An excellent poem by Malcolm Guite…
We come now to a feast of Ends and Beginnings! This Sunday is the last Sunday in the cycle of the Christian year, which ends with the feast of Christ the King, and the following Sunday we begin our journey through time to eternity once more, with the first Sunday of Advent. We might expect the Feast of Christ the King to end the year with climactic images of Christ enthroned in Glory, seated high above all rule and authority, one before whom every knee shall bow, and of course those are powerful and important images, images of our humanity brought by him to the throne of the Heavens. But alongside such images we must also set the passage in Matthew (25:31-46) in which Christ reveals that even as He is enthroned in Glory, the King who comes to judge at the end of the ages, he is also the hidden…
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A priceless thing... 
Hi Mary, I had forgotten about Christ the King and it’s placement in the year. There is no comparable celebration where I usually pray now, but I did attend an Episcopalian liturgy yesterday (Sunday) with My Dear, and it was centered around the same theme. But surprised me was what I learned from the priest, Rev. Whitney Rice, during her sermon.
This feast day wasn’t instituted early on when there were Christian emperors., or rvrntually with the Roman Catholic kings, but way way later, 1925 in fact, as a response to the rise of nationalism and totalitarian governments in Europe and Russia. (Probably you knew that.) Also surprising to me, but very appropriate– I now understand– was the Gospel reading: part of the crucifixion story described by Luke, towards the end, when the “good theif” asks to be remembered. The two lessons drawn out by Rev. Whitney were about the nature of of God’s “kingship” (love, self-giving, sacrifice) and about how God remembers us, no matter what, if we ask. I hadn’t heard any of this in my years of attending Mass (well, probably I did; I just wasn’t ready).
A long way to say “Hi,” right? But it meant something to me, as did this re-post and many of your originals in the past. Blessed Advent to you,
Al
Hi Al,
So nice to hear from you. I think of you often but God has taken away most of my words, it seems, so the blog has been rather silent. I appreciate your reflections on our King. And now we move into the season of blessed waiting…May you and your loved ones be well.