Deacon Tom Writes,
“Foreign Allegiance”
As
we celebrate the end of our Liturgical Year with the Feast of Christ the King,
we are reminded that, like Jesus, “our kingdom is not of this world”. As Disciples of Christ, our loyalties
are to Him and to the Kingdom that He revealed, suffered and died for and
invited us to share.
But
Jesus’ path of least resistance before Pilate when He refuses to summon “his
attendants… to keep from being handed over” doesn’t in any way mean that
the Kingdom of God is for the weak and the timid. On the contrary, those who
strive to live in His Kingdom will be called upon to make greater sacrifices
than those who employ armed resistance. A much higher price than dying on the
battlefield will be demanded. The cost to be borne by those seeking entry into
the Kingdom Jesus establishes is self-surrender; it is the slow and agonizing
death to self that results from the taking up of our daily crosses, as when we
suffer the hardships, disappointments, and sorrows of this life knowing that we
are not alone or forgotten by God; it is in the dying to self, as when we
forgive others for the hurts they have caused us or when we place the needs of
others before our own. It is in making our best effort to follow where Jesus
leads us on our journey of faith and to trust in His divine providence that… it
will all work out for the good.
Jesus’
testimony before Pilate stands as a reminder of our calling to “live in the world but not be of the world, for… “Jesus’ kingdom is not of this
world”. We have, in other words, a foreign
allegiance” to one who is not of this world. To be faithful subjects of His
Kingdom, Jesus must reign in our hearts so that we become like Him and take up
the work that He began, the work of peace and justice. We must act as ambassadors
of Christ, spreading His love, mercy, and compassion. We must invite Christ’s
Spirit to dwell in our hearts, fill us up and overflow into the lives of all
who pass our way!
Enjoy
the day!
Deacon
Tom
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