SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Spiritually Speaking
Father Thankachan Joseph
Kingship & sovereignty of Christ
Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the Uni-
versal King in 1925 to celebrate the jubilee year and the
16th centenary of the Council of Nicaea. This Sunday,
the readings describe the enthronement of the victorious
Christ as King in Heaven in all His glory. Today’s Psalm
93 describes the universal King and His majesty. The
God of Israel as the King over all creation proclaims
that “The Lord is king.” Christ rules as King by serving
others rather than by dominating them. His authority is
rooted in truth, not in physical force, and His Kingdom,
the reign of God, is based on the beatitudes.
The apocalyptic Book of Daniel reinforced the faith
of the harassed chosen people of God and came to im-
portance during a hostile torture of the Jews in the sec-
ond century BC. The book rises from the sixth century
BC, during the Captivity of the Jews in Babylon (the
Exile). This week’s selection from Daniel (7:13-14), de-
picts the promised Messiah. In his vision, Daniel saw
God seated on a throne, with millions of people serving
Him; into His presence came a human figure (“one like
a Son of Man”) to whom was given (14) “dominion and
glory and kingship, that all should serve him... his king-
ship is one which shall never be destroyed.” He would
be the King of Kings and the Lord of Glory and His
Kingdom would last forever. The New Testament proves
that Jesus is this long-awaited King of the Jews.
On the Feast of Christ the King, the Gospel
of John narrates for us the Kingdom of Jesus not as a
kingdom of this world but a kingdom in the world to
come, life after death, life with Jesus forever—or life
rejecting Jesus forever. We must choose to be in His
Kingdom, or we shall live forever in the domain of Sa-
tan. The Kingdom of God is the central theme of Jesus’s
teaching, and the phrase ‘Kingdom of God’ occurs in the
Gospels 122 times, ninety spoken by Jesus. The Solem-
nity of the Kingship of Christ wants us all to be aware
that we must choose to live with the Lord. Today’s Gos-
pel presents the first part of the trial conducted by Pilate,
who questions Jesus about His kingship. In His dialogue
with Pilate, Jesus implies that Pilate does not understand
the spiritual or transcendent nature of Jesus’s kingship
(“My kingdom does not belong to this world”). Jesus
also claims that He has come to bear witness to the truth
about a larger and eternal kingdom, to bear witness to
the truth about God and His love, about us and about
who we are called to be.
What are the points that the Solemnity of Christ
King leaves with us to meditate and take to heart:
1) We need to assess our commitment to Christ the
King today. Let us remember the truth: He is not our
King if we do not listen to Him, love Him, serve Him,
and follow Him. We become Christ the King’s subjects
when we genuinely answer to His loving invitation:
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am
gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29). By culti-
vating in our lives the gentle and humble mind of Christ,
we show others that Jesus Christ is in indeed our King
and that He is in charge of our lives.
2) The Feast of Christ the King reminds us of the
great truth that Christ must reign over our lives, that we
must give Him sovereign power over our bodies, our
thoughts, our hearts, and our will. In every moral deci-
sion we face, there’s a choice between Christ the King
and Barabbas. Whom do we choose?
3) We need to follow Christ the King’s lesson of
humble service to the truth. Christ has come to serve
others. Hence, we are called to His service - service to
the truth. Servant-leadership is the model that Christ the
King has given us.
4) We need to obey Christ the King’s law of love. “If
you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Je-
sus expects a higher degree of love from His followers:
“Love one another as I have loved you.” On this great
Feast of Christ the King, let us resolve to give Him the
central place in our lives and promise to obey His com-
mandment of love by sharing what we have with all His
needy children.
Heppner FBLA
Prepares Seasonal Pies
for Community Support
T h e F u t u r e B u s i - pner FBLA expressed their
ness Leaders of America gratitude for the continuous
(FBLA) at Heppner High community support.
School is gearing up for
DEADLINE:
their annual pie-making
MONDAYS
event. This year’s selection
AT 5PM
includes Lemon Ice Box,
Pumpkin, Pecan, Apple,
Cherry, Berry, Peach, and
Oreo pies. According to
the FBLA, all pies will be
frozen and sold uncooked,
except for the Pumpkin and
Pecan varieties which will
be prepared and baked by
the students. Each pie is
priced at $22, except the
Oreo pie which is available
for $15. Those interested in
placing orders have until
November 15th to do so,
with pie production start-
ing the week of November
18th. The baking of Pump-
kin and Pecan pies is sched-
uled for November 25th and
26th. To order, patrons are
encouraged to contact Mrs.
Collins at Heppner High
School by calling 541-676-
9138, extension 2530, or by
reaching out to any local
FBLA member. The Hep-
Mustangs overcome Raiders in thrilling
quarterfinal 16-12
Coach Greg Grant gives the Mustangs some
directions during the game. -Photo by Tara Proudfoot
Hayden McMahon, #13, runs the ball up feild as Lost Rivers
defense closes in. -Photo by Tara Proudfoot.
-Continued from PAGE ONE There were just twenty-two receptions in the game for was Caleb George and
forced to punt the ball away.
A good punt pinned Lost
River deep in its own ter-
ritory. They once again put
together a drive that got the
ball all the way down to
the Mustang 30-yard line
with half a minute to go
in the game. On the ninth
play of the drive, the Lost
River quarterback dropped
back and passed the ball to-
wards a receiver that looked
open near the end zone.
At the last second, Nick
Wenberg jumped in front
of the receiver and made a
fingertip interception of the
ball at the three-yard line.
seconds left in the game.
Orem then took a knee to
end the game and gave the
Mustangs a victory by the
score of 16-12.
Lost River led every
category statistically in the
game except for the final
score. They had 262 yards
of total offense, and the
Mustangs finished with 172.
They also had over twice as
much time of possession in
the game as Heppner did,
31:43 minutes compared to
the Mustangs 16:17.
Orem was 3-5 passing
the ball for 47 yards and a
touchdown. Stewart had 2
29 yards and Rodriguez
caught the other pass for
18 yards and a touchdown.
Rodriguez led the
team in rushing with 55
yards on 10 carries. Hayden
McMahon was next with 27
yards and Stewart finished
the game with 18. With 17
rushing yards and scoring
a touchdown was Brown,
and with 4 yards each were
Wenberg and Orem.
On the defensive side
of the ball, leading the
way with 12 tackles each
were Jaime Cavan, Landon
McMahon and Keaton
Coiner. Next with 9 tackles
with 8 each were defensive
backs Brown and Wenberg.
Wenberg also had the big
interception at the end of the
game. With 6 tackles each
in the game were Stewart
and Lane Critchlow. Ro-
driguez finished with 5
tackles, Ryan Haugen 3 and
Kaden King had 2.
DEADLINE:
MONDAYS
AT 5PM
Pink Friday sale to start
Nov. 22 nd
This Friday, Novem-
ber 22nd, the Heppner
Chamber is kicking off
the holiday season with
“Pink Friday Shopping
Day” from 3-7pm. Pink
Friday is a small business
spin on the traditional
Black Friday shopping ex-
perience, reminding people
to #ShopSmallFirst. Local
businesses participating
include Market 87, Flood
Town Books, Murray’s
Drug, Serendipity Designs,
Tacos Hometown, and
Blondee’s Salon. There
will be a grand opening
for the new Sage Garden
Greenhouse indoor play-
ground on Main Street
at Sage Preschool from
3-7pm! Heppner Market
Fresh will also be hosting
their Holiday Open House
from 5:30-7:30pm. Make
sure to look for the pink
balloons outside partici-
pating businesses! After
you finish up your shop-
ping, head down to the Ag
Museum for the “Heppner
Lights Heritage Park” event
beginning at 7pm. Santa
and Mrs. Claus will be on
hand for photos! Hot bev-
erages and cookies will be
sponsored by Pine Gate Re-
newables. The Heppner Jr/
Sr High School Choir will
be performing at 7:30pm,
followed by the lighting
of the Ag Park by the City
of Heppner Public Works
Department. Friday is sure
to offer plenty of holiday
fun for families, while also
supporting Heppner’s small
businesses! Stay tuned for
more information about
the Light Parade in Decem-
ber. For questions, contact
the Chamber of Commerce
at 541-676-5536 or send an
email to heppnerchamber@
gmail.com.
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAY 5:00 P.M.
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