Every
now and then I hear the song, “Unanswered Prayers” by Garth Brooks. One of its great lines is, “Some of
God’s greatest gifts is unanswered prayers.” Each time I hear the song causes me to think about some of
the unanswered prayers—or prayers that were answered, “NO”—in my life.
There
was a time I prayed to be an NBA basketball player. That didn’t work out too well and I can admit now I’m glad
it didn’t.
Having
parents who insisted we played outside, I prayed that I would get a
Nintendo. That one didn’t work out
either, but thanks to my parents I now love the outdoors.
When
I grew up a bit I prayed to marry a girl—any girl. Yet God had different plans for my life and since being
ordained a priest I have never experienced more joy and peace.
One
of the greatest gifts ever given in the world was an unanswered prayer. For centuries the Israelites prayed the
Messiah would come. Born in the
line of King David, they prayed for a man who would bring riches, freedom and
military victory for their people.
Yet God didn’t give them an earthly king with power, money or military
expertise. But He did give them
His son.
And
Jesus was no ordinary man, but a God-man.
Our Christian faith sprang from Judaism and it is our faith in Jesus
Christ that makes us unique. We
reflect on this truth in St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians: “He is the image of the invisible
God, the
firstborn of all creation. For
in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, He is before all things, and
in him all things hold together.” Jesus is certainly our King, but he reigns in a much
different way than the Israelites expected.
This can be seen in Luke’s vivid account of Jesus’
crucifixion with the two criminals.
The rulers sneered. The
soldiers jeered. One criminal was
a cynic, demanding ironically, “Are you
not the Christ? Save
yourself and us.”
But the second criminal—the Good Thief—showed his faith
in Christ’s divinity. Remember,
Jesus was crucified by the Romans, who thought he was rivaling Caesar, and the
Jews, who called Jesus a blasphemer by claiming equality with God. What the Good Thief says on his cross
is a powerful statement of faith: “…we
have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received
corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing
criminal.”
On this great Feast of Christ the King, we renew our
faith in Jesus Christ, true God and true man, once more. We trust that he is not only the king
of the universe but also of our own lives. We pray for the grace today to be loyal subjects to our
King.
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