Download B&W issue - Portsmouth People

CHRIST THE KINGWhat Sort of King is Christ?Notes on the Sunday Reading for October and November by Fr Jeremy CorleyOn the last Sunday ofthe Church’s year (25November) we celebrate the Feast ofChrist the King. This king has no landexcept all the earth, no nation exceptthe company of his followers, and noflag except Christian charity. The gospelfor the feastday tells of Pontius Pilate’squestion to Jesus: ‘Are you the King ofthe Jews?’At the time of Jesus, other messianicpretenders had sought to stir up theJewish people to revolt against theirRoman overlords. But this king was notgoing to begin any armed struggle.Instead, the leaven of the gospel wouldtransform the Roman empire fromwithin, so that by the fourth century theway of Jesus was being followed fromPalestine and Egypt as far as France andSpain.The long lead-up to Jesus’ crucifixion istraced in our Sunday gospel readings forOctober and November. In these Sundaygospels we hear of various events thatoccurred during Jesus’ journey toJerusalem - events that somehowforeshadow the cross. Indeed, St Mark’sGospel has been called a passionnarrative with a long introduction.On the 28 th Sunday of the Year (14October) we hear of a rich young man,who has sincerely tried to keep God’scommandments from the time of hisyouth. He asks Jesus: ‘Good Master, whatmust I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesusanswers: ‘Go and sell everything youown and give the money to the poor.Then come, follow me’. But sadly the richman finds this too difficult. What therich young man could not do, Jesus’apostles had done, leaving home andproperty so as to follow Jesus. And in hishumanity Jesus himself had given uphome and possessions to proclaim thegood news, and would eventually give uphis whole life to save the world.‘Go and sell everything you ownand give the money to the poor.Then come, follow me’Although the first apostles had lefthome and family to follow Christ, theystill hankered after glory, as we hear inthe gospel for the 29 th Sunday of theYear (21 October). The two brothersJames and John make a request of Jesus:‘Allow us to sit, one at your right and theother at your left, in your glory’. Thinkingof glory, they utterly fail to appreciatethe cup of suffering that Jesus will haveto drink in Jerusalem. In Jesus’ last hour,when in his humanity he most neededthe support of friends, James and Johnwill have run away in fear. Instead ofthese two brothers, on his right and onhis left there will be two crucifiedbrigands.We hear of the cure of the blind beggarBartimaeus in the gospel for the 30 thSunday of the Year (28 October). Thestory begins like other healing narratives.Bartimaeus cries out: ‘Son of David,Jesus, have pity on me!’ In response, Jesusstops and heals him of his blindness. Butthe newly-healed beggar does not just sitdown again to relax and enjoy his sight.Instead he follows Jesus on the road thatleads up to Jerusalem.‘Which is the greatest commandment?’This is the question posed to Jesus in thegospel for the 31 st Sunday of the Year (4November). Jesus gives a double answerfrom the Old Testament. First he refers tothe teaching from the Book ofDeuteronomy: ‘You shall love the Lordyour God with all your heart’. Then he addsa text from Leviticus: ‘You shall love yourneighbour as yourself’. These twocommands were not just slogans. Jesusshowed how much he loved his heavenlyFather by becoming obedient, even to thepoint of death. And he showed the depthof his love for his people by ransoming usfrom death at the cost of his own blood.‘Which is the greatestcommandment?’The gospel for the 32 nd Sunday of the Year(11 November) places before us the figureof the poor widow. In her generosity shecontributed her whole livelihood into thetemple treasury, without holding anythingback for herself. Her self-sacrificeforeshadows the self-sacrifice that Christis soon to accomplish on the cross, whenhe will offer up his whole life to hisheavenly Father to redeem us.And so, when we come to the Feast ofChrist the King, hopefully we will be moreaware of the depths of Christ’s love for us.As the feastday Preface of the Mass says:‘By offering himself on the altar of thecross, as a spotless sacrifice to bring uspeace, he accomplished the mysteries ofhuman redemption’. May we receive thegrace to follow in his footsteps.Portsmouth People is the diocesan publication for the Catholic Diocese ofPortsmouth. It is distributed free of charge to parishes and other groups in theDiocese which covers Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, the Channel Isles and partsof Berkshire, Dorset and Oxfordshire. The Portsmouth Roman CatholicDiocesan Trust is a registered charity (number 246871) with its address atDiocesan Office, St Edmund House, Bishop Crispian Way, Portsmouth PO1 3QAwww.portsmouthdiocese.org.ukEditor:Dr Jeremy L Kettle-WilliamsDepartment for Pastoral Formation, Park Place Pastoral Centre,Winchester Road, WICKHAM, Hampshire PO17 5HAeditor@portsmouthpeople.org.ukt: +44(0)23 9283 3121f: +44(0)23 9287 2172www.portsmouthpeople.org.ukAdvisory panel: Fr Denis Blackledge, Barry Hudd, Paul Inwood, Nicky StevensDistribution Manager: John Ross (JHRoss6523@aol.com)Area Contact (Romsey, N. Badd):Dawn Harrison (dawn.harrison13@btinternet.com)Area Contact (Reading and Newbury):Colin Parkes (colin.parkes@gmail.com)Portsmouth People, printed on forest-sustainable paper in Rotis Semi Sans 10 pt, isa bi-monthly publication distributed no later than the last working day of every oddmonth. Material for publication should be submitted to The Editor in electronicformat (Guidelines available on request) no later than the first working day of everymonth of publication. All rights of reproduction, translation and adaptation reservedfor all countries. The Editor reserves the right to edit material. All material received forpublication is understood to be free of copyright and any form of restraint. Noundertaking, except by prior arrangement, can be made to return any materialsubmitted by post. There can be no guarantee of publication for material submittednor can the Editor or any other officer enter into discussions regarding decisions toedit or not to publish. Portsmouth People does not commission nor accept materialon a fee basis. Views expressed in Portsmouth People are not necessarily the views ofthe Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth, its affiliated companies and charities, employeesthereof or persons otherwise associated directly or indirectly. All material is publishedin good faith, without guarantee.28 PORTSMOUTH PEOPLE