Solemnity of Christ the King
November 24, 2013
Luke 23:35-43
“Amen, I say to you, today you
will be with me in Paradise (Luk 23:35).”
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| from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/529181/faith-stronger-than-storm |
Cross is the sign of
contradiction and of supreme irony of our world. It is precisely here that humanity
comes face to face with its ugliest forms. At the cross, human beings are
tortured to death just like animals. At the cross, the innocent victims are
condemned to be the most-wanted criminals. At the cross, God, the very source
of life, faces His brutal death.
The cross brings all the best of
humanity and all achievement of men into a mere shadow. Let us see the life of
Jesus few months before His crucifixion. There, Jesus was a superstar, an
expected Messiah to save the Jews from the bondage of the Roman imperial. His
down-to-earth preaching successfully drew simple people to Himself. His miraculous
healing ministry levered his popularity up. His powerful exorcism conquered
even the invisible enemies of other realms. Jesus was the real deal and fans
flocked around Him, ready to share His conquest. Yet, the cross reduced all
these into nothingness. At the foot of the cross, all His followers’
expectations were shattered into pieces and they ran away leaving Jesus alone. Jesus
was a failure.
The recent super typhoon Yolanda
(International name: Haiyan) hit the middle part of the Philippines and
practically flattened many civilizations it came across. Predictably, more than
5 thousand people lost their lives and millions saw their own houses blown away.
Here, the best of humanity shrank into a bare existence. Power, wealth,
educational attainments and beauty could no longer buy even a bottle of fresh
water. At the cross of life, anything that we could be proud of, means nothing.
However, it is not yet the end. Cross
may become the sign of contradiction, but never hopelessness. The cross may
trample all things that human has, but it is not able to destroy hope. Just few
moments before Jesus died, all but one mocked Jesus as the good-for-nothing king. “If you are king of the Jews, save
yourself!” But, there was one man who went against the odd. Being crushed
by the cruelty of the cross, the thief was as good as a dead meat, but he never
lost his hope in Jesus, and indeed, this was the only thing that mattered after
all.
Only through hope, one may find
the Paradise, the fullness of life, in the midst of utter sufferings. Jesus is
a king not by political power nor military coercion, but because He reveals the
true meaning of our life to those who never lose hope in Him. Only true King
can grant the fruitful life despite seemingly our absurd existence.
The super typhoon destroyed
almost everything in Tacloban City, Leyte, Philippines, and one can see nothing
but ruins. In dire need of food and fresh water, some resorted into looting,
while some others allowed violence to rule. But, do we think that the survivors
lose their faith? No! Just a week after the destruction, the people of Tacloban
once again rebuild their homes from the rubbles and attended the Sunday Mass at
the practically roofless Sto. Niño Parish Church. In tears, they prayed to God
on the cross and once again asked Him to point the meanings of all these
things. Anita Carillo, one of the mass-goers, courageously said, “My faith is stronger than Yolanda. I didn’t
fear Yolanda. She should fear my God.”[1]
For the survivors of
super-typhoon Yolanda who never lose hope
Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno,
OP
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