Photo was taken yesterday at Ennismore Retreat House, Montenotte, Cork (Irl)

A small mushroom had to wait until the sun rose yesterday morning, to shake off a heavy layer of frost that had gathered overnight.

Thought on Sunday – November – 24/11/2013

The following reflection is by Jane Mellett and it is called “Christ The King”

What is our image of a King? The picture painted by Luke in today’s Gospel is hardly the stuff of kingship! Or is it? This account of Jesus’ death gives us an opportunity to lay aside a lot of cultural baggage about kings, leaders and kingdoms. Jesus’ kingdom is unlike the one that Pilate, or many other earthly leaders know. It is a kingdom built on love, service, justice, reconciliation and peace. Very few of today’s so called kings can measure up to this: responding to violence with forgiveness, giving those with no hope a reason to hope.

Look at the following examples from the past century and ask who are the more living examples of this type of kingship: Mahatma Gandhi, Pope Francis, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, local community leaders who make daily sacrifices in endless service to those around them.

We sometimes ask where is God? Today we are given an answer: God is on the cross, in a broken body asking us to climb up there with him and to look at the world from an entirely different perspective. Today’s Gospel gives a powerful image of Jesus as servant King, like a beacon light for society in today’s world.