Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Deacon's Bench

Home
Catholic
Religion News
‘Jesus Christ is still King’: Homily for November 6, 2016, 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

‘Jesus Christ is still King’: Homily for November 6, 2016, 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Last updated on: November 6, 2016 at 6:53 am by Deacon Greg Kandra

‘Jesus Christ is still King’: Homily for November 6, 2016, 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2016-11-06T06:53:52-05:00 Deacon Greg Kandra

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

You may have heard: there’s an election on Tuesday.

If you’re finding this to be a stressful time, you aren’t alone.

Google the phrase “election stress,” and you’ll get over 900,000 entries. One of them is from the American Psychological Association, which reports that 52 percent of those surveyed describe this election as a significant source of stress. It cuts across all ages and demographics. No one is immune.

This has been a long and painful campaign—disturbing and ugly and depressing.

I think it’s safe to say: no one is happy with the choices we are facing this year. Our own bishop, Nicholas DiMarzio, put it bluntly last month in The Tablet:

“The political climate in the United States is chaotic and dispiriting,” he wrote. “The Presidential nominees of both major political parties seem scandal-plagued and corrupt. America deserves better but perhaps these two contenders for our nation’s highest political office are simply a reflection of the citizenry.”

The psalm this Sunday seems to capture our frustration.

“Hear O Lord, attend to my outcry… I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my word.”

And the letter from St. Paul sends this plea to the people of Thessalonika:

“Pray for us,” Paul writes, “that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked people.”

Clearly, judging from the scripture, a lot of what we’re feeling these days is hardly new.

But for all the anxiety swirling around us, destabilizing us, we need to bear in mind this unshakable truth:

We are not ruled by our fears.

Last week, Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles wrote a blog post and described seeing a sign outside a Protestant church:

“No matter who is President,” it said, “Jesus Christ is still king.”

That is a sign of the times—and one we desperately need.

The archbishop explained. “First,” he said “this means we should have great hope—because Jesus has already won the battle for us and he is walking with us. And second, if Jesus Christ is truly king, it means we still have a job to do, you and me. We still have our identity and mission as Christians. We are called to be people of hope and we are called to share that hope of Christ with others. No matter who is president.”

If you want to find the kind of hope he’s talking about, you need to look far beyond the campaign trail. A few days ago, the world got a glimpse of it in an unlikely place—and, I think, attention must be paid. This is a story the world needs to hear. It is a story about the persistence of hope and the triumph of faith.

It happened in northern Iraq, in one of the oldest cradles of Christianity, the town of Bartella, outside Mosul. Two weeks ago, Iraqi soldiers liberated Bartella from ISIS.

As the soldiers moved through the town and realized it had been abandoned, they did something unexpected. And beautiful.

First, they broke a long pole in two and tied it together to create a cross.

Then, they climbed to the top of the town’s church and planted the cross on its dome. Standing there, the soldiers blessed themselves and prayed.

They rang the church bells—the first time bells had pealed in the village in two years.

Then the soldiers then made their way into the church. They were so grateful to be there, one of them paused to kiss the walls.

But then they looked around and surveyed the damage: statues decapitated, pews overturned, shrines demolished, prayer books burned.

And they wept.

Then they did they only thing they could: they knelt among the ruins and prayed. They prayed in Aramaic—the language of Jesus—and said a Hail Mary.

The men in that church know this much: the words inscribed on that sign in California are also inscribed in their hearts.

Jesus Christ is still King.

They are not alone.

And neither are we.

Especially now. After all the poison and the pain…Christ is King. Remember this.

And we need to remember something else: we are called to be people of prayer—now, more than ever.

Pray for our country, our leaders and our candidates—the ones we support and the ones we don’t.

Pray that we never take the right to vote for granted—and that we never forget that our most important right, above all, is the right to life.

Pray that we live and vote in a way that honors all life, born and unborn, especially the weakest and most vulnerable.

Pray that we elect leaders who cherish and respect life.

And, after so much rancor and anger and hate, pray for healing.

The bishop of San Diego, Robert McElroy, last week gave a speech in which he said he believes the most important responsibility we have as a nation will not be exercised on Tuesday.

It will come, he said, in the days after.

It will come in looking beyond the partisan divides that separate us, and looking for a better way to live together and work together and govern together.

It will come in tending the wounded among us—the disenfranchised, the marginalized, the dispossessed of every color and gender and creed.

It will come in sharing the hope of Christ with others.

It will come in being Christ for others.

Let us ask our Lady, the patroness of our parish and the patroness of our country, to help make it so. In these final hours before the election, may she walk with us, shelter us, and intercede for us. May she stay close to us in the days that follow.

And may the mother who gave birth to hope continue to give birth to hope in our hearts … in our country…and in our world.

Photo: YouTube

Uncategorized

Previous Post

November 5, 2016

WATCH: Donald Trump's pre-election message to Catholics

Next Post

November 6, 2016 Lincoln's Bishop Conley calls on group to pull ads distorting his words on death penalty

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category "Mad Men" 9/11 advent All Things New Amazing video amazing videos amazon america Anglicans Anti-Catholicism art ascension thursday ash wednesday Atheists baltimore Bible Bishops Blogging bonnie engstrom Books bridgeport Brooklyn Chaplains children christian art christmas Church Churches CNEWA Converts criticism Deacons Death Penalty easter eastern christian Eastern Christians Ecumenism education Education Eucharist Europe euthanasia Evangelization Exorcism Family Feasts Gay rights Good Friday Great links Great Moments in Journalism Hanging with the saints heather renshaw Hispanic Catholics Hispanics History homelies Homilies Humor Hymn of the Week Immigration indianapolis Inspiration Interfaith news ireland Jesus Jews Journalism Judaism lent Liturgy logos Marriage Mary Media Medical news Mental health Middle East Monks Movies Music Muslims My world and welcome to it New Evangelization new york News Nuns Parenting Parish life peoria Persecution Politics politics Pope pope francis pope john paul Prayer Preaching Priests Pro-life Quote of the day radio rebecca frech ripp Ripped from the headlines rippred from the headlines Sacraments saints Scripture sex abuse Sex abuse crisis SEX ABUSE CRISIS TAGGED WITH: SEX ABUSE CRISIS The people in the pews the visitation project theatre This & that Thomas Merton Trappists TV Uncategorized uncategorized VATICAN Vatican vocation Vocations Voices & Views Women Worth a thousand words Writing Year of Faith year of mercy young people

Select a Month December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who wrote the majority of the Psalms?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Asaph Moses Solomon David

Books by This Author Books by Deacon Greg Kandra

See All Titles »