God as Jesus Christ sees these - and behaving, trying to behave, as Jesus Christ would were he in our shoes. After all, he is present in our heart, our very self.

To live Jesus, The  Christ, values, we need to acquire virtues. Formally enumerated by Pope Gregory I (the Great) in the 6th century and elaborated in the 13th century by St. Thomas Aquinas, they are: humility, charity, chastity, gratitude, temperance, patience, and  diligence.

As we approach Advent why not try to improve yours? I will try to work on mine. Striving to be better keeps you young.