O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.
Today's antiphon - O King of the nations (Rex Gentum) is related to the phrase we sung two days ago, that proclaimed that the Messiah would sit on the royal throne of David, bearing the keys of his authority. Today we sing that He is also King of the nations, gathering all the peoples of the world onto the Lord's mountain (Is. 2:2).
This antiphon brings us back to our origins as a species. God formed us from the "dust of the earth," (Gen. 2:7). Yet we were also created in God's immortal image (Gen. 1:26-27). We possess this tension within us, between our natural "animal" instincts and the Divine stamp that marks us as different from the "beasts of the field." We were the only creatures created for our own sake. God's plan was to redeem fallen humanity, not angels (Hb. 2:16), even though they are much higher in being and glory than we are. Sin forms a chasm between us and God. It is God who searches for us, calls us to return. When our first parents sinned, it was God who is described as walking through the garden, calling out to the man, "Where are you?" (Gen. 3:9). Out of shame they hid, believing that the fissure between them and their Creator was insurmountable.
Jesus Christ is the bridge that connects fallen humanity with God. As the priest prays at Mass, in hushed tones, when he mixes the water and wine together at the preparation of the gifts, as Christ humbled Himself to share in our humanity, so we ask that we may come to share in His divinity. That is His promise, in which the Eucharist is a foretaste. That which was created good, blessed, holy, but fell into sin will be renewed. With that Original Blessing restored, countless supernatural gifts added as well.
Until the Lord's return, and this new reality is established, we still live this tension: of wanting to do good, but too often doing the evil we really don't (Rom. 7:19). But Christ has not left us orphans. As we heard yesterday, He is the light that dispels the darkness. We need to make our heart a home and our soul throne for the King of Glory. If we let Him rule our lives, follow the grace he gifts to us, there is no darkness that can overcome us.
And as I wrote before, there is a lot of darkness in the world. It can work on that tension we feel in our souls. While we need to be aware of what's going on in far off places, and live in solidarity with the oppressed on the other side of the world, we need to act locally. The sad truth is that there isn't much we can do about the war in Syria or terrorism in Europe. When tragedy strikes some far off place, our immediate response is to want to do something. It can be frustrating because the quick answer seems to be to text a donation to a Red Cross. I'm not criticizing giving to charities, like the Red Cross or the Salesian Missions, but something in our gut tells us that this isn't enough. We can get frustrated and lose hope. A solution to this disquiet, for instance, can be to ask what we can do to address the violence in the cities we may live in? How can we help the poor in our neighborhood? If we live in a place that is peaceful and secure, is there a soup kitchen or food pantry in a nearby municipality that could use a helping hand?
With Christ as King of our lives, we become more responsive to the needs of those around us. We begin to see the world with His eyes, and judge situations with His wisdom. We no longer live solely by our natural instincts, but it is Christ who lives in us (Gal. 2:20). The struggle doesn't end, the tension doesn't go away completely, but we live with greater hope and confidence.
I wrote that I would develop further my thoughts on the Kingship of Christ and how it relates to the political sphere, but I won't right now. After some prayer and reflection I can see that what was written two days ago is enough on that matter for now. I will only reiterate the point that our goal isn't to establish a theocracy, much less forced conversions. Yes, God wants all nations brought into His gentle reign, and be the King of the hearts of all men and women. But on this I'm reminded of the famous painting of Jesus, by William Holman Hunt. Our Lord stands, lantern in hand, knocking on the door of someone's house. It was pointed out to the artist that he had made a mistake; the door had no knob. He replied that there was no mistake. The knob is on the inside of the door. Jesus knocks, He may even call out, "Where are you?", like God to Adam, but he won't break in. He waits for us to answer, open the door, and give Him our hearts.
Christ is King, but he isn't a dictator. He isn't a brute. He knocks, and asks us to answer. If we live our call to be the light of the world, allowing Christ to reign in our hearts, to be the King of our lives, then we will be His instruments in drawing others to the Mountain of the Lord.
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