The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King [b] November 25, 2012 Readings Daniel 7:13-14 Revelation 1:5-8 John 18:33b-37 Calendar November 22: Thanksgiving Day in the United States November 23/24; Buy Nothing Day November 25: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women http://www.un.org/en/events/endviolenceday/ November 29: International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/palestinian/index.html December 1: World AIDS Day December 2: First Sunday of Advent Quotes Violence puts the brakes on authentic development and impedes the evolution of peoples towards greater socio-economic and spiritual well-being. Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, 29 Christ crucified and risen, the Wisdom of God, manifests the truth that divine justice and renewing power leavens the world in a way different from the techniques of dominating violence. The victory of shalom is won not by the sword of the warrior god, but by the awesome power of compassionate love, in and through solidarity with those who suffer. Above all, the cross is raised as a challenge to the natural rightness of male dominating rule. The crucified Jesus embodies the exact opposite of the patriarchal ideal of the powerful man, and shows the steep price to be paid in the struggle for liberation. Elizabeth Johnson CSJ, She Who Is, 159-160 The kingship of Jesus Christ, according to the world's criteria, is paradoxical: it is the triumph of love, accomplished in the mystery of the Incarnation, Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Son of God. This saving kingship is fully revealed in the sacrifice of the Cross, the supreme act of mercy in which the salvation and judgment of the world are simultaneously brought about. John Paul II Today in our situation the authenticity of the people of God goes by way of poverty and justice: they are the touchstone of the truth of the faith that is professed and of the genuineness of life as it is lived out: poverty, which involves incarnating all our efforts and incarnating ourselves in the reality of the oppressed majorities, and that will necessarily entail a voluntary Page 1 of 6
impoverishment and abnegation on the part of those who wield power; justice, which involves giving to the people what belongs to the people and struggling to uproot injustice and exploitation, and to establish a new earth, wherein the life of the new human may be possible. ~Ignacio Ellacuría SJ, martyred in ElSalvador in 1989 Peace is not merely the absence of war. Nor can it be reduced solely to the maintenance of a balance of power between enemies. Nor is it brought about by dictatorship. Instead, it is rightly and appropriately called "an enterprise of justice" (Is. 32:7). Peace results from that harmony built into human society by its divine founder, and actualized by men and women as they thirst after ever greater justice. Vatican II, The Church in the Modern World, #78 Thoughts for your consideration The authority of Jesus comes from the power of the truth (John 18) and comes out of the heavens (Daniel 7). In other words, it comes from someplace other than the kingly power represented by Pilate. It does not come out of military power, economic domination, threats of violence and abuse, the consumption of or accumulation of things, popularity contests, presentations in the media, or even election results. It comes out of the power of truth and compassionate love. The authority of Jesus does not simply make us people who have authority exercised over us. Revelation reminds us that we become the kingdom; we become a nation where all are priests; we all share authority. This vision becomes a model for our own way of exercising healthy Christian authority and living out the social teaching of the church. +++++ One way to understand the kingship of Jesus Christ is to look at the images that are offered us in the scriptures. When Jesus is born it is to a homeless family. When he travels around as a teacher, he seems to have no permanent home or dwelling and virtually no possessions. When Jesus enters Jerusalem it is on a donkey (not on a mighty horse or chariot). In the gospel, the kingly Jesus is a prisoner of Pilate and will be put to death. Questions for Reflection in your Faith Sharing Group 1. What is an example in your experience of someone exercising healthy Christian authority? 2. What is an example in your experience of someone exercising unhealthy authority over others? Page 2 of 6
Story A leadership story from the civil war http://www.teamworkandleadership.com/2011/02/a-leadership-story-that-will-move-andinspire-you.html Actions - Links International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women The United Nations General Assembly has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. They invite governments, international organizations and NGOs to organize activities designated to raise public awareness of the problem on that day. Women's activists have marked 25 November as a day against violence since 1981. This date came from the brutal assassination in 1960, of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic, on orders of Dominican ruler Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961). Get information at http://www.un.org/en/events/endviolenceday/ Get more info at http://saynotoviolence.org/ Check out women thrive at http://womenthrive.org/issues/violence For more info go to http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/violence_against_women/ Environmental Issues Consider taking online action on various issues like mountain top removal or climate change at: http://action.sierraclub.org/site/pageserver#.ukjjq2e9rfi Buy Nothing Day November 23/24 For generations, Christmas has been hijacked by commercial forces this year, teachers, occupiers, indignados and everyday people in over 60 countries are coming to the rescue of this cherished holiday with an entire month of de-commercializing, life-changing fun It all starts with a personal challenge: make a vow to yourself to participate in Buy Nothing Day this year you just might have an unexpected epiphany! Join millions of others on November 23/24 and see what it feels like to stop consuming for 24 hours. http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd Sweatshop Labor and Cyber Monday http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/ Crazy Facts Violence Against Women Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemic proportions. Based on country data available, up to 70 percent of women experience physical or sexual violence from men in Page 3 of 6
their lifetime the majority by husbands, intimate partners or someone they know. Among women aged between 15 and 44, acts of violence cause more death and disability than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war combined. Perhaps the most pervasive human rights violation that we know today, violence against women devastates lives, fractures communities, and stalls development. http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/violence_against_women/facts_figures.html? AIDS According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now more than 34 million people living with HIV. After 30 years of the global response to HIV and AIDS, only 24% of young women and 36% of young men in low- and middle- income countries are knowledgeable about HIV transmission and prevention. http://www.avert.org/world-aids-day.htm Prayers of Intercession Response: God, may the spirit of Jesus rule over us all. For those who have authority and power in our world, that they may use their power to promote the common good of all people, we pray. For those who are without political power in our world, may they be empowered to take their rightful place in our world order, we pray. For our church and all its people, that we may be a community united by a healthy exercise of authority, we pray. For those who in our nation who do not have adequate health care, that we can reform our system to provide quality care for all, we pray. For immigrants and refugees, that they may be welcomed and respected in all the nations of our world, we pray. For the elimination of violence against all human persons, especially violence against women, we pray.. For those who suffer from HIV/AIDS and their families, especially those without access to the medicines which they need, we pray. For all of us that we way continue to rejoice in our gifts, live in a spirit of gratitude, and share what we have, we pray. Page 4 of 6
Thanksgiving Day Prayer Lord, we thank you for the goodness of our people and for the spirit of justice that fills this nation. We thank you for the beauty and fullness of the land and the challenge of the cities. We thank you for our work and our rest, for one another, and for our homes. We thank you, Lord: accept our thanksgiving on this day. We pray and give thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. R: Amen. from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers and http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/prayers/thanksgiving-day-prayer.cfm Prayer - Meditation We have ended up spending billions on weapons, We have weapons that can destroy the whole world. Somehow we get ourselves into the business of selling weapons to others. Too many young men and women are trained for war which nobody wants. Too many people are hungry and afraid. We worry about money and food and clothes and things. We end up buying things we don t need. We end up working too much. We end up filled with things and worry. Somehow we end up with a world where some are very rich. We end up with a world where some are very poor. Page 5 of 6
We end up with a world where some have no work. We end up with a world in which some are overworked. Some people end up with a lot of power. Some people end up with making all the big decisions. Some of our brothers and sisters never get listened to. Somehow our politics becomes a politics of the rich or of the few. Our democracy becomes less democratic. Money and prestige and status are in charge. Skin color or ethnic group or gender seem to matter too much. We don t know how to let go. We don t know how to be free. We don t know how to be ourselves. Sometimes we are bound by all our fears. We don t know how to be active and nonviolent. We don t know what to do at all. Amen. Page 6 of 6