By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily at the annual ThanksForGiving Mass, hosted by the Office of Development, and celebrated Nov. 20, 2021 at St. Mary Cathedral, Miami.
This evening, the Church celebrates the Vigil of the Solemnity of Christ the King – yet the Gospel today presents us with quite an unsettling image of our king: He is standing before Pilate, humiliated.
He has already been arrested, insulted, and now his enemies look to have him executed. His kingdom is not like earthly kingdoms which sometimes build themselves on arrogance, rivalry, and oppression – for his kingship is founded in no worldly power but in a love which serves. The Kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of justice, love, and peace.
There was a time – back in the ‘60s and ‘70’s – when it was a chic or fashionable to describe Jesus as a revolutionary. And Jesus is a revolutionary but not the kind of revolutionary he was falsely accused of being before Pilate; yes, the Gospel he preaches does imply a revolution – but as Pope Francis said some years ago at the conclusion of his visit to Cuba, “Our revolution comes about through tenderness, through the joy which always becomes closeness and compassion, and leads us to get involved in and to serve the life of others."
On Thanksgiving Day, hopefully you will gather with your family members and remember with gratitude the many ways in which God has blessed you. Last year because of the pandemic, many had to forego such gatherings. Today, while the pandemic is by no means over, we are in a better place. And so, we gather once again at the cathedral, the mother church of our archdiocese, for a special Eucharist – a word that itself means “thanksgiving.” And at this “thanksgiving” Mass, as your archbishop, I remember each of you with gratitude for your continued support of the Church here in South Florida through the ABCD, the Archbishop’s Charities and Development Campaign. Your support was critical during this last year and a half. You make present Christ’s kingdom through the many works of tenderness, compassion and mercy made possible by you through the ABCD. So, if Thursday is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., today in the archdiocese is “Thanks-for-Giving” Day.
We hear in our second reading taken from the Book of Revelation: “Jesus is the faithful witness.” He testifies not about the love of power but about the power of love.
In a world in which we can find ourselves absorbed in material and thus ephemeral things, we must remember that, as his subjects, we will be judged on how we have witnessed to his truth, his love, his life.
We are confronted daily with what Pope Francis calls “la cultura del descarte” – a throwaway culture in which the poor, the marginalized, the vulnerable, the unborn can be discarded or disposed of. Because our culture has lost its sense of God’s tangible presence and activity in our world, human life is no longer considered the primary value to be respected and protected. In other words, if God doesn’t matter, nobody and nothing will matter either.
But to reign as Christ reigns means to serve God and others as He did. This is a service that flows from love, it is a service for the sake of love.
Jesus calls us to a culture of solidarity where, rather than seeking to rule over others, we seek to be ruled by God. He calls us to a culture of encounter that proclaims the equal dignity of each and every person made in the image and likeness of God.
This culture of encounter is something that Pope Francis speaks about often. A culture of encounter celebrates, even in the challenges and disappointments of life, the possibility of joy, a joy that comes from the gift of oneself. For it is that capacity to give of oneself that is the secret to a happy, well lived life.
In such a culture of encounter, there is no one so poor that he or she does not have something to offer, to give to the other – and, at the same time, there is no one so rich that he cannot receive from the other.
In today’s Gospel reading, Pilate is at a loss. He just doesn’t understand – and so often we do not either: Can there be a power not obtained by human means? A power which does not respond to the logic of domination and force? Jesus came to reveal and bring a new kingship, that of God; he came to bear witness to the truth of a God who is love, who wants to establish a kingdom of justice, love, and peace.
Whoever is open to love hears this testimony and accepts it with faith and enters the kingdom of God. One in Faith, One in Hope, One in Love, your support of the ABCD changes lives and through its many works of tenderness, compassion, and mercy you make Christ’s kingdom real for so many. Again, thanks-for-giving!
