After a little hiatus from my weekly letters due to being out of the office for various Synod events, I am back at it.

This weekend we celebrate Reign of Christ Sunday, also known as Christ the King Sunday. It is a feast day that is celebrated the Sunday before Advent. It is typically not a very big celebration, so I wasn’t sure how much anyone really knew about this feast day. I thought I would share with you both what I know and what I found out so that you can better understand what this day is all about.

The Feast of Christ the King was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 (so it hasn’t even been around for 100 years) and was created to combat the growing tide of secularism and atheism. In the 1920’s there were numerous countries around the world that were embracing extreme secularistic governments that were trying to eliminate faith from having any relevance in society. With what Pope Pious saw as a world crumbling around him that was trying to take Christianity with it, he wanted to reassure everyone that no matter what happens in the political sphere, Christ is always king, now and forever.

Pope Pious rooted this feast day and this concept of Christ as king in the incarnation; the very fact that Christ came to earth as fully human and fully divine. He rules in both heaven and earth. “From this it follows not only that Christ is to be adored by angels and men, but that to him as man angels and men are subject, and must recognize his empire; by reason of the hypostatic union Christ has power over all creatures” (Quas primas, 13).

He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls, or to use the words of the Apostle Paul, ‘as instruments of justice unto God.’ -Quas primas, 33

We, as Lutherans, have celebrated this feast day along with Catholics and many other denominations. We continue to recognize that no matter what government, however good or bad; no matter what political party is in charge, no matter who has the wealth or status in our society or around the world, that Christ is the one who reigns forever. Christ is the one who binds us together when everything else tries to separate us and take us away from one another.

It is our identity in Christ Jesus that defines us not anything else in this world. That is why it is important to celebrate this feast day. So, join with me this Sunday in declaring the eternal reign of Christ in our hearts, in our lives, and in this world.

Blessings,

Pastor Brian

 

Thanks to usccb.org for providing information and quotes for this article.