This feast celebrates the power and authority of Christ by creating a collage of images that capture one or more characteristics of Christ’s kingship. Each image reinterprets the concept of king, investing it with new meaning. Gathered together they create a kind of litany that extols the kingship of Christ.
Shepherd and commander call to mind the care and protection that Christ lavishes on those who place themselves under his care. King of Israel is a sign of universal rule. Image of the Invisible God acclaims the divine origin of Christ and of the rule that he exercises over all. First born of all Creation places Christ over the entire created world. Source of all Created Things acknowledges both the sovereignty of Christ and his importance as the model after which all things were fashioned. Head of the Body, the Church underscores the intimacy and interrelationship that exist between Christ and all those who are joined to him through faith and baptism. Firstborn of the Dead not only acclaims Christ’s resurrection, but it also guarantees the resurrection of those who will follow him into death. Crucified King is clearly the image that reinterprets all other images.
The entire liturgical year is brought to completion in the last words of the gospel: ‘Today you will be with me in Paradise.’ These are the words that we all long to hear, words that are empty when coming from one who has no authority, but charged with power when spoken by the one who is king over us all.
© Dianne Bergant CSA, https://www.liturgyhelp.com/calendar/date/2025Nov23/0/RefDiBer