CHRIST THE KING (Dn 7:13-14; Rv 1:5-8; Jn 18:33b-37)

We just listened to one of the Bible’s best known phrases, Jesus said: I am a king and for this I was born and for this I came into this world. Jesus affirms that he is a king, but he also affirms that his kingdom does not “belong to this world.” Since it does not belong to this world, it will outlast this world.

It was important for Jesus to mention this when Pilate questioned him, because Pilate was worried that Jesus was trying to organize some kind of political rebellion against the Roman Empire. And Jesus explains that he was not. But if Jesus is not a political king, what kind of king is he? If his kingdom is "not of this world," what kind of kingdom is it?

On the Solemnity of Christ the King in 2006, Pope Benedict XVI explained the answers to these questions:

"[Jesus] did not come to rule over peoples and territories," the Pope pointed out, "but to set people free from the slavery of sin and to reconcile them with God."(This is the major difference between Christianity and Islam. Islam came to conquer countries and peoples by sword).

Ever since, the original sin, this fallen world has been enslaved to selfishness and got separated from God.  By throwing off God's rule, we made ourselves into followers of the very first rebel against God: the devil.

Jesus came to save us, by bringing the light of truth back into our darkened, confused world. And what is that truth, the truth that will set us free from sin? That God is love. By accepting God's love in our life, we accept the antidote to the poison and are reinstated as citizens of the kingdom of God, where Christ is the everlasting King.

 Every king has a throne. Thrones symbolize a king's power and authority. From his throne, a king administers justice, conducts diplomatic negotiations, receives petitions, and issues his commands. The existence of a throne reminds a king's subjects that the king is not just another citizen; he is the ruler, the lord, the sovereign. He has been given the task of guiding his nation the way a ship's captain guides his ship. He has been given the task of guiding his people the way a father guides his children. The throne is the symbol of this unique royal identity.

And the type of throne that, a particular king possess, reflects the type of kingship – benevolent or violent, aloof or compassionate – he strives to live out. Our King, Jesus Christ, the eternal King of life, history, and the entire universe, has a throne that is absolutely one-of-a-kind. No other king in all of human history has chosen such a throne. What is this throne? We all know it.

It presides over every Catholic Church and every Catholic household. It is the sign by which we are welcomed into God's family and made citizens of the everlasting Kingdom. It has been the mark of every Christian since the age of the catacombs. Christ's throne is the cross. Lying on the cross the king promised to save the good thief saying “You will be with me in paradise.”

Jesus on the cross bears witness to the fact that God is not primarily power, anger, or even justice. But Jesus showed, by his unstoppable mercy and his total self-sacrifice, that God's primary identity is love, self-giving, goodness.

God is love –That's the truth that will set us free from sin and lead us into the eternal Kingdom, if we accept it.

Jesus himself gives us the explanation to this acceptance when he tells Pilate, “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” With that sentence, Jesus teaches us all, the secret to intimacy with God.

Courageous acceptance of God’s truth, the truth that God is love – that’s the only way to follow our eternal King, and to experience the fulfillment that comes from being a faithful citizen of his everlasting Kingdom.

 

When the angel announced to Mary that she had been chosen to be the mother of Jesus, he said, "His kingdom will have no end."(Lk 1:33) The angel thus confirmed the prophecy of Daniel:

"His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty

Which shall never pass away,

Nor will his empire ever be destroyed." (Dan 7:14)

 

We are privileged to be citizens of this everlasting kingdom. But the citizenship in this kingdom is not by birth, but it is by choice. The choice has to be made by every individual, that he is willing to accept and practice the precepts of this kingdom. Jesus, not only taught us to love our neighbours, but also showed practical ways as how to express our love towards them.

The greatest manifestation of the new precept was laying down his life for us. We have heard of kings offering ransom to save their kingdoms from foreign invasion. Great quantities of gold, silver and other precious metals were placed before kings to spare their kingdom from attack. But here we have a king who has placed himself in the hands of his enemies for saving mankind. And the thought of his love moved millions of Christians to live and die in order to establish Jesus’ Kingdom on earth. Today it is our turn to prove that we are the loyal subjects of his kingdom. Our love, the values that we cherish, the sacrifice that we make should be credible testimonies to prove our identity as the citizens of the kingdom of Jesus.

In every moral decision we face, there’s a choice between Christ the King and Barabbas. In every situation we need to ask ourselves the question, “What does Jesus, my King, want me to do or say in this situation?”  Does our home life as well as the way we conduct ourselves with our friends come under the Kingship of Jesus?  Or do we try to please ourselves rather than please Jesus? Longing to live as loyal citizens of Christ the King every day of our life, let’s pray today: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”