This solemnity marks the last Sunday of the liturgical year. Next weekend we begin the next liturgical year, the first Sunday of Advent, Year A. There are a number of points to note as we come to the end of this liturgical cycle and begin another.
Firstly, that the liturgical year begins with a time of preparation. We wear advent purple as we joyfully anticipate the birth of our savior. The season is marked by a restrained joy. We told in the scriptures that God so loved the world that he sent his only son… The incarnation is an act of love. As we wend our way through the liturgical year we will celebrate the other mysteries of our faith, notably the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord, the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and so much more.
The liturgical year ends with a solemn proclamation that Jesus Christ is king of the universe, that all things in creation are subject to him. It is a rather awesome title under which we have this celebration. The awesomeness seems to be undermined by the gospel reading which has Jesus being crucified on his cross. There is a jarring disjuncture between the glory of the title and the crown of gold that goes with it, and the throne of the cross and crown of thorns.
What this solemnity teaches us is that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, his ways are not ours. The heavens are as high above earth as his thoughts are above our thoughts, to paraphrase Is 55: 8 – 9. God sees and judges differently to us, even to forgiving enemies, and waiting in patience for good news that may not in this lifetime.
While the narrative arc of the story of salvation has twists and turns and surprises, when the story is looked at in its entirety, it is consistent. Much of the study of scripture and the theological articulation of its implications is devoted to forming and understanding a holistic and consistent vision of God, from the story of creation all the way through to the action of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church today.
Our God is comprehensible, even if we do not always comprehend fully or completely. He has revealed himself to us, and continues to reveal himself to us, whether it is in a manger or on a cross.
