A WORLD VIEW

 

A WORLD VIEW

The feast of Christ the King was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as an antidote to the rising secularism and nationalism of the time. The forms these movements took threatened the dignity the Church saw as an integral part of the vocation of human beings as children of God destined to develop their own gifts and so find their way to the Father. The feast announces a world view very different from one that sees human beings as sufficient in themselves.

‘No one is free until everyone is free.’ We used to say this about South Africa and, truly, it was obvious then that white people lived in fear of the ‘black peril’. They were not ‘free’ in any meaningful way. And, of course, it is also true with regard to Covid and climate change, ‘no one is safe until everyone is safe’. Long ago, a war in Viet Nam or Ethiopia did not greatly concern those not directly involved. It was far away and we could get on with our lives without taking much notice. Something similar could be said about famine, droughts, tsunamis and floods. They were localised and the relevant governments would deal with them.

But Covid and global warming changed all that. No one is safe. Literally everyone on the planet is involved and Biden and Xi have to wear their masks too. Is this not an entirely new phenomenon? These two modern threats, whose effects have peaked in the last eighteen months, have made everyone take up a position in response. Some have chosen to ignore them and pretend life can go on as usual; others have got deeply engaged in facing these threats and doing something about them.

It is now clear that Covid will not be banished easily. We cannot put it behind us as we did the flu of 1918-19 which killed millions. No sooner have people begun to relax than a new Covid wave hits them – and there is no end in sight. Similarly with climate change. The Glasgow summit, recently ended, achieved some success but left many people deeply disappointed by the lack of compassion, imagination and courage displayed by many nations.

One lesson stares us in the face: these are global issues not local ones and humankind is painfully learning that pursuing local agendas and short-term benefits is like building on sand. This week-end the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Christ the King. Everyone on the planet has had a chance to see the 30 meter high huge statue of Christ the King dominating Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, because of the Olympics in 2016. It dominates a huge panorama of land and sea. It symbolises something far beyond our limited interests. Can we see it as a sign that this world is God’s world and he has made its fruits available to all of us that we find our way to him?  He invites us to reach out to one another and recognise, at last, that we are one people of God and we are to rise above our divisions and strain for his justice.

21 November 2021, Christ the King   Dan 7:13-14         Rev 1:5-8     Jn 18:33-37