The solemnity of Christ the King marks the definitive end of the Church’s ordinary time, and of course, the entire liturgical calendar year B. In today’s celebration we honour Jesus Christ as the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and the Prince of the universe. We also celebrate in anticipation our end time when Christ will come to judge us, both the living and the dead to give us our recompense, good or bad according to the way we have lived our lives on earth.
This kingship is prefigured in the text of the prophet Daniel: “to him was given dominion, and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away… and not be destroyed.” Indeed, this message captures all that entails today’s Solemnity. Without the leadership and reign of Christ in the history of man, humanity would have being slave to sin and death. Little wonder Scripture says “thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57).
However, when men attempt to build a world which excludes God and his commandments, they end up with something less than human, pains and regrets. Eventually, it becomes horribly inhuman and leads to destruction. Man can only find his fulfilment in God and therefore can only build a truly human world in collaboration with God. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Ps 127:1, RSVC). Nations cannot enjoy peace if their institutions of law and government flout divine justice. The psalms, too, sing of regal splendour, a great immovable throne for one majestic and mighty, whose decrees are worthy of trust.
The Second Reading, taken from Revelation, confirms and praises the kingship of Jesus: “To him then, be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.” And the principal message of the Apocalypse of John, written to revive the hope of Christians suffering from fierce Roman persecution, was that of the invincible kingship of Christ over the whole world. Indeed, it is when the forces of evil are at their worst and the Church is reeling under blows from without and treachery from within that it is time to cry: Christus vincit … Christus regnat … Christus imperat. For that is the time when Christ, who gained His victory precisely through His own suffering and death, extends it through the suffering and death of His members. In the Gospel we hear Christ affirming Himself in plain terms to be King while standing before the judgment seat of Pilate, about to be condemned.
“You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Jesus made Pilate see that He did not come to this world to show forth His power in a merely human manner. He came to restore the human race to the natural dignity that it lost when Adam and Eve committed the original sin. He came to remind us that we are sons and daughters of God and then reconcile us back to the Father by his words, passion, death and resurrection. In answering Pilate, Jesus says that His kingdom is not of this world. It is a kingdom not fought for with old means of warfare. Rather, it testifies to truth. It will not kill for the truth, it will die for it. If Jesus is king, He will be a suffering king. He will not demand ransom. He will win, not by spilling the blood of others but by offering His own.
Most of the kings and leaders we read about in history and witness in today’s daily news are not ideal leaders. Majority of them are even tyrants, corrupt in their administration, drenched in bribery and working on manipulative lies. As an English Historian, Lord Acton puts it, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Today, we speak of kings and queens in the context of beauty pageant and fiestas, or to signify excellence in beauty or quality of certain products. But today’s feast of Christ the king is totally exceptional and different from the worldly standard. Jesus Christ is a King in a greater way. He fulfills all the conditions of an Ideal King.
First of all, He is king by birth and origin, being the very Son of God. Secondly, He can never be dethroned or impeached, since He now reigns at the right hand of God forever. Think of how many kings and “governors” who have been impeached. Thirdly, His power can never be tyrannical, but based on sacrificial love In order to save humanity from the slavery of sin and death. Consequently, this king has no military forces, no political party, no propaganda, no inhumane ministry, no police, no judiciary, and no unlawful detention. His only weapon, if we may call it such, is truth – that is, the revelation of what God is, a loving Father for all of mankind.
To this end St Cyril of Alexandria states that “Christ, has dominion over all creatures, a dominion not seized by violence nor usurped, but by essence and by nature.” Dear Friends in Christ, we must go forth from this celebration and be committed to following Jesus who is King, but a King who is different in every way from the kings of this earth, a King who gives Himself in love and service for others. As we go out to proclaim Christ the king of glory in all the streets and corners of our ambience, let us allow the same Christ to continue to influence our words and actions to the glory of his name and the betterment of mankind.
