The King whose kingdom we create

On the last day of the Church year, in mid- to late November, the global Church celebrates the Feast of Christ the King. What does it mean for us to celebrate Christ as King? How do we understand Jesus Christ as a king anyway? A king of this world must keep order and peace in his kingdom. He does this by using a police force and punishment for those who break the rules. But Jesus said to Pilate: “My kingdom does not belong to this world.” His kingdom is not of this time and of this world, but of heaven and of eternity. And yet we pray every day that “your kingdom come, on earth as it is heaven.” If we want to know our King better, we do well to consider his teachings, the words that he spoke. More than any other topic, Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God. But his words and actions turned the notion of kingdom upside down from the world’s notion. Instead of taking revenge, Jesus spoke of turning the other cheek. Instead of holding a grudge, Jesus spoke of forgiving those who have harmed you “seventy times seven times”. Instead of accumulating wealth, Jesus spoke of sharing with those who have less. In fact, Jesus said that it will be very hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven – not because of his riches, but because of his need to cling to his riches. In his eyes, a true king comes to serve, not to be served. Finally, the world tries to divide us – the rich vs. the poor, the white-skinned vs. the dark-skinned, liberals vs. conservatives, believers vs. non-believers. But in the eyes of Jesus, every human being is made in the image of His Father – regardless of their philosophies, their language or nationality, skin color or sexual orientation. The kingdom of God is very different from the kingdom of the world. This is why so few Christians are actually living God’s kingdom on earth. It is easy to get baptized. It is not easy to live our baptism as true disciples. Pilate presented Jesus to the Jews with these words, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” The Jewish leaders also did not understand true kingship. They were willing to succumb their faith in God to the Roman rulers, to the political realm. Are we doing any differently when we subscribe uncritically to a politician’s platform without considering the Gospel truths? As Jesus himself said to Pilate: “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.” In the end, in the final days, the Kingship of Christ will rule over all nations. This is our faith. This is why we trust so deeply in our King. But his kingdom will only come about when we speak and act the truth in love. – – – Fr. Jim