| 31st Sunday in OT - Year C [31 October 2004] "I will give You
glory, O God, my King" (Psalm 145).
1. On Good Friday, all practicing members of the Catholic Church
participate in the Story of the Passion of the Christ. Chapters 18-19 of
St. John's Gospel are read with the priest speaking the words of Christ,
while everyone in the church, including the priest, takes the part of
the crowd. Eventually, we come to a section of the Passion where a
choice is made by the crowd, an election is held. Two candidates are put
forward, one being Barabbas and the other being Christ Jesus. Pilate
announces
Do you want me to release to you Jesus, the King of the
Jews? And to this question we respond with the Jews of old
We want Barabbas, not this one. After having the good Lord
scourged, Pilate puts Christ Jesus on display. Pilate then turns to the
crowd once again and states
Behold your king. In response to this statement, we cry out in
unison
Crucify Him. Pilate is amazed at the results of the polling data
he is incredulous on how the election process is proceeding. And with
one last campaign pitch, Pilate asks
What? Shall I crucify your king? Then the chief priests vote with
their voices
We have no king but Caesar.
2. In just a couple of days, an election will be held throughout the
United States. Some elections will be for local offices, for sheriffs
and judges. Choices will also be made for state-wide positions, as well
as casting votes for sending some off to Washington, DC. And, of course,
a presidential election is also being held this November 2. First and
foremost, this election is not about abortion ... first and foremost
this election is not about euthanasia ... first and foremost voting on
November 2 is not about stem cell research or human cloning ... First
and foremost this election is not about defending the divine institution
of marriage as being between one man and one woman in a lifelong union
open to life. Despite the gravity of these issues, despite the fact that
we wish to promote a culture of life, the most important issue in this
election is determining just who is our ultimate King. Will Barabbas get
the nod from us? Barabbas who was an insurrectionist and a murderer...or
will Christ Jesus be chosen as our King? Will we render to Caesar more
than His due, including our very conscience and our immortal soul or
will we allow Christ to reign in our hearts and minds? This election,
first and foremost is about Christ the King
seeking either to extend His reign, His Kingship, or being an obstacle
to the growth of His Kingdom.
3. Now Christ Jesus is the King of Love
He is the Author of Life, the Bread of Life, the very source of our
existence, both natural and supernatural. His Kingdom, then, is a
Kingdom of Love and Life
a
Civilization of Love and a Culture of Life. The platform of the Son of
God is one that sees innocent human life as inviolable
His position on marriage was made very clear in the Book of Genesis
and His campaign to enlighten those in darkness and to bring life to
those in the shadow of death caused Him enter into the realm of this
world. Our dear Lord never compromises on essential moral issues
He never flip-flopped
He was never "no" one moment and "yes" the next. He expects members of
His party, His supporters to extend His Gospel of Life. To knowingly
vote for a candidate that is pro-abortion, when a pro-life alternative
is available, is to reject Christ, Who is the ultimate Life Candidate.
To choose a candidate that wishes to extend the culture of death and the
reign of Satan, when another choice is on the ballot that would either
slow or push back such an evil empire, is to choose Barabbas...is to
render to Caesar what is not his due.
4. When our dear Lord preached about Hell in the Holy Gospels, He often
used the term Gehenna...the fires of Gehenna. The word Gehenna described
an actual place in the Holy Land
a
place called the Valley of Hinnom, where pagan worship ceremonies had
been held and human sacrifices performed. Jews who had fallen away from
the faith of Abraham began to worship the false god Baal. The pagan
priests promised the apostate Jews that if they sacrificed their own
children to Baal, they would receive good fortune. A huge fire was
ignited at Gehenna, and crowds came bringing their young, crying
children. One by one the children were thrown alive into the flames.
Gehenna was a place of child sacrifice
part of Satan's empire
part of the culture of death. But it is interesting that during these
ceremonies a large band played loud music
trumpets, horns, harps, tambourines, and drums would serve to cover up
the shrieks and cries of the babies. Their screams became silent
screams, for the people were deaf. They had chosen Barabbas...they had
rendered to Caesar that which was beyond his due instead of having God
as their King. Remember, too, Zachaeus in today's Holy Gospel. He was
small in stature
that is he was short on grace. And as a result, Zachaeus was not able to
see above the crowds to see Christ the King passing by. Some remain deaf
to Christ's Words
others blindly follow the way of death.
v. Barabbas offers an attractive platform that makes many deaf to the
truth of Christ. This insurrectionist and murderer promised a temporal
victory to the Jews and an earthly paradise. Caesar, too, offers many
temporal benefits that can blind us to eternal realities. Oh, Caesar
might offer social security benefits and affordable prescription drugs.
But if the elderly and disabled are euthanized, social security benefits
and affordable medicine mean little. Caesar and Barabbas campaign using
universal health care to attract voters, but if babies are aborted what
will free health care mean to them? Allowing same sex couples
recognition and economic help may please some individuals, but it is
destroying the divine institution of marriage. Temporal benefits and
worldly advantages can make one blind and deaf to the Truth of Christ
and to our Catholic Faith. A Catholic conscience can reject Christ lust
like the Jews of old...Give us Barabbas... crucify Christ... we have
no king but Caesar.
6. May Catholics throughout this country truly realize that their
primary duty in voting on November 2 is to extend the reign of Christ
and to cause the reign of Satan to recede. That we may realize that our
act of voting is a moral choice that can be directed to our proper end,
namely eternal life. And for those who may be morally deaf and blindly
following the way of death
for those who plan to vote for a candidate representing the culture of
death, may they like Zachaeus receive a special grace that lifts them
above the crowd so that when they enter the voting both they may see
Christ the King passing by. And Christ is giving us the word we need to
hear, as well as enlightening the mind of the Catholic voter through His
Church. I want to end with the following quotation from the document
Living the Gospel of Life. A Challenge to Catholics in America
This 1998 document from the Bishops of America states the following.
We encourage all citizens, particularly Catholics, to embrace
their citizenship not merely as a duty and privilege, but as an
opportunity meaningfully to participate in building the culture of
life. Every voice matters in the public forum. Every vote counts.
Every act of responsible citizenship is an exercise of significant
individual power. We must exercise that power in ways that defend human
Life, especially those of God's children who are unborn, disabled or
otherwise vulnerable. We get the public officials we deserve. Their
virtue
or lack thereof
is a judgment not only on them, but on us. Because of this, we urge our
fellow citizens to see beyond party politics, to analyze campaign
rhetoric critically, and to choose their political leaders according to
principle, not party affiliation or mere self-interest.
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