RCIA: Week Six

In honor of Thanksgiving weekend, no RCIA session was held for November 26, 2006.

Old Testament:

As the visions during the night continued, I saw one like a son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven; when he reached the Ancient One and presented before
him, He received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every
language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be
taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed." -- Daniel 7:13-14

New Testament:

"and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and
ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our
sins by his blood, who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and
Father, to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming
amid the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. All the
peopls of the earth will lament him. Yes. Amen. 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,'
says the Lord God, 'the one who is and who was and who is to come, the
almighty.'" -- Revelation 1:5-8

Gospel:

"So Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him,
'Are the King of the Jews?' Jesus answered, 'Do you say this on your own or have
others told you about me?' Pilate answered, 'I am not a Jew, am I? Your own
nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?' Jesus
answered, 'My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to
this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to
the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.' So Pilate said to him, 'Then
you are a king?' Jesus answered, 'You say I am a king. 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.'" -- John 18:33-37

In today's media, we often find ourselves hypnotized by the activities of royal families around the world or, in the US where there is no royal family, the activities of celebrities often regarded as royalty. Workplace conversations center around Angelina Jolie's latest humanitarian aid project. News networks report on the Queen of England's plan to visit the US next May to mark the 400th anniversary of the establishment of Jamestown. And gossip columnists routinely report on every detail of the lives of countless celebrities. But, in truth, we have a King who surpasses all earthly royalty and celebrity in goodness and glory: Jesus Christ. However, it isn't always easy to keep our priorities straight. We're human, and it's difficult not to think, at time, that people who seem beautiful and talented and elegant and charitible (despite their repeatedly reported flaws) who are seemingly admired by millions aren't worthy of our own admiration and worship of sorts. But we are told there is a greater power. In the Book of Revelations, John wrote to a people persecuted by the Roman Emperor Domitian for their refusal to burn incense in worship before his likeness. John bolstered the faith of his people, reminding them that their King is a king whose dominion was unlimited, crossing the divides of race and nationality, language, geography, and time. And so, on this day of the feast of Christ the King, we are asked, to whom do we give our allegiance? Do we worship at the altars of celebrities and materialism? Or do we bow to the King of Kings?