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Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. In our Gospel, we hear that Jesus' Kingdom is not of this world, and yet, all creation is indeed subject to him, and if we are to live in truth, we must listen to his voice. In a democracy, we do that with our votes and with how we treat our employees and employers, but above all, we are to proclaim Christ as King to others, not forcing them to believe, but inviting them to believe.

In today's Gospel, the Sadducees try to trip up Jesus with a question about the resurrection. Jesus had an answer, though they did not want to hear it. Jesus ultimately has the answer for all our deepest questions, so let us not be afraid to ask them if we want answers.

Paul reminds us that all will be made one in Christ. Thus we know that our unity is more important and safeguarded than our participation in any group to which we belong.

In the parable of the rich man who built barns to preserve his wealth we are reminded that the best things in life are given as gift to us from God, and not creations of our own hands. Thus, whether we succeed or fail in this life, we can rely on the work of grace to save us.

A sinful woman wept at Jesus' feet, washing them with her tears. Jesus saw God's grace and forgiveness working in her, the Pharisee with whom he was dining only saw her sinfulness. Do we see God's grace working in those around us and in ourselves, or do we just notice the sins?

Paul tells us that the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit is the gift of love (charity), which is the capstone of every other gift.

Jesus likened heaven to a wedding banquet to which all were invited. As we celebrate the memorial of the Queenship of Mary, we are reminded that we will all be royalty in heaven.

Jesus said that it will be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get to heaven. Besides external wealth, are there obsessive personality traits that we need to shed in order to follow Christ more closely?

Throughout history, God has had surprises in store for his people, from bringing them back from exile in Babylon to sending his son Jesus, and God is not done surprising us even today. Be open and look for it.

The mother of James and John asked Jesus if they could sit at his right and left in the Kingdom. Jesus asked them if they could drink from the cup he drank from, and they said they could. While Jesus could not give them these positions in the Kingdom, he promised they would drink from his cup, and they both suffered for the Kingdom as he did, but in very different ways. We cannot know where witnessing to the Kingdom will lead us, but we trust God to make the most of our lives if we do.

Jesus rejected people who claimed to to great deeds in his name, embracing instead people who listened to his words and acted on them. We do not have to have success in our ministry, we simply need to listen to Jesus and to try to be faithful to his words.

In our scripture today, Hilkiah rejoiced because he found a long lost book of Moses in the Temple in Jerusalem. But there was also consternation, because the new book showed how far they had strayed from their own tradition. For us today, reading the Bible often reminds us in a helpful way of what God wants for us.