Christ the King (“C”) – November 20, 2016

In St. John’s Gospel, Jesus defines His kingship in terms of witnessing to the truth, saying that all who are on the side of truth listen to His voice. In the Gospel of St. Luke, Jesus’ words and actions require – demand – a response from those who claim to be His followers. He requires of His followers that they be merciful as His Father is merciful. If we need evidence as to what the mercy of God looks like, all we need do is look at action of Jesus, the King who embodies the mercy of God. As He told the lawyer who identified the Samaritan in the parable as a true neighbor, we can imagine Jesus saying to us that, if we would know what the mercy of God is like, we need only consider Jesus’ words and actions – and then “do the same yourself”!