Jesus THE King, mocked as Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews: 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

34^thSunday in Ordinary time: Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

One of the most ironic phrases in the Bible was in the Passion of Jesus Christ

·     It was said by many Jewish leaders (and remember, Jesus was Jewish too), the crowds, the soldiers, and most famously written by Pontius Pilate

·     The phrase: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews

As you notice what we call 4 letters on many of our crucifixes: INRI

·     Today we heard in the Gospel according to Luke:

o   “Even the soldiers jeered at him. 
As they approached to offer him wine they called out,
"If you are King of the Jews, save yourself." 
Above him there was an inscription that read,
"This is the King of the Jews."

o   In John we heard some more insight what was placed above Jesus Christ: “Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.” Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

Now many of you probably remember the letters INRI:

·     And why does it have INRI?

o   In Latin in sounds like this: 'Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum' 

o   Latin: I (no Js in Latin), N for Nazareth, R, rex = king, I = Jews

·     And why was this sign written on the cross?

o   Each person who was crucified by the Romans put a sign above or around the person with their crime

Thus, Jesus was really insulted and mocked with those letters but it  was actually truthful, even those who were making fun of Jesus

·     Jesus Christ is our King, Jesus is the King of kings, Jesus is the King of the Kingdom, Jesus is the King of the Universe

And that is what we celebrate this Mass at the end of our last Sunday in our liturgical year