CDXII – A Thief In A Crowded House

Heaven and earth shall pass, but my words shall not pass. But of that day and hour no one knoweth, not the angels of heaven, but the Father alone.

And as in the days of Noe, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, even till that day in which Noe entered into the ark, And they knew not till the flood came, and took them all away; so also shall the coming of the Son of man be.

(…)

Watch ye therefore, because ye know not what hour your Lord will come. But know this ye, that if the goodman of the house knew at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly watch, and would not suffer his house to be broken open.

Wherefore be you also ready, because at what hour you know not the Son of man will come.

–Matthew 24:35-44

A common nugget we can take away from scripture is that Christ will come “like a thief in the night”. I’ve written about aspects of this before and it sends a chill down my spine every time.

Hambone–I think it was him–introduced me to this idea that Christ would return when the last priest in the last church says the last Mass, and evil closes in around him. It’s easy to imagine a far off future, an empty church aside from this priest, a swirling evil surrounding him.

It occurred to me that the anecdote does not specify whether this last priest had a packed congregation or not.

Go to confession, people. This applies to me, too. Don’t forget a little bit of fear and trembling when contemplating Christ our King.

AMDG

CCCXCV – Christ the King of the Universe

November 21, 2022

Yesterday was the solemnity of Christ, King of the Universe. This feast always strikes me–it is one moment where we can afford our God a sense of grandeur. The King of England is bounded by the place we call England. The Holy Roman Emperor was bounded by political allegiance to the place. I’ve written before about how both people and things are subject to a Sovereign, and here we celebrate Christ as King of the Universe–not just the people, but the rocks and stones themselves.

It reminded me of this bit from Luke 22:

And there was also a strife amongst them, which of them should seem to be the greater.

And he said to them: The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and they that have power over them, are called beneficent. But you not so: but he that is the greater among you, let him become as the younger; and he that is the leader, as he that serveth. For which is greater, he that sitteth at table, or he that serveth? Is it not he that sitteth at table? But I am in the midst of you, as he that serveth:

I’ve written about this before, but it is worth repeating and expanding upon. I see in this verse an implied threat–or rather, a foreshadowing. He is among us (now) as he that serveth–but he will come (later) as he that sitteth at table. To put it flippantly, He is undergoing the greatest “undercover boss” experiment ever. He has come to perform His salvific work in humility, but the honor and glory due to Him as God will be won to Him.

He will come again not as Christ, sarcastically mocked as “king of the jews”–but as Christ, King of the Universe. And his coming will be so grand that even the stars will make way for Him.

AMDG