Homily: Christ the King (34th Sunday in Ordinary time cycle B)

Today (Sunday Nov. 25th) is my three month anniversary of being ordained a priest.  Having given that some thought I also thought about the types of things that I have said in my homilies.  I noticed that I have shared with you information about who I am and other person bits of information.

So today I thought I would share something else with you.  I am a fan of country music.  I'm not sure if this fact positively or negatively impacts your opinion of me but it is true.

As I was thinking and praying about these readings the lyrics to a few country music songs came to my mind.  The first is the phrase Have you ever seen a headstone with these words, "If only I had spent more time at work?" The other song is a bit more obscure and unknown but it says, "Ain't no hearse with a trailer hitch." 

 As I thought about our celebration of the Solemnity of Jesus Christ the King of the Universe the idea, the challenge, and the question of our priorities came to mind.  The truth is that our faith, these readings, and this celebration does challenge us to rethink what our priorities are.

What words would you put on your headstone?  What would you want to put in a trailer behind your hearse?

In our lives there are so many things that we consider important and valuable.  But the question for us today, as we celebration Christ the King is, "Is Jesus Christ our King?"  

We heard in our first reading that the prophet Daniel foretells of the Kingdom of Jesus when he tells us that "His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away.  His kingship shall not be destroyed."

We all know that there are also so many "authorities" in our lives.  We have mayors, governors, presidents, all manners of elected and appointed officials.  There are princes, kings, queens, royalty, emperors, dictators, potentates, czars, oligarchs, and all types of bosses that seem to rule our world.  We have states, counties, nations, countries, federations, empires, towns, dominions, and fiefdoms.  Yet all of these will ultimately come to nothing.  

The only Kingdom and authority that will last is that of Jesus Christ.

Pilate and Jesus

In the Gospel we see the conversation between Pontius Pilate and Jesus just before Jesus is crucified.  Pilate wants to know if Jesus is a king because Pilate is a powerful governor of the Roman empire and if Jesus is a king he would deal with Jesus very differently than if He were just some unimportant Jewish carpenter.

When Jesus is asked if he is a king He responds that His "kingdom does not belong to this world."  The truth is that His Kingdom is not of this world.  Jesus is not a worldly king.  His Kingdom does not belong to this world but... this world does belong to His Kingdom!

When it is all over the only authority and Kingdom that will last is that of Jesus Christ.

In our second reading Jesus clearly says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega [the beginning and the end]... the one who is, and who was, and who is to come, the almighty." 

There is another common phrase that you've probably heard, "There are no atheists in a fox hole."

I can say that this is absolutely true.  Now, I've never see war or known combat but I can say that at the moment when you face the reality of your own mortality that faith is real.

At that moment of death, when you pass from this life to the next, you know and experience the presence of Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe.  I know because I have been dead.

I was born with a very serious heart condition.  I have had five open-heart surgeries and I've been "clinically" dead twice.  I know, no faith needed and no doubts possible, that Jesus was there at my birth and He was there at my death.  He was there at your birth and he will be there at your death.  He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  

He was there at the creation of the world and He will be there at the end of the world when God finally puts all things right.

Jesus Christ is the King of the Universe.  The only question that remains is... "Is Jesus your king?"

Bacon wrapped maple pork!!!

Not miy picture but this is what it should look like when done.

Hello all,

I promised in my homily today (I'll post that later) that I would share the receipt for my "signature dish" that I call "Bacon Wrapped Maple Pork."

There is a funny story behind this dish: 

About 6 years ago a older friar came up to me a few days before it was my turn to cook for the week and he handed me a receipt.  He had this mischievous twinkle in his eye as I took it and opened the folded piece of paper.

Inside I found a complicate receipt for pork loin wrapped in bacon and marinaded in maple syrup.  It was rather complicated... but I cooked it for him the next week and the friars loved it.  I've simplified the receipt (I don't really cook using receipts) and now I'll share it with you.

Ingredients:

Pork loin (about 1/2 lb. to 3/4 lb. per person so that there is a small chance that you will have leftovers)

Regular bacon (avoid the "maple flavored" stuff... you'll need about 1 lb. per 5 lbs. of loin)

Real maple syrup (it has to be the real stuff... about 16-24 oz. for every 5-7 lbs. of pork.  You can stretch it by adding water since the real maple syrup is expensive)

Brown sugar: I use about 2 cups.

Various seasonings: This will make up the marinade.  I like garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, dried parsley,  and salt (about half as much brown sugar).  I do not like rosemary so I won't use it.  You are free to try it but I don't know how it will taste.  Please feel free to make the marinade anyway that you want.

Directions:

Thaw the pork loin if it is frozen.

Poke a few hundred shallow holes in the loin with a small knife.

Mix the marinade: maple syrup, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and herbs to taste.  Yon can thin this with water to stretch it a bit.

Marinade the thawed pork loin in the maple syrup marinade for at least 24 hours.

A tip: I use a clean garbage bag to marinade in.  It is easy to get the loin fully covered and smothered with the marinade.  Just dump everything in there on top of the loin, squeeze all the air out and twist the top tight and closed.  Then put it in a bowl to go in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.

There is no mess.  The new garbage is clean and this allows full coverage with less marinade.  Be sure to flip the bag over in the bowl once during the marinade process to even everything out.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Put the loin fat side down on a rack over an open roasting pan.  Put some of the marinade in the bottom of the roasting pan.

Cover the top of the loin with bacon so that it drapes over the loin like a towel over a towel rack.  Completely cover the loin.

Cook the bacon wrapped loin, on the rack, over the roasting pan, with some marinade in it, for about 20 minutes per pound.  

You will need to add some water to the bottom of the pan, occasionally, to keep the marinade from evaporating and becoming impossible to clean off.

The marinade in the pan steams everything with the sweet flavors and helps the final taste.  But it does not need to be basted.

Cook the loin till the center reaches 165 degrees.

Take it out of the oven and let it rest on a cutting board with the bacon (which is probably crispy at this point) still on top.  Let it rest for about 10 minutes.

The thick marinade in the bottom of the pan can be thinned with water and drizzled over the pork if you'd like.  It might be too sweat/salty so try it to see if you like it.  It will not make a good gravy... I've tried it.

Serve nice thick slices with some bacon and I think you'll like it.

I normally steam asparagus and brown/wild/long grain rice with this dish (I avoid the processed white rice).  

Enjoy and let me know how you liked it!