Knuckle-draggers

Seeing the hidden King with eyes of faith

11/24/2019

Luke 23:35-43 The rulers sneered at Jesus and said, "He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God." Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine they called out, "If you are King of the Jews, save yourself." Above him there was an inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews." Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

Today I would like to make a crazy comparison, namely, between Jesus Christ and King Kong, the movie monster. Before you laugh ludicrously, or phone Pope Francis to excommunicate me, just hear me out. It is not as far-fetched as you might imagine at first sight. Consider these six points of contact and even convergence between these two kingly characters. First, King Kong lives happily in a prehistoric place called “Skull Island” as a king who rules his kingdom and keeps the peace, just like Jesus was happy in heaven ruling as King and Lord over the angels. Second, because of the greed and ambition of human beings, King Kong is forced to leave his primeval Paradise and dragged into the wicked world of men and women. So, too, Jesus leaves his peaceful Paradise to walk this valley of tears due to the ambition of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. Third, King Kong falls in love with Ann Darrow and only submits to the cruel yolk of slavery in order to save her, and she in turns slowly learns to love him. In like manner, Jesus comes to save his beautiful Bride, the Church, and we Christians too are slow to love our Lord in return.

Fourth, when Kong arrives in Manhattan, how do the people receive him? They are filled with fear that turns into fighting and finally they kill him, on the great monument of Manhatten, the Empire State building. The Jewish leaders also feared Jesus, fought him first verbally, and then finally killed him on the cross, a monument of Roman cruelty. Fifth, as King Kong dies atop the highest point in the Big Apple – reminiscent of ancient apple eaten by Adam and Eve – only Ann Darrow sees King Kong’s goodness and greatness. What happens in the gospel of Luke as Jesus dies on the cross? Only the good thief recognizes Jesus’ royalty, his goodness and greatness, saying: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” The good thief sees Jesus Christ as a king. And sixth, King Kong was a very a-typical king. I mean, he was a huge gorilla after all, and therefore, not handsome or rich or riding on a white horse, and so most people missed his royal dignity. So, too, Jesus is not a typical king: he is poor, rejected, abandoned, ridiculed, and finally executed like a common criminal. So, too, most people, even those closest to him, missed our Lord’s majesty, indeed they missed his Messiahship. My main point in comparing Christ the King to King Kong is to show how easy it is to miss the majesty of the Messiah. True holiness is often hidden and hard to see with human eyes. It requires the eyes of faith.

Missing the Messiah was not only an occupational hazard for first century Jewish believers, it is equally elusive for twenty-first century Christians believers. Have you ever wondered: how did the Jews miss Jesus, their long-awaited Messiah, after witnessing all the miracles and teachings and his holiness? Well, I would suggest to you three areas where it’s easy for us to miss the Messiah, too, especially because his holiness is often hidden. First, we may miss him in the sacraments, second, we don’t usually see him in our spouse, and third, we often overlook him on the streets.

How hard it is to believe that the King of the Universe hides himself in a morsel of bread and a few drops of wine. It would be easier to believe God transforms into a gigantic gorilla than he is transubstantiated into a wafer of bread! And in case you think belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist comes easily, just ask all the Catholics who miss Mass on Sunday, or who have stopped going to Mass all together. Why don’t they come to Mass? They believe they are missing nothing, and sadly, they end up missing everything. It is easy to miss the Messiah because holiness is often hidden from human sight, you must use the eyes of faith to find him.

The second area where we might miss the Messiah is in our spouse, our husband or wife. I have never missed the Messiah in my spouse. Ninety-nine percent of the counseling I do is for marriage problems, mostly counseling the women who complain about their husbands who act like big gorillas, “knuckle-draggers.” And yet St. Paul advises women in Ephesians 5:22, “Wives be subject to your husbands as to the Lord,” and three verses later, he urges men in 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her.” In other words, spouses should love each other because they see Jesus in each other. But how easy it is to miss the Messiah in my spouse!

And thirdly, try to see Jesus in the streets, especially in the poor who live on the streets, the homeless. We are so blessed to have lived in the lifetime of St. Teresa of Calcutta, better known as “Mother Teresa.” I personally met her in Little Rock and again in Washington, D.C. She was so convinced that the street people of Calcutta were Jesus, she would run to pick them up from the gutters and hold them tenderly until they died. She was absolutely convinced she was caring for Christ in every street person. We may not do what St. Teresa of Calcutta did in loving the poor, but we can at least try not to miss the Messiah who walks on the streets. Charity is not a faith accessory, charity is faith in action. Yet how easy it is to miss the Messiah in the poor!

I started this homily with a crazy comparison between Jesus Christ and the mythical movie monster, King Kong. And I admit it was a bit of a stretch. But our Catholic faith also makes rather strange and surprising comparisons to Christ: Jesus hides in a piece of Bread, our Lord is disguised as a husband or wife, and the Messiah suffers in the poor of the streets. Now you tell me: who’s making the crazy comparisons?

Praised be Jesus Christ!