“Christ the King” by Kristen Gawlik, Fiat Ventures
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
I’m good at loading too much on my plate. I mean this in both the literal and metaphorical sense. When I go to all-you-can-eat buffets, I really know how to get my money’s worth! I’m going to quickly move past this topic before this entire blog post turns into “how much I love food.”
Instead, I’ll focus on putting too much on my plate in the metaphorical sense. I don’t even realize I’m doing it sometimes, but the other day I had a stark reminder of it. I had the opportunity to go to Confession, and I was really excited to have the chance to go—I love the grace of that Sacrament. Like any other time I’ve gone to confession, I walked in, told the priest how long it had been since my last confession, and then confessed my sins.
Sometimes I’ll give the priest at least a little bit of a back story about where I am at in life in hopes that he can better counsel me in how to do better in the future. So I shared with the priest a little bit about what is currently going on in my life. I’m going to plead the 5th here and spare you the sins I confessed, but what really struck me was what the priest said when I was finished.
The priest put his head down for a moment, sighed, and then looked up and said to me with all compassion, “I know you’ve come here as a sinner, but I think you’ve come here more as a frazzled person who has way too much on her plate.” That certainly caught me off guard, but it was just what I needed to hear. He continued on to say that God doesn’t intend for life to completely overwhelm us. Maybe things will be overwhelming at times, but it shouldn’t be the norm. I sat in shock as this gentle priest laid things out for me as if I had known him for years.
Maybe you’re wondering why I’m sharing this story and what this has to do with the Feast of Christ the King. Well my take away from that confession was this: sometimes I don’t live as though Jesus is the King of my life.
I try to do things my way. Sometimes I say yes to things without first asking the question, “Is God calling me to do this?” Other things I might feel him prompting me to go out of my comfort zone to help someone in need or stand up for my faith and I chicken out. Then I think about other “what if’s” if I really lived with Christ as my King. My trust in him would be stronger. I’d be able to keep my eyes fixed on him amidst the chaos of life.
Jesus Christ is King. The Gospel reminds us that Christ is a King that will come at the end of time to judge, but I know that I often need a reminder that he is King now. He is the King of mercy, the King of glory, the King of the Universe. Still, more, Jesus wants to be King of my life. He wants to be King of my every moment. He wants to be the King that says “be at peace.” He wants to rule my life, but he wants to rule it in love, in gentleness, in peace.
May Christ be the King and Ruler of all our hearts. May we not forget that he is not a king who comes to simply exert power over his kingdom. He is a King who comes to rule our lives because he alone brings freedom. Happy Feast Day!