To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father,
to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.
The Norbertine Order that was founded in the 12th century possesses a number of fascinating names: the Order of Canons Regular of Premontré or Premonstratensians (that’s a mouthful!) or simply the White Canons. In the Diocese of Orange, we are blessed with a large Norbertine community whose presence predates the founding of our Diocese in 1976. Recently, this community under the leadership of their Abbot, Eugene, accomplished an historic and phenomenal event – the building of a new Abbey to accommodate their young and ever-growing community! In this day and age, to build a new Abbey for a religious community is nearly unheard of. Not only has this been an historic moment but the architectural beauty of this structure is stunning as it reflects the Medieval roots of this community.
On the recent visit to the new Abbey Church, I was struck by the central image of the crucified Lord as his cross is suspended over the altar. Inscribed above the corpus are two words that capture the immensity of our theology of the cross and redemption: Rex Gloriae – the King of Glory!
Friends, as we reflect on the power of God’s holy word on this final Sunday of our liturgical year, the Church dedicates this Sunday to Christ the King. The notion of ‘kingship’ is a relatively alien concept for those of us living in a country whose foundational roots are embedded in our revolutionary fight to disengage ourselves from a King and his sovereignty over us. Rather, we fought for self-sovereignty and the freedom that democracy would give.
As Christians, though, the image of the King of Glory whose absolute sovereignty over our lives extends from his absolute self-giving from the throne of the cross, is the image that utterly transcends political power.
The sovereignty of the King of Glory over our lives is not one that stifles our human freedom but rather, in his unconditional love and mercy, redeems us to be ultimately free to become our best selves as we come to know true freedom in loving and serving others in his name.
On this final Sunday of our Church’s Year of Grace with Advent dawning next Sunday, we glory in this cross of our salvation on which hung our King of Glory for the life of the world.