In his homily on the Solemnity of Christ the King, St. Joseph’s, Port Moody, pastor Father Mark McGuckin contrasted the stability of Jesus’ kingship with the unreliability of the world around us in the context of B.C.’s recent flooding crisis. Here is an edited excerpt from his homily.
Friends, today we celebrate the last Sunday of the liturgical year – the Solemnity of Christ the King – our radically compassionate King who fights for us, who goes the distance for us, our King who is risen.
Even in moments of great challenge, what a gift it is to rely on our King of Kings, to draw from his love, his strength, and to delight in this blessed adventure that he has us on: an indestructible life-in-Christ if we choose it.
There’s something so solid here, brothers and sisters, so stable – that ultimate stability that arises from Our Blessed Lord’s benevolent dominion. That influence, that unmatchable power and stability, is so pure, so holy, and for you.
This past week, the top story every night on the news was about the great, local instability: disaster, chaos, massive flooding, devastating thousands of our fellow British Columbians. Landslides like we’ve never seen before, power outages, towns evacuated, panic buying, thousands of animals drowning, loss of human life, chaos, worry, and sorrow.
We continue to actively look for ways of being a small part of the relief effort, and we pray for our brothers and sisters who are on the frontlines – especially for all those who have had their lives turned upside-down over this past week. We’ve got to acknowledge the abundance of virtue, other-centred charity, and selfless heroism which has been on full display throughout this week.
And yet, there are still a lot of heavy hearts and a lot more work left to do.
A number of images have stuck with me over the past week. Incredible images that are disturbing. One was that of a jetboat propelling itself down No. 1 Highway that runs through the Sumas Prairie. Here is not just any highway. It is our country’s main artery … not the No. 3 or No. 2 Highway, it’s the No. 1 Highway, and it was rendered impassable, inaccessible by road vehicles in a number of areas, all in one 48-hour period.
How fragile was and is this mammoth feat of engineering, this highway, this work of mighty human hands. Repairs will happen and yes we’ll get back on two feet as a province. In fact, we can’t help but be inspired when humanity rebounds and rebuilds stronger than ever. That kind of communal resilience makes the heart sing.
Yet to see a jetboat going full throttle, a number of feet above the pavement below, cruising down our No. 1 Highway, sends a bit of a shiver down the spine. If that piece of engineering is unstable, what else is and will be exposed?
The truth is, everything! Everything on this material plane can only go so far when pushed to its breaking point. Everything has a limited shelf life. Every bit of matter is contingent – comes into being, fades away, brings something else into being. No matter how stable something looks or seems to be, wherever it is, whatever physical thing we find on the planet or anywhere in this material universe, it just won’t last.
Only that which is eternal will last. This is the Gospel truth. And what is the most solid, lasting truth that overshadows everything? God’s presence, God’s love, God’s power. We get to bear witness to this, and these truths resonate so deeply when we intentionally open our hearts to Our Lord, engage in prayerful dialogue with him, draw close to him in the sacraments, and embrace his life for us by saying “yes” to his moral law.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, our King of Kings, his benevolent rule, his dominion, and his royal kingdom is ever stable. It will never be washed away or flooded. It will never be compromised, because our Saviour King, his victory on the cross proven by his rising from the dead, his ascension into heaven, and his sending of the Holy Spirit, his victory was and continues to be definitive, absolute – the Easter Alleluia that rings out to this day no matter how dire the circumstances may appear in the world outside.
