Pastor's Letter

After a whole year of diving into the mysteries of our faith and into the person of Jesus Christ, today all around the world we come to the simple but profound conclusion that Jesus truly is the Christ, the King of the Universe.
 
“Christ” is a Greek word that means “the Anointed One.”  Translated into Hebrew, it means “Messiah.”  The anointed one in Jewish tradition is either a priest, prophet or a king.  What’s fantastic and meaningful about Jesus, is that he’s all three. 
 

A Report About Our Financial Year As we do every year, in this week’s bulletin you’ll find the details of our Annual Report and the financial state of the parish.    We’re very grateful to Teresa McCutchan, our Business Manager, and our Finance Council—made up of a group of dedicated and knowledgeable parishioners with financial expertise—who have presented this report for us.  If you have any questions, Teresa is on hand to help.     As we go throughout the year, we will be providing information more routinely about where we are and how we are doing.  This is especially important because we’re also in the midst of our 2020 Vision Capital Campaign and want to share our progress along those lines as well.    Thank you for all you do to help support our parish and the many ways you give.

In ancient Judaism, the Christ would come in the person of a king who would be in the same family line as Israel’s greatest king, David.  The Christ would accomplish two important things: 1) He would defeat Israel’s enemies, which they thought would come about through a military action, and 2) He would rebuild or cleanse the Temple.
 
Jesus did these two things, but in a very unexpected way.  That’s where we pick up the story in today’s gospel. Pilate is curious about Jesus.  The religious leaders have taken Jesus to him because they seek the death penalty.  They appeal to Pilate’s directive from Cesar to maintain order.  If Jesus claims to be the Christ, which the religious leaders accuse him of, especially after he made a very public effort to cleanse the temple, then he must be planning a military takeover of the country.  
 
Pilate wants to know: does Jesus claim to be a king?  If so, the case against him would be fairly simple.  Kings desire conquest.  But Jesus never really answers the question.  Jesus isn’t a threat to humankind, but the answer to it.  This will never be fully understood until the Resurrection.  And then, the pieces begin to fit.  The victory wasn’t through military violence, but the violence he suffered personally on the cross.  He suffered to give life, not take it away. And it leads to the simple conclusion that, yes, Jesus is a king after all, but a very different kind of king—a servant leader meant to help his people be the best they can be.
 
The conclusion can be made only after entering into the fullness of the mystery of Christ, which we have been engaged in all year during our liturgical life.  And what’s pretty awesome, is that next week we’ll begin the journey all over again. 
 
We travel the journey of faith and parish life together, year by year, week by week. It’s not short of challenges, but it does lead to joy. 
 
May God bless us as we travel the road together,