He was thinking thoughts of peace, and we did not know it.[i] Jesus is the word of God, His way of peace. In the Passion of Jesus, we see the cost of this peace that made reconciliation between man and God possible. Jesus is the ultimate peacemaker because of his passion, death, and resurrection. With His cross, Jesus opens the way, as St. Edith Stein writes:
But the Cross is not the end: it is lifted up and shows us the way to heaven. It is not merely a sign, but Christ’s undefeated weapon: it is the shepherd’s sling with which the divine David battles the evil Goliath. With it, Christ knocks loudly at the door of heaven and opens it.[ii]
Now is the time to consider the deep peace that belongs to the children of God. Jesus tells us, “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened.”[iii] He offers his salvation freely to those who come to him, but it is a salvation that requires acceptance. Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”[iv] Jesus is there knocking, calling. Even preveniently, He gives the grace to hear and respond and to open, He gives everything that is needed to choose Him, yet we have the freedom to choose to open the door. Opening the door means choosing the path of conversion; this flood of saving grace is a relationship of love, the way of the cross that ultimately demands everything. It is the union of life and love with God that each of us is made for.
Now is the time for salvation. Jesus is the mighty One, the conquering victor King. Everything is about the story of salvation, and the world is the battlefield. There is time for love in this story, but it is self-sacrificing and transformative, a transcendent love that clears away the mist of illusion and allows the bright light of reality to shine.
Jesus comes to call sinners to repentance
I have come not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, for it is those who are perishing who must be saved. It is a great and wonderful work to uphold those who are falling, rather than those who already stand firm. Christ willed to save people who were in danger of losing their souls, and he has been the salvation of many. When we were on the point of perishing, he came and called us.[v]
In these last weeks of the liturgical year, let us turn our minds and heart anew to the King and Savior Jesus Christ.
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Hunt, William Holman. “The Light of the World (Painting).” Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:The_Light_of_the_World_(painting). Accessed 12 Nov. 2023.
[i] Jer 29:11
[ii] “The Gates of Life Open to Believers in the Crucified.” ST. TERESA BENEDICTA OF THE CROSS (EDITH STEIN): WORDS FROM HER WRITING, THE “WISDOM OF THE CROSS,” Catholics Striving for Holiness, catholicsstrivingforholiness.org/st-teresa-benedicta-of-the-cross-edith-stein-words-from-her-writing-the-wisdom-of-the-cross/. Accessed 12 Nov. 2023.
[iii] Matt 7:7
[iv] Revelation 3:20 ESV, biblehub.com/esv/revelation/3-20.htm. Accessed 12 Nov. 2023.
[v] “From a Homily Written in the Second Century: Christ Willed to Save Those Who Were Perishing.” Week 32 Sunday – Office of Readings, www.liturgies.net/Liturgies/Catholic/loh/week32sundayor.htm. Accessed 12 Nov. 2023. (Cap. 1,1-2, 7: Funk 1, 145-149)
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
November 26, 2023
