Cross The Border With The Magi

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily on the Solemnity of The Epiphany of the Lord

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, January 2, 2022

Our Gospel narrative has two groups of people: King Herod the Great and the Magi. Who was Herod? History tells us that under Roman authority, Herod ruled as king of the Jews for thirty years. He was an extraordinary political survivor. When civil war broke out in Rome between Mark Anthony and Octavian, Herod first sided with Anthony and his ally Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. But when Octavian defeated Anthony and Cleopatra at Actium in 31 BC, Herod quickly switched sides, and convinced Octavian of his loyalty. Later, the Roman senate declared Octavian the supreme military leader and also gave him the honorary title, “Augustus” which means the “exalted one”). According to historians, this event marked the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire. Under the leadership of Octavian, now Caesar Augustus, Herod’s position as king of the Jews was secure. As a shrewd realist, he found his way to the top of the political ladder and maintained himself in power through threats, murder, and corruption. 

On the one hand, Herod was a clever and efficient ruler; on the other, he was a cruel tyrant. He was distrustful, jealous, and brutal. He ruthlessly crushed any opposition or any potential opposition. The Jews never accepted him as their legitimate king and this infuriated him a lot. He feared conspiracy. He executed his own wife when he suspected she was plotting against him. He also murdered three of his own sons, murdered another wife, and his mother-in-law for suspicion of conspiracy. Anyone Herod suspected died. He ordered the slaughter of the infants in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:1-18), in his desperate attempt to crush the infant Jesus. Before he died, King Herod carried out a final act of vengeance against some of his subjects he despised the most. He rounded up leading Jews and ordered that at his death they should be executed. His reason was that if there was no mourning for his death, at least there would be mourning for their death. Of course, after his death, his order was overruled and the prisoners were released. 

To avoid confusion, the King Herod that appears in the account of Jesus’ birth, in today’s Gospel is different from the Herod of Jesus’ public ministry. The Herod of the public ministry of Jesus was Herod Antipas, one of the sons of the Herod the Great. Like his father, Herod the Great, Antipas was also cruel. He imprisoned and executed John the Baptist when John spoke against his marriage to Herodias, his brother Philip’s ex-wife. Herod Antipas was the one that Jesus called “that fox.” He personally met Jesus when Pilate sent Jesus to stand trial before him (Luke 23:7-12).

As for the Magi, who were these men often described as wise men? It is not very clear who they were. They were probably astrologers or astronomers who were part of star-gazing culture that was particularly strong in Babylon or Persia. The practice at the time was to measure the planet and stars in order to discern in them the will of God. So, on their own terms, and using their own skills, these dedicated men sought out the will of God. Look at it closely! These men were seeking for God, but didn’t know precisely where to go. It was when they finally met the representatives of the Israelite religion that they were told on the basis of revelation where the Messiah is to be born. Yes, they followed the star, followed their own calculation and used their own intuition, but it was when they came to the Holy Land, and spoke to the experts of divine revelation that they knew where to go. 

What point am I making here? You have King Herod the Great, a very powerful man, but he was not the one who saw the rising star of the King of the Jews and the King of the world. Herod lived in the Holy Land, but these Magi crossed the border into Herod’s country. They came onto Herod’s radar screen looking for the one whose star they have seen. The Magi were looking for the newborn king to worship him, but Herod, under the pretense of piety, of wanting to see him too, instructed the Magi to report to him once they have located the exact place the child is. Why? To stamp out this new baby king. Herod was afraid of Jesus and responded with violence when he ordered the killing of infants (the Holy Innocents), but the Magi were captivated by Jesus and responded with worship. They offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh— three gifts that later defined the life and ministry of Jesus. In their offering, the Magi saw three things in Christ, namely a royal dignity, “he shall reign as king and deal wisely (Jeremiah 23:5); so they offered him gold in tribute. They saw the greatness of the priesthood, so they offered him frankincense, as a sacrifice. They also saw his fate, his death, and therefore they offered him myrrh. 

Sisters and brothers, the star in this story is not the star, nor is King Herod the king. Jesus is both the Star of the story and the King of the universe. Everything revolves around him. He is “the still point of the turning world.” He is eternity who entered into time. Jesus is not an afterthought, he is not like a plumber invited to fix a leak, or even a great prophet or teacher that reminds people of timeless truths. He is the center of all created things in all times and places. He is the entire meaning of life, of every human life, that of yours and mine. He made himself human for us, and we are made for him. He brought us from nothing to everything by creating us. So, like the Magi, spend your life offering your best to him. The Magi crossed borders just to find him. Today, cross over the border of sin, anger, resentment, religious indifference, tyranny, destructive addictions, violence, unforgiveness, jealousy, lack of compassion, bitterness, lack of love, and injustice etc and enter Bethlehem (the House of Bread). After the Magi had seen the baby-king, worshipped him and offered their gifts, they returned to their country by another way. May God help us not to return to the world of sin after we have crossed its borders over to Bethlehem. 

Amen. 

Have a wonderful New Year, everybody!

Not An Honorary Title To Call Her “Mother Of God”

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily on the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Saturday, January 1, 2022

Today, as people celebrate the beginning of a new calendar year, we, together with the members of the Church across the globe celebrate the great solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. When we say that Mary is the Mother of God, what do we mean? We mean that her child, conceived in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit, carried in her body for nine months, and then born into this world is God indeed. So, in this celebration, we highlight the Church’s pivotal truth— that in Jesus Christ, God accepted a human nature. God chose to be born into this world just as each of us has been born into this world. By so doing, God accepted the full implication of what it means to be human, including the experiences of suffering and death. 

But why did God choose to do this? What’s the reason behind this unbelievable and unimaginable kenosis of God? The reason why God did this is what the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation is all about. The Bible is not just a collection of ancient literature, rather the story of why God accepts a human nature in Jesus Christ. It begins with God’s choice of Israel several centuries before he reveals himself in Christ. Among all the nations of the world, some of them more powerful than Israel, God chooses Israel, but not for themselves, but for the sake of the world. Then God invites Israel to prepare themselves as the vehicle by which God will reveal himself to the world in an extraordinary way. But why Israel? Why not Athens? Why not Rome? Why not Ethiopia? God’s choice of Israel is mysterious, just as God accepting a human nature is absolutely mysterious.

Now, addressing Mary as the Mother of God is not a pious statement or a sentimental title to honor her as the mother of Jesus. To say that the Blessed Mother is the Mother of God is a true statement about her and about her son, Jesus Christ. It shines a spotlight on her singular and unique identity and mission. No other person is or will ever be the Mother of God. And no other human being knows Jesus as God in the manner that the Blessed Mother Mary did. God chooses Mary in such a way that he does not choose us. The life of the most exceptional saint will never be like that of Mary. God made her life something that our lives will never be. Yes, she is totally human, like us. She is like us, however there is something radically different about her identity and mission that while we love her, we can never completely understand her. She is a mystery too. 

Mary’s title as the Mother of God is primarily about her Son, Jesus Christ, and only secondarily on her. By referring to Mary as the Mother of God we express that Jesus Christ is God. Calling Jesus of Nazareth God is not an honorary title; it is not a chieftaincy title; it is not an effort by Christians to make him someone very important. That Jesus is God is really and truly a fact. That God became a man, a human being and pitched his tent among us is not a fairytale or myth. It really happened. 

What’s the point being made here? Since we are accustomed to think that every homily must deliver a lesson, what lesson should be learned here? The most obvious here is that God will always exceed all human expectations and will do so in ways beyond our understanding and in ways that are absolutely extravagant. What God had done and will do will always generate mindless debate for the proud and arrogant and ponder for the godly. Centuries ago, prophet Isaiah tells us that God’s ways are not our way and his thoughts not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). The action of God in human history will never fit properly into our categories of understanding. God is God! God is transcendent. We are not. So, it is pure arrogance and folly to think that the almighty and transcendent God will bow to our thinking and calculations. Whatever God does in time will always be mysterious, but it is through those actions that God gives us a window to see and understand what he is asking of us. The Incarnation of Yahweh in Jesus of Nazareth is the singular and most privileged way by which God reveals himself to the world. In Jesus of Nazareth we see who God is and what God is about. In Christ Jesus, God accepts a human nature and pitches his tent among us. In Jesus, divinity crashes into our space, into our life, not to overwhelm it, not to denigrate it, not to hinder it, not to shatter it, not to conquer it, not to embarrass it, not to humiliate it, not to enslave it, not to frighten it, but to elevate it. Redeem it. Liberate it. God comes not to suck all the oxygen away from us, but to give oxygen and become the very source of oxygen. God comes not to kill, not to maim, or destroy, but to give life more abundantly with his own life. This is the mystery that we celebrate today. 

May the Blessed Mother Mary who ponders all these things in her heart carry us and our loved ones in her heart throughout this year. Just like the year gone by, this year is also pregnant. But I pray that through the powerful intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, this year, 2022 will give birth to us good health, to peace, to joy like never before, and every good thing we have prayed for and we have hoped for. May this year be a breakout year for each of us. May Jesus be born anew in every aspect of our lives. Amen. 

That Which Makes A Family Holy

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily on the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, December 26, 2021

Nowadays, lots of people talk about what makes a family healthy, well integrated, functional, and peaceful. But on this feast of the Holy Family, let’s look at what makes a family holy. Our first reading (1 Samuel 1:20, 24-28) is the story of Hannah. Her husband, Elkanah, has two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. While Peninnah has given Elkanah lots of children, Hannah remains childless. So, whenever the family travels to the temple in Shiloh to worship the Lord, Hannah will beg the Lord for a child. The ark of the covenant was kept in the temple in Shiloh before the Temple in Jerusalem was built by David and Solomon. Although Hannah was barren, her husband, Elkanah loved her with a very special devotion. In one occasion, as she was praying and crying, Elkanah came over to her and asked, “Why do you grieve? Am I not more to you than ten sons?” From different stories in the Bible, a childless woman was a miserable figure; someone with a  very low social status. The theme of childless women is common in the Bible. In the Old Testament we have Rebecca, Rachel and the mother of Samson whose name was not given. In the New Testament, we have Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. All these women were seen incapable of having a child, but through the grace of God, they became pregnant and gave birth. In each of their stories, the Bible tells us something: that God works through the weakest and most despised, and that what we consider as suffering, is for God a point of entry. That’s the super-important spiritual truth of these stories. That thing you lack, that your suffering can provide entry to God. Don’t give up at all. 

So, in the temple in Shiloh, Hannah prays, “O Lord of hosts, if you look with pity on the hardship of your servant, if you remember me and do not forget me, if you give your handmaid a male child, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life” (1 Sam. 1:11). She’s making a  deal with God: if you give me what I want, I will return him to you. As she continues to pray silently, her lips moving without words being heard, she was noticed by the priest of Shiloh, Eli. Displaying far worst pastoral insensitivity than Hannah’s husband, Eli reproaches her saying, “How long will you make a drunken show of yourself. Sober up from your wine” (1 Sam. 1:14). The priest thought the woman was drunk. But with great dignity and self-possession, Hannah replies, “No, my lord! I am an unhappy woman. I have had neither wine or liquor. I was only pouring out my heart to the Lord” (1 Sam. 1:15). In due course, the Lord hears the prayer of Hannah. She gives birth to a son whom she names, Samuel, which means “God has heard” or “the name of God.” After the weaning of the child, Hannah returns to Shiloh and gives Samuel to Eli, the same priest who accused her of being drunk. She kept the promise she made. After presenting her highly sought-after son to the Lord, Hannah bursts into prayer, “My heart exults in the Lord, my horn is exalted by my God” (1 Sam. 2:1). As you may have noticed, Hannah’s prayer is like that of Mary’s Magnificat: My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” In fact, it is the canticle after which the canticle of Mary in the Gospel of Luke was modeled. Mary and Hannah are similar figures; both expressed this praise of the Lord. 

What are we seeing here? Something that St. Pope John Paul II called the law of the gift, which I have mentioned in my previous sermons. If you want to find the law of spiritual life, this is it: Your being increases in the measure you give it away. The moment you give to the Lord what he has given to you is precisely the moment you are exalted and lifted up. People of the world think that happiness comes from filling ourselves up what we think we are lacking. Worldly people believe the mighty are those who have filled themselves with the goods of the world, but it is actually on the contrary. But that’s not true. Your soul will magnify the Lord and your heart will be exalted when you give back to God what God has given to you. The truly mighty ones are those who have given away what God has given to them. When Jesus’ disciples gave up the little they have, their five loaves and two fish, they were multiplied to feed five thousand. When the widow of Zarephath gives to Elijah the little she has, her oil and flour multiplied. In the case of Hannah she is rewarded with five more children— three sons and two daughters by giving her first born, Samuel to the Lord.  The biblical family value on display in this narrative is this: the family exists not primarily for the benefits of the family members, rather for God and for God’s purposes. Hannah does not treat Samuel as a means of her own advancement or object of manipulation, rather she lets him go for God’s service. Your life is not about you. The family is not about itself. The family is the place where the missions of each family member are discerned and prepared for. 

A lot of people find today’s Gospel passage fascinating and and distasteful. Why? The 12 year old Jesus was left behind in Jerusalem. For three days, his parents searched desperately for him. Upon finding him in the temple, Mary said to Jesus, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” From a purely natural standpoint their irritation was quite understandable. Can you imagine their anguish and psychological trauma for three days and nights as they searched for him in the holy city. They probably imagined the worst has happened.  But what’s Jesus’ response to his mother? “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Again from a purely natural perspective, his response seemed callous and cruel. But the point being made here is that what precisely makes a family holy is surrendering to the will and purpose of God. In the first reading, Hannah offers her son in the temple. In the Gospel, Jesus comes to the temple to offer himself. So, surrendering to the will and purpose of God and finding your mission are what makes a family holy. Lots of people will tell you what makes a family healthy, functional, and peaceful, but the Church is interested in something more, something deeper. The Church wants the family to be whole and holy, and that means the law of the gift. Your being will increase in the measure that you give it away. What actually makes the family psychologically more adjusted is when we understand this principle. Give your family to God and your family will be holy and actually happy. 

God bless you!

The Shepherds, Mary, and “All Who Heard It” 

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas Day) 

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Saturday, December 25, 2021

On this day that we celebrate the greatest and most important event in the entire history of the world— God becoming a human being, our Gospel passage (Luke 2: 15-20) has three groups of people: the shepherds, Mary, and “All who heard it.” What’s their response to this historic and historical event? We begin with the shepherds. Shortly after Mary has given birth to her child, the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds who were in the region where Jesus was born tending to their flock. To them the angel said, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.” To make the story even more acute, a host of angels appeared with this angel and began to praise God, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” After the departure of the angels, the shepherds proceeded in haste in search of what they’ve been told. They run to Bethlehem, bothered everybody, and knocked on people’s doors looking for Mary and her child. When they finally found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger, they told everyone listening the message they received about Mary’s child. Why did the shepherds proceed in haste in search of the Holy Family? They have found their role in the Theo-drama. What’s Theo-drama? It is the script or drama that God himself is writing, producing, and directing. God has revealed to the shepherds their mission and purpose. So, they moved in haste. What’s the opposite of Theo-drama? Ego-drama, which is the drama that I’m writing, producing, directing and starring in. And it is the drama that most of us like to act out. Caught in ego-drama, we are consumed by personal projects, personal plans, and becoming a glittering star in the eyes of the world simply for self-aggrandizement. If your whole life is totally focused on acquiring wealth, procuring power, amassing honor and intensifying and increasing your pleasure, you are hooked in ego-drama. Finding your role in the Theo-drama is realizing finally that your life is not about you, rather about God, and God’s purpose for you. It is discovering that you are part of something much bigger than your own projects and plans, that you are part of a Divine Plan. This Divine Plan doesn’t denigrate the self, it elevates the self. When you surrender to God’s purpose for you, you find who you really are. The shepherds’ response should be ours as well. When God calls, drop everything, for nothing could be more important. 

As far as we know, Mary did not see the host of angels, just the shepherds; but the shepherds did tell her about the angels. What’s the response of Mary to what she heard? Wonder. The Gospel says that Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. The word “ponder” is a deep and beautiful word. Mary did not fully understand what was happening, but she did understand that what was happening was purely wonderful and unambiguously beyond words. That’s why she pondered it. Don’t misunderstand me. Mary understood that the greatest event in all of time has happened, but she did not understand every piece of it. So, she pondered. She reflected. As for us, when it comes to scientific or technological matters and other matters we lack the competence to understand, we often avoid pondering over them and leave them to the experts. But not so of anything universally human, anything that is about all of us. And Jesus is about all of us. This baby whose birth we celebrate today is about all of us. Like Mary, we should ponder about this great event—God becoming a human being. Pondering is part of prayer. Pondering simply means looking at something with rapt attention. And what we should ponder the most in prayer especially at Christmas is the immensity of God’s love for us. God loves us so much that he is willing to become one of us. Our meanness, our dysfunction, our cruelty, our dirt, our unreliability, our waywardness etc. did not deter God from becoming one of us. That’s huge, everybody! Ponder over it. Such love, such unspeakable love should make us ponder especially during Christmas.  

The third group of people mentioned in today’s Gospel is “All who heard it.” This group includes the people who were around at that time and place to hear the shepherds narrate the message they received from the angels and all who have heard of it for the last two thousand years through the Church’s work of evangelization and the spreading of the Good News. This group “All who heard it” includes you and me. What’s the response of the people who first heard the Good News? Today’s Gospel passage answers, “Amazed.” The word used throughout the Gospels to describe the first reaction everyone has to Jesus when they meet him is amazement or astonishment. His disciples, his enemies, and those who were not sure whether they should be his disciples or his enemies were amazed by Jesus. That should be our response and reaction too. Amazement is not just a feeling. Feelings are subjective, and they demand nothing from us. If you feel uncomfortable and I feel comfortable, that’s just about you and about me. But the amazement people have about Jesus is Jesus himself. Jesus is shocking. He’s a live wire. If we are not shocked and astonished by him, something is wrong somewhere, and it has to be fixed through prayer, through reading the Gospels, and meeting Jesus in his people, in our neighbors, especially the poor and all those in need, beginning with the members of our own families.  

Sisters and brothers, we’ve gathered here today to celebrate Christmas, to celebrate the greatest event in human history, to celebrate the turning point and fulcrum of history.  Some people see the 18th century as the climax of history, as the birth of the modern world, as the turning point of history. Everything before the 18th century they consider as dark and medieval, and everything after that as merely participating in progress and modernity. But today, Christians everywhere around globe say with a strong voice “Heck No!” Yes, the 18th century did give us many good things. There were great political and scientific revolutions in that century, but it is not the fulcrum of history. It is not the turning point of human history. The turning point and fulcrum of human history is the birth of Jesus Christ. The climax of history is that time, that moment when God became man, a human being, when the divinity invaded our space. That’s truly amazing! If this doesn’t shock you, something is wrong somewhere. 

Merry Christmas, everybody! 

A Single Visit 

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year C

St. Bridget Catholic Church, Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Today’s Gospel is one of the joyful mysteries of the Rosary— the Visitation. Mary, upon hearing a double portion of unexpected good news from angel Gabriel: that she will become the Mother of the Son of God, the new David and that her relative, Elizabeth, who was called barren has conceived a son in her old age, proceeded in haste in the hill country of Judah to see Elizabeth, who was married to Zechariah, a temple priest. No first century Jew would miss the significance of the residential place of Zechariah and Elizabeth— in “the hill country” of Judah. That was precisely where David found the ark, which was the bearer of God’s presence. So, at that same hill country comes now Mary, the definitive and final Ark of the Covenant. Mary’s hasty visit of Elizabeth has drawn a few interpretations. Some believe the reason why she hurriedly embarked on the trip is because she was bursting to talk to a woman who could personally understand her excitement, her wonder, and probably her nervousness, too. Some argue Mary goes quickly because she has discovered her mission. After the Annunciation, she becomes aware of who she is and what she is about. She has found her role in the Theo-drama. God has revealed to her her mission, her purpose. And so she moves in haste to see her cousin Elizabeth. She reaches out to somebody else who has also found her role in the Theo-drama. Elizabeth too was pregnant with John the Baptist. She knows her purpose in God’s story. Others insist her trip demonstrates her sense of community. Sometimes, our physical presence is the best gift we can give to another person. Mary was carrying Jesus inside her, which gives another layer of meaning to her decision to offer support to her cousin. In a 1997 homily, Saint Pope John Paul II said while reflecting on the Visitation, “In this act of human solidarity, Mary demonstrated that authentic charity which grows within us when Christ is present.”

Sisters and brothers, Mary’s visit is a single visit, however it is a visit that gave us one of the most joyful prayers ever said: Mary’s Magnificat. In the Gospels, Mary is presented as a reserved woman, as someone who doesn’t talk much. She ponders more than she speaks, but in the Magnificat, there are more words from Mary’s lips than all the other words put together in all four Gospels. In other words, Mary prayed more than she engaged in conversation with people. She is a model of contemplation, meditation and prayer. Her visit also gave us part of the most often said prayer in the world— the “Hail Mary.” The Hail Mary begins with the angel’s greeting to Mary at the Annunciation: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you you,” and then adds Elizabeth’s words: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” If you have a non-Catholic friend who frowns and kicks against this prayer, simply tell them that these words are straight from the Bible. So, it won’t be a bad thing to repeat what the Bible says the angel of God and the holy Elizabeth said. 

Mary’s visit is a single visit, however, it is a visit that offers the first Christian creed: Jesus is Lord. Long before Apostle Thomas declared, “My Lord and my God,” (Jn. 20:28), long before St. Paul declares in two of his letters (Rom. 10:9 and 1 Cor. 12:3) that Jesus is Lord (Iesous Kyrios), Elizabeth has made the declaration already. “Jesus is Lord” is the first creed, the first and most distinctive article of faith for a Christian. The term “Lord” is reserved for God alone. Jesus is Lord means that Jesus is divine, Jesus is God incarnate, that is, God-man. The first to confess him as Lord is Elizabeth. For she says to Mary, who brings her unborn baby to Elizabeth, “How does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Elizabeth is the first to call Jesus “my Lord.” If a Christian is one who confesses that “Jesus is Lord,” that makes Elizabeth the first Christian. Her declaration is also the biblical basis for calling Mary, “the Mother of God.” For that is exactly what Elizabeth said she was. But how did Elizabeth know that Mary’s baby is the Lord? To say that God is a baby, to say that a baby in a woman’s womb is God will not only be a stretch impossible to make for a Jew, but also a heresy punishable with death sentence. How did Elizabeth become the first Christian theologian? How did she figure out the theology of the Incarnation? The answer is in today’s Gospel. She didn’t figure it out. She was told. By whom? By God himself. Elizabeth was “filled with the Holy Spirit.” 

Mary’s visit is a single visit, but it gave John the Baptist the opportunity to become Jesus’ youngest disciple. John recognized the Lord from the womb, before he or Jesus was even born. Elizabeth said that, at the sound of Mary’s greeting, “the infant in my womb leaped for joy.” Like King David who danced before the ark of the old covenant, John the Baptist is dancing before the Ark of the New Covenant— Mary. He is doing his own version of David’s dance before the ark. It was Mary’s voice that John heard, and after that, Mary bursts into singing: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…” In her song, Mary is doing what John the Baptist would do once he is born: preparing the way of Jesus, pointing to Jesus, preaching Jesus, and stepping back and letting him appear. So, we have the greatest of all women (that’s what God’s angel called Mary) and the greatest of all prophets (that’s what Jesus called John the Baptist) doing the same thing: “He must increase, I must decrease,” as John puts it (John 3:30). What makes them great? Their humility. The central theme of the “Magnificat” is that God exalts the humble and humbles the exalted. 

Mary’s visit is a single visit, however, it’s a visit that brought divine grace to both Elizabeth and her unborn child, John the Baptist. By her visit, the Blessed Mother brought indescribable joy to another mother and child. A few days from now, she will bring forth a child who will give his very life for the salvation of the human race. Because of her child, we have true liberation, peace and joy. Because of Mary’s baby, we have access to the Father. Because of Mary’s child, we have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Because of Mary’s baby, we have redemption. Are you ready to welcome him in a special way? If your Advent has been that of proper preparation, then you are ready. You are ready to say, “Come, Lord Jesus” or ’Jesus, you are welcome into my life.’

Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, Year C

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, December 12, 2021

In the Gospel passage of last week, which was the Second Sunday of Advent, we read the following: 

“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert” (Luke 3:1-2). 

After the word of God came to John, what did he do with it? He went throughout the whole region of Jordan preaching powerfully without fear a baptism of repentance. 

This Sunday, we continue to read Luke 3. Today’s passage says that upon hearing John’s message, his audience pleads, “What should we do?” His response is simple and direct: if you have two cloaks, give one to someone who has none. If you have food, share with those who have none. To tax collectors he says, stop cheating by taking more than what is due. To the soldiers, he urges, don’t engage in extortion. Be satisfied with with your earning. What’s John doing? He is calling for a change of heart, mind, life, attitude and lifestyle. He is calling for metanoia— conversion. On this third Sunday of Advent which is called Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday, John the Baptist enjoins us to eliminate all things that alienate us from God, the source and cause of joy. The plan of God for us is to be joyful. As St. Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is the human person fully alive.” Jesus comes to make us joyful people. The moral life begins with joy. God wants us to be happy. What makes us happy? God! How can we be truly happy? By surrendering our will, mind, heart, our entire life to God. Refusing to surrender to the grace of God can only lead to one thing, real sadness. God is the source of happiness. Detach from God and cling to substitutes— power, wealth, pleasure and honor, all you could have will be laughter without joy, excitement without fulfillment, success with deep emptiness. 

Let me give you a hint, when you find yourself depressed, useless, hopeless, desperate, don’t attempt to grab and fill yourself with material things. Rather perform a simple act of love, a simple act of caring for someone around you. What’s love? It is willing the good of the other, nothing grandiose. And believe me, you are surrounded by people you can love; people who need you in some way. When you find yourself sad, act. Be selfless. That’s where joy comes from. That’s where joy is. Remember the words of the Lord, “Whatever you did for the least of my brothers and sisters, you did it to me” (Matt. 25:40). You are joyful in the measure that you forget about yourself and look to the other in love. Now, is this hard to do? Yes! But it is not that complicated to describe. 

In the second reading taken from Philippians 4:4-7, St. Paul says, “Dismiss all anxiety from your minds. Present your needs to God in every form of prayer and in petitions full of gratitude.” Terrific words! What does Jesus say? Perfect love casts out all fear. The absence of love is not hate; the absence of love is fear. What does anxiety come from? It comes from a conviction that we are in charge of our own lives. Dismiss all anxiety from your lives. When you hand your life in love over to God, and tell God daily that he is the Lord of your life, joy will come. Remember this always, your life is not about you, rather about God. Allow God to run your life. It is in that moment and in that measure that we find joy. What makes God happy? When we find joy! God’s joy is that we share his life.  

Reflection on Luke 5:17-26

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Monday, December 6, 2021

In the wonderful story of the healing of the paralyzed man, what do we see? First, we see the generosity of the men who brought the paralyzed man to Jesus. We see the generosity of the house owner who allowed the roof of his house to be torn open. As the roof of his house was being torn open, he did not protest and stop the “invaders.” We also see the generosity of Jesus who restored the paralyzed to wholeness. What else do we see? We see the tenacity, the persistence and the perseverance of the men who brought the paralyzed man to Jesus. When they saw the house and its entrance crowded by the Pharisees and teachers of the law and possibly other listeners, they could have said to themselves, “Oh well, we tried. Let’s take him home and wait for another day.” But they refused to end their pursuit for healing for their friend. In a dramatic fashion, they tore the roof of another person’s house and lowered their friend right in front of Jesus. They had the urgency of the now and it paid off. But that’s not the only thing we can see in this Gospel passage. For we also see the undying faith of these men. Because of their faith in Jesus, their friend was able to walk again. Upon seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.” Surely, the Lord can heal another due to your own faith. 

We see a lot of good things in this Gospel, but the most significant is what Jesus said to the paralyzed man: “… your sins are forgiven.” If you still harbor doubt about the divinity of Jesus, I hope you find your answer in this passage. The scribes and Pharisees are right to ask, “Who but God alone can forgive sins?” They are right to protest and kick against Jesus’ utterance. Only God can forgive sins. But what they failed and refused to understand was that the man speaking is the very incarnation of Yahweh, the God of Israel. He is God-man who has come to set us free, redeem us and usher in the reign of the God’s kingdom. Jesus is God. That is why he can say, “Your sins are forgiven.” 

Our Gospel narrative is about the healing of a paralyzed man. Do we see a lot of paralyzed people today? If I have the time to go round and ask how many of us have seen paralyzed people, I won’t be surprised if the number is not much. But believe me, there are an awful lot of paralyzed people around. Some of them may even be our relatives, friends, colleagues at work, celebrities on TV, politicians who run our government and powerful men and women who wield a lot of power. Some of them are paralyzed by fear, doubt, anger, arrogance, pride, resentment, ignorance, self-reproach, lack of forgiveness, hatred, and bitterness. Some are paralyzed by the choices they make on a regular basis, paralyzed by the abuse of substance, paralyzed by the abuse of the internet, by pornography, masturbation and and sexual immorality. Whenever God allows us to encounter such people, I hope we have the same urgency the men who brought the paralyzed man to Jesus had. When we come face to face with such people, what should be our job? To bring them closer to Christ. How? By a word of encouragement, word of hope, word of challenge, an explanation, word of forgiveness, a note, a card, a phone call, a visit, emphatic listening to their story. 

Sisters and brothers, there are a great number of people who are paralyzed. I see them everywhere. They are not really physically paralyzed but spiritual. Refusing to surrender to the grace of God is the greatest paralysis any human being can suffer. It is only in God that we can live, move and have our being. The stubborn refusal, the arrogant rejection and the hesitance to surrender to God’s grace is a very sad and painful paralysis. As you can see now, there are an awful lot of such people around us. As the mystical body of Christ, may we always feel the same urgency to bring others closer to Christ, the Truth. Only in him can we and all people truly live, move and have our being. 

God bless you!

Christ’s Three “Comings”

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year C

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, December 5, 2021

Advent is the season we pay particular attention to the three “comings” of Christ. First, we look back to the time in history when Christ, the second Person in the Blessed Trinity, entered our world, i.e. Christ’s historical entrance into time. We look back to the time when divinity invaded our space, when the marriage of heaven and earth took place. We look back to when divinity and humanity became one in Christ. Two thousand years ago, Jesus came in history and became the fulcrum of all history. He became the point by which we understand time. Centuries before him we call BC (Before Christ), and centuries after, we call AD (Anno Domini), the Year of the Lord. Although some modern minds will want you to see the 18th century as the climax of history, as the birth of the modern world, as the turning point of history. They want you to see everything before the 18th century as dark, and everything after that as merely participating in progress and modernity. But Christians say, no, not at all. The 18th century did give us many good things, there were great political and scientific revolutions in that century, but it is not the fulcrum of history. It is not the turning point of history. The turning point and fulcrum of history is the first historical Adventus Christi— the coming of Christ. His dying and rising is the point that all of history revolves. So, during the season of Advent, we look back at that moment, at that time when something unimaginably huge broke into history. We look back at it with deep spiritual attention. Because Christ has come, that’s why the mood of Advent, as our first reading from Prophet Baruch says, is about “taking off the robe of mourning and misery; and putting on the splendor of glory from God forever.”

The second dimension of Advent has to do with the coming of Christ that is happening right now, not just long time ago, but now in the life of the Church. In the second reading, St. Paul says, “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” God comes to us through the good work that he accomplishes through us. Christ sends his Holy Spirit to guide the work and activity of his Church. Christ who came to us 2000 years ago, continues to come to us through the work and activity of the Church. Jesus also comes, as the Book of Revelation says, to the door of our hearts. He knocks on the door of our hearts. So, right now, Jesus is coming and knocking on the door of your mind and heart so that he might enter it and continue to carry out good work in you. And not just that, he also comes so that he might make your heart and mind “pure and blameless for the day of Christ.” In his first coming, Christ presented himself in the setting of ancient Israel. But in his coming today, he presents himself in the context of the Church. We can’t know Christ apart from his body, that is his mystical body, the Church. The Church is not unconnected to Christ; she is not just a mere human organization entered into by those who follow him. It’s much more dramatic than that. The Church is the vehicle, the means by which Christ becomes present to his people. He becomes present through the sacraments, especially the Eucharist— the source and summit of the Christian life, through the witness of the saints, through the art and architecture of the Church, through good preaching and the poor. Didn’t Jesus say, “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do it to me.” So, in the cry of the poor, in the face of the suffering, we have access to Christ who is knocking right now on the door of our hearts.

The third aspect of Advent is the definitive coming of Christ at the end of time. For Christians, history has a trajectory. It is moving somewhere, toward its culminations, towards the second coming of Christ at the end of time when Christ will draw all things to himself and bring history to its fulfillment. Nothing last forever. A time will come when all the political order and even the cosmic structures will fall apart. This present state of affairs, this old fallen world would give way to what the Bible calls a new heavens and a new earth. The plan of God to finally save, transfigure and transform time, space, history, our very bodies and everything will definitely come to pass. This culminating moment we associate with the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time. When Christ came in history, he definitively won the battle in his dying and rising. In principle, the battle over sin and death has been conquered. But the fight is not over yet. There is still a kind of mop up operation going on. This is why members of the Church on earth is called the Church militant. Advent is a holy season that reminds us anew of the ongoing battle. It calls us to wake up from our spiritual slumber and to prepare, as John the Baptist announces in today’s Gospel. Let us  try to welcome him into our hearts now so that we can get into his army and fight the good fight. Although everyday should be about preparation to encounter the Lord who came in history, who comes now and who is coming at the end of time, the season of Advent is a time of intensifying the preparation. 

Make Jesus Your Fixed Star!

First Sunday of Advent, Year C

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

St. Bridget Catholic Church, Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, November 28, 2021

In liturgical sense, today is New Year’s Day. With the first Sunday of Advent, we begin the liturgical year of 2022. As you already know, New Year’s day is always a good time for resolutions, for taking stock, and starting over again. In today’s Gospel (Luke 21:25-36), Jesus is in full apocalyptic mode and spirit. He is speaking about the end of the world: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay… people will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world…” Scaring stuff, right? From the very beginning of the Church, people interpret this kind of text as actual description of the ending of the world. In her eschatology, the Church does indeed believe that in his second coming, Jesus will usher out old state of affairs and usher in the new world. But if the actual end of the world is the only meaning we can possibly assign to this text, then it will only be relevant for the generation that will experience the actual end of the world. But the Church insists that this text and other apocalyptic texts in the Scripture clearly speak to every generation, not just the one that will experience the actual end of the world.  

So, how do we read this? In ancient times, the sun, the moon, and the stars were the fixed points that helped people to navigate their lives either on land or sea. Before the construction of good roads, the invention of signs and GPS etc. people were guided by the fixed points of the sun, moon, stars, planets. So, when Jesus speaks about the falling of the sun, moon and stars to the ground, he is metaphorically speaking, indicating that the old established way of life is yielding to something new. For some of us, the acquisition of wealth, or the procurement of power, or the accumulation of honor or the basking in lavished and ostentatious living might be our navigational constant, something that lead and guide our lives round-the-clock. By those fixed points we tend to order our lives. They are values that drive us daily. So, if someone were to ask, “What kind of person are you?” The answer that might be given is “I am a businessman” or “I am a medical doctor” or “I am a nurse” or “I am an attorney” or “I am a professor of physics.” For others, their fixed points might be family, country, personal honor etc. If such people are asked, “What kind of person are you?” The answer may be, “I am a family man,” “I am a patriot,” “I am a honorable man.” Is it bad to say, businessman, medical doctor, family man, attorney etc? Not at all! Is it a bad thing to aspire for any of those? Not at all! But here is the point, when Jesus comes into your life, everything has to change. All the previously fixed points have to become fluid. What does that mean? When Jesus comes into your life, he is the star, the sun, the moon and all the planets. He’s the fixed point. He is that by which we live, and move and have our being. He becomes terminus ad quo and terminus ad quem—the beginning and the end of everything we do in life and everything we pursue. That means following him, pleasing him, and doing what he wants is finally all that matters. Everything that previously guided our lives, although they are good things in themselves, have to find their place in relation to him. They have to fall to the ground allowing Christ’s light to shine. If money or wealth is your fixed point, what does Jesus say? Go, sell all you have and come follow me. If prestige and honor are your fixed stars, what does Jesus say? He who humbles himself will be exalted. If popularity is your fixed star— that by which you navigate your life, what does Jesus say? Blessed are you when men hate and despise you because of the Son of Man. If worldly glory is your fixed star, Jesus says, take up your cross and follow in my footsteps. If your family is your sun and moon, your fixed star, what does Jesus say? Unless you love me more than your mother, father, more than your very life, you are not worthy of me. If religion itself and its institutions are your fixed stars, what does Jesus say? I tell you no one stone of this temple will be left standing upon another. Consider Saul who later became Paul. He dedicated his life to the preservation of the traditions of Israel and the Torah. But once Jesus came, Paul says, I now consider all these things rubbish. The moment Jesus came into Paul’s life, Paul’s fixed stars fell to the ground. 

Is religion a good thing? Yes! Is family a good thing? Yes! Is running a business, being lawyer, a professor, a doctor etc a good thing? Yes! Is striving for success a good thing? Yes! They are all good in themselves. None of them is morally objectionable. However, all of them must revolve around something more permanent. If you have worldly success, give it to Christ. Give your family to Christ. Give your fame, if you have it, to him. Make Jesus your Fixed Star. So, to prepare for the coming of Christ, to prepare for the invasion of Christ which will upset  the whole of our lives, we have to be ready for a kind of apocalypse, a revolution. This is why today’s Gospel passage which is about the end of the world is relevant to us and to every generation. Our world has to be upended when Jesus comes in. I know it is no fun to be turned upside down. It is a wrenching business to rearrange one’s system of values, behavior, and mindset. But that’s the challenge of Advent. At the end of today’s Gospel passage, Jesus says, “Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.” Our watchword for Advent is to pray. Pray so as to be able to withstand the upset that will come into your life as you rearrange things around Jesus and to stand before the Son of Man. Jesus is the Sun, the Moon and the Planet. He is the Fixed Star, and the Light. Throughout this Advent, let’s get ourselves ready to stand before him. 

Rearranging Our Lives Around The New Fixed Star

First Sunday of Advent, Year C

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

St. Bridget Catholic Church, Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, November 28, 2021

In liturgical sense, today is New Year’s Day. With the first Sunday of Advent, we begin the liturgical year of 2022. As you already know, New Year’s day is always a good time for resolutions, for taking stock, and starting over again. In today’s Gospel (Luke 21:25-36), Jesus is in full apocalyptic mode and spirit. He is speaking about the end of the world: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay… people will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world…” Scaring stuff, right? From the very beginning of the Church, people interpret this kind of text as actual description of the ending of the world. In her eschatology, the Church does indeed believe that in his second coming, Jesus will usher out old state of affairs and usher in the new world. However, as N.T. Wright maintains, if this text only mean the actual end of the world, then it will only be relevant for the generation that will experience the actual end of the world. But the Church insists that this text and other apocalyptic texts in the Scripture clearly speak to every generation, not just the one that will experience the actual end of the world.  

So, how do we read this? In ancient times, the sun, the moon, and the stars were the fixed points that helped people to navigate their lives either on land or sea. Before we had good roads, signs and GPS etc. people were guided by these fixed points of the sun, moon, stars, planets. Metaphorically speaking, the falling of these fixed point to the ground indicates that the old established way of life is yielding to something new. For some of us, the acquisition of wealth, or the procurement of power, or the accumulation of honor or luxurious living might be our navigational constant, something that lead and guide our lives round-the-clock. By those fixed points we tend to order our lives. What keeps us focused would be these values. So, if someone asks, “What kind of person are you?” The answer that might be given is “I am a businessman” or “I am a politician” or “I am a man who treasures his friendship.” Any of these could be our fixed point. For others, their fixed points might be family, country, personal honor etc. If such people are asked, “What kind of person are you?” The answer may be, “I am a family man,” “I am a patriot,” “I am a honorable man.” Is it bad to say, businessman, politician, family man, a patriot? Not at all! Is it a bad thing to aspire for any of those? Not at all! But here is the point, when Jesus comes into your life, everything has to change, and all these previously fixed points have to become fluid. What does that mean? When Jesus comes into your life, he is the star, the sun, the moon and all the planets. He’s the fixed point. He is that by which we stir our lives. That means following him, pleasing him, and doing what he wants is finally all that matters. Everything else previously mentioned, although they are good things in themselves, have to find their place in relation to him. They have to fall to the ground allowing Christ’s light to shine. If money or wealth is your fixed point, what does Jesus say? Go, sell all you have and come follow me. If prestige, honor, worldly success are your fixed stars, what does Jesus say? He who humbles himself will be exalted. If popularity is your fixed star— that by which you navigate your life, what does Jesus say? Blessed are you when men hate and despise you because of the Son of Man. If worldly glory is your fixed star, Jesus says, take up your cross and follow in my footsteps. If your family is your sun and moon, your fixed star, what does Jesus say? Unless you love me more than your mother, father, more than your very life, you are not worthy of me. If religion itself and its institutions are your fixed stars, what does Jesus say? I tell you no one stone of this temple will be left standing upon another. Saul who later became Paul dedicated his life to the preservation of traditions of Israel and the Torah. But once Jesus came, he said, I now consider all these things rubbish. The moment Jesus came into Paul’s life, Paul’s fixed stars fell to the ground. 

As I said before, none of the things I mentioned earlier is bad. They are good. Religion, institutions of religion, family, running a business, striving for success etc are all good in themselves. None of them is morally objectionable. Yet, all of them must revolve around something more permanent. If you have worldly success, give it to Christ. Give your family to Christ. Give your fame, if you have it, to him. Jesus is the Fixed Star. So, to prepare for the coming of Christ, to prepare for the invasion of Christ which will upset  the whole of our lives, we have to ready ourselves for a kind of apocalypse, a revolution. This is why today’s Gospel passage which is about the end of the world is relevant to us and to every generation. Our world has to be upended when Jesus comes in. I know it is no fun to be turned upside down. It is a painful and wrenching business to rearrange one’s system of values, behavior, and mindset. But that’s the challenge of Advent. At the end of today’s Gospel passage, Jesus says, “Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.” Our watchword for Advent is to pray. Pray so as to be able to withstand the upset that will come into your life as you rearrange things around Jesus and to stand before the Son of Man. Jesus is the Sun, the Moon and the Planet. He is the Fixed Star, and the Light. Throughout this Advent, let’s get ourselves ready to stand before him. 

The Kind Of King Our Lord Jesus Is

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

On the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Dayton, MN

Sunday, November 21, 2021

At the end of the liturgical year, we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. Some people have argued that this feast is considerably anachronistic. By that they mean it belongs to the past, that since we no longer have much to do with kings nowadays, it is no longer fitting in the present time. They suggested may be we should change metaphors and celebrate the feast of Christ the President. Although the notion of kingship is alien to many of us, and history books show that a lot of human kings, up and down the centuries were cruel, bloodthirsty, and corrupt, nevertheless, the metaphor should remain. Why? The whole idea is that Christ must become the Lord of our lives. He is the one to whom an absolute submission is due. Presidents serve at our pleasure. We vote them in and we vote them out. But when it comes to Christ, it cannot be that way. That’s why the metaphor of kingship, even though it is politically awkward for us, is theologically right. We don’t vote him in and out. We submit completely to him. He must be the Lord of every aspect of our lives— private, public, physical, intellectual, spiritual, our friendships and relationships. Christ must be the center and the Lord of everything we do. So, he is in deed the King. 

But what kind of King is Jesus Christ? The salient point is this: we are not dealing with another Louis XIV, or Napoleon, or Caesar Augustus. Just the contrary. We are dealing with the one who rightly reigns over all those earthly kings and who does not resemble them in any way. Jesus is King of every aspect of our lives. He is a different kind of King. The first clue to the kind of King he is comes from today’s Gospel (John 18:33b-37) which is John’s account of Jesus’ conversation with the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. After summoning Jesus before him, Pilate asks him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus famously responds, “My kingdom does not belong to this world.” By that he is implying that he is a King, but not a worldly king, not a head of a worldly kingdom. As we know, from the very beginning of his preaching and ministry, Jesus is all about a kingdom. He is proclaiming the kingdom of God. His kingdom does not belong to the power structure of this world that relies upon violence, cruelty, and domination to gain power and to persists in power. A good example of this kind of power structure is the one that Pontius Pilate represented. Romans did not send nice and gentle people to be governors of their provinces, particularly the province of Judea, which is famously restive. Pilate is a very tough man; he knew how to play the game of dirty and tough politics. Aside that, Pilate also knew how to deal bluntly and brutally with any political unrest. He carried out mass crucifixions to respond to rebellion. So, he is a prime example of a worldly king. 

So, what differentiates Jesus from cruel kings? The Lord says, “For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Worldly kingship has to do with power, self-aggrandizement, and violence. This is true for Caesar, for Machiavelli, to Hitler, to Stallion, to Idi Amin and to present day dictators and wanna be kings. But the kingship that Jesus represents is ordered to the truth. Its purpose is to guide people to the truth, which is another way of saying, guiding them toward God. Pope Benedict XVI speaks about what he called “dictatorship of relativism,” which is unfortunately the attitude that governs much of the life of many people today. Relativism says that truth does not matter; that as an individual, you can decide what you want to believe. It says you don’t need to be purposeful or focused. The danger with this culture is that it produces tyrants who oftentimes use this ideology of relativism to emerge and cease control. When you relativize the truth, when truth does not matter, when each person can decide what they want to believe, when there is no objective truth, when truth becomes personal both intellectually and morally, when you say, it is up to a person to decide what the truth is, when moral absolutes fall, tyrants walk into that space and then impose their will. Everyone— political leaders, religious leaders, public servants, private citizens etc should serve the truth. Everyone should be conditioned by the truth. Jesus tells Pilate that he has come to testify to the truth and anyone who loves the truth hears his voice. By implication, anyone who loves the truth follows him. In response to Jesus, Pontius Pilate who himself is a prime example of worldly power says, “What is truth?” For power person, truth is relative or subjective. Truth is whatever works, whatever that helps you maintain power and dominion. It’s just that sort of man who would blithely send an innocent man to be crucified. It’s because Pilate is indifferent to the truth, that’s why he sanctioned the death of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

So, to say that Jesus is our King is to say that we have surrendered our lives utterly to the truth that he represents and embodies. We are not under the aegis of this worldly power brokers. True kingship has to do with the truth. It has to do with great encounter with God who is truth. This is what the feast of Christ the King is about. Are we willing to give ourselves utterly to this King?