FREEDOM TO CHOOSE THE KING

SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING

2 Sam 5:1-3; Ps 122:1-5; Col 1:12-20; Lk 23:35-43

The Reign of King of Kings

The whole of creation falls under the domain of the Eternal Word of God, for God made all things by his word, and they exist to please His divine Majesty. All things are perfect that obey his will in all things. We know that nothing can resist his will ultimately, for God is almighty. He permits his rational creatures to make a choice, in line with their nature, to be confirmed in the dignity and glory he gave them by making them share his nature. Any who has wisdom knows that our only and true freedom lies in doing the will of God who made us for himself. Deceived by the serpent, our first parents set us on the path of darkness and ignorance of God and His goodness towards us. But God did not abandon man on the chosen path of ignorance, darkness, and weakness of the will; he continually offers us the light of His word to illumine our valley of death, which the choice of our first parents and our personal choices lead us. By always giving us his word, God allowed the path illuminated by his word to remain open to us throughout our mortal journey. The choice to return to God or remain in darkness remains with us, giving us the opportunity of being redeemed at every moment of our earthly sojourn. We have the opportunity to enter into the kingdom of light established by God’s eternal Word.

The opportunity for freedom that God provides and sustains for all came to a clear and more concrete realisation and representation in the story of Abraham and his progenies. God did not call Abraham in exclusion of other men, but through him to make the provision of freedom more concrete, visible, and accessible to all. The progeny God promised Abraham, who was to inherit Abraham, was also the means through which Abraham would inherit God as his ultimate blessing. He would also be the means through which all peoples of all nations would inherit Abraham’s blessings, which mainly consisted of his righteousness through faith, and God, who is his ultimate blessing. But all rested on the use of our free will. The example of the free use of our free will to choose God or not is again illustrated in the story of David. God anointed David king of Israel when he abandoned Saul and his house. God left it free for the people to choose David as their king or not. The anointing was active and operational in him right from the womb, but only gradually revealed to him and to the people. In the passage from 2 Samuel, we read how all the tribes of Israel finally decided to adopt David as their king. “All the tribes of Israel then came to David at Hebron. ‘Look’ they said, ‘we are your flesh and blood. In days past, when Saul was our king, it was you who led Israel in all their exploits; and the Lord said to you, “You are the man who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you shall be the leader of Isreal.”’” They decided to act in accordance with God’s word.

God had already anointed David king of Israel and made his will known through the prophet. But he did not force it down the throat of the people to accept David. He left them to choose in accord with his word. The provisions of God are all packaged in his word for us, waiting for our decision to follow God’s will by our expression of faith in his word. We can only know these provisions by hearing the word of God and believing in what we hear. Thus, the psalmist expresses joy in the thought of going to the house of God, for there we would hear the wonderful provisions of God our Father. “I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’ And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.” As the scripture says, faith comes by hearing the word of God. It is by hearing the word of God that we become aware of the infinite provisions God had made for us, even before the foundation of the world. We should, therefore, count it a happy privilege to read or hear the word of God.

Saint Paul writes of these infinite provisions and the wonderful plan of God for us in his letter to Colossians. As noted above, the word of God is a provision for us to inherit the kingdom of light and not just to walk the path of life and light. “We give thanks to the Father who has made it possible for you to join the saints and with them to inherit the light. Because that is what he has done: he has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the kingdom of the son that he loves, and in him, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.” The place God created for us in the kingdom of his Son was not an afterthought, but original in his plan for us. Just as he anointed David the king of his people and left them to choose him as their king, the Son of Man is our King from the beginning; he awaits our choice of him to deliver us from sins and forces of evil that harass us. “He is the image of the unseen God and the first-born of all creation, for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and everything invisible, Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers—all things were created through him and for him.” The freedom to choose him as our brother and king, as all the tribes of Israel chose David and came to him at Hebron to make a pact with him, was with us from the beginning. It remains with us in spite of sin. Let us choose him as our king, and he will deliver us from every sinful bondage.

The good thief did not think it was too late to make that choice as he was already nailed to the cross beside him. He recognised his opportunity, which was thinning out, to make use of his freedom to choose the Son of Man to be his king. It was a difficult choice to make, given the circumstances and the position and situation of the King on the cross. Nevertheless, he did just that. “One of the criminals hanging there abused him. ‘Are you not the Christ? He said. ‘Save yourself and us as well.’ But the other spoke up and rebuked him. ‘Have you no fear of God at all?’ he said. ‘You got the same sentence as he did, but in our case we deserve it: we are paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus,’ he said ‘remember me when you come into your kingdom.’” The choice is personal and remains so. Each of us must continually and consistently choose the Son of Man as our King, to possess the salvific effects of his death and resurrection applied to us. As often as we choose him to reign over us, he renews his pact with us for our salvation. “Indeed, I promise you, today you will be with me in paradise.” May the Son of Man reign over us in life, through death, to life everlasting.

Let us pray: Almighty ever-living God, whose will is to restore all things in your beloved son, the King of the universe, grant, we pray, that the whole creation, set free from slavery, may render your majesty service and ceaselessly proclaim your praise. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.