Today, we
celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. A day that marks the end of
Ordinary Time, which means that, liturgically, that is, within Mass, time
itself is changing, so that next weekend we will move into another season, the
Season of Advent, the new liturgical year of the Church.
If we were to picture a king, any king, we might have a picture of a man with an ornate crown upon his head, perhaps wearing a few pieces of expensive jewelry, and dressed in the finest of robes, adorned, most likely, with silver or gold. And, he would probably be sitting upon a throne, one that enhances this lifestyle, he might, too, be surrounded by people who honor, respect and even fear him. Looking upon this person, there would be absolutely no doubt in our minds that this man, indeed, was a king.
In our Gospel, Jesus, who is accused of being a king, and, indeed, confirms later on to be one stands before Pilate, but He isn’t wearing the typical kingly ensemble. In fact, His crown is neither silver nor gold but, instead, made of thorns, He is not adorned with jewelry or fine robes; instead He has scourge marks upon His body, and is wearing nothing more than a loincloth. His throne is neither comfortable nor ornate, because His throne will be a wooden cross upon which lies.
Therefore, the great question that we might have, that Pilate most certainly had, and the question that had to have remained in the hearts and minds of all of those who saw Him, all those who mocked Him, all of those who accused, all of those who trusted in Him, all of those who were drawn to Him in some way, is how can this man beaten, bruised, battered and crowned with thorns truly be a king?
The answer is found as He lies upon the throne of His cross, but most especially in how He responds to the thief on the cross next to Him. Because, while it doesn’t say it in our Gospel today, the thief recognized His kingship, in fact, he says in all humility: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom,” and Jesus responds: “I promise you this day you will be with me in paradise.” Paradise is a word whose etymology means a royal park, a park that was usually attached to a royal palace.
So, that while Jesus, indeed, affirms that He is a king, it is a kingship that merely begins at the cross, but reaches its culmination, on the Third Day, when He rises from the dead. Jesus, as we know, was no ordinary man but both God and man, so He rules His kingdom as both God and man.
By suffering, by dying and by rising again, He conquered the greatest enemy, the unconquerable enemy, death itself. This is why it is no accident that His suffering and death are so intimately connected with His kingship, because, as our second reading reminds Jesus is “the firstborn of the dead” and He has made peace through the blood of His cross, because, as the firstborn of the dead, that is, of being the very first person to be able to come back to life from the dead, He has ultimate dominion, as God and man, over every one and everything, those in heaven, those on earth, visible and invisible, and even those under the earth.
He has conquered every single one of our enemies, not with a sword but with a bloodstained cross, because it is only He has destroyed our greatest enemy.
Yet, His conquest was not for His sake, but for ours, because, in destroying death, He also did something else, He, literally, freed us from our sins, because, as St. Paul also reminds: the wage of sin is death.
And, that is why, as king, His greatest desire is to rule our hearts so that He could reign as one who can bring us to His kingdom, bring us before His throne in Heaven.
But, before that can happen, before what we daily pray for in the Our Father is realized and His Kingdom, indeed, comes, we need to be prepared, and the way in which this happens is found in that simple but powerful phrase that follows, and which gives us a taste of that Kingdom: “Thy Will be done.”
We must say it, we must believe it, we must live it, because, despite Jesus’ power and strength, His kingship and His might, there was and is only one thing He still cannot conquer, and that, indeed, is our will, that we have to give to Him, for Christ can only reign in a heart that is obedient to Him, Christ can only dwell where He is welcomed as a king.
In fact, one of the reasons for this feast is an encyclical by Pope Pius XI, in which his desire was that everyone would realize Christ’s sovereignty for, as he says:
“If to Christ our Lord is given all power in heaven and on earth; if all men, purchased by his precious blood, are by a new right subjected to his dominion; if this power embraces all men, it must be clear that not one of our faculties is exempt from his empire. He must reign in our minds, …our wills, …our hearts, [and]…our bodies…which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls. If all these truths are presented to the faithful for their consideration, (he says) they will prove a powerful incentive to perfection.”
Because, by doing so, then Christ, the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the almighty, can truly rule as king, king of our lives, king of our world, king of our universe, but, indeed, most important of all, the king of our hearts.
If we were to picture a king, any king, we might have a picture of a man with an ornate crown upon his head, perhaps wearing a few pieces of expensive jewelry, and dressed in the finest of robes, adorned, most likely, with silver or gold. And, he would probably be sitting upon a throne, one that enhances this lifestyle, he might, too, be surrounded by people who honor, respect and even fear him. Looking upon this person, there would be absolutely no doubt in our minds that this man, indeed, was a king.
In our Gospel, Jesus, who is accused of being a king, and, indeed, confirms later on to be one stands before Pilate, but He isn’t wearing the typical kingly ensemble. In fact, His crown is neither silver nor gold but, instead, made of thorns, He is not adorned with jewelry or fine robes; instead He has scourge marks upon His body, and is wearing nothing more than a loincloth. His throne is neither comfortable nor ornate, because His throne will be a wooden cross upon which lies.
Therefore, the great question that we might have, that Pilate most certainly had, and the question that had to have remained in the hearts and minds of all of those who saw Him, all those who mocked Him, all of those who accused, all of those who trusted in Him, all of those who were drawn to Him in some way, is how can this man beaten, bruised, battered and crowned with thorns truly be a king?
The answer is found as He lies upon the throne of His cross, but most especially in how He responds to the thief on the cross next to Him. Because, while it doesn’t say it in our Gospel today, the thief recognized His kingship, in fact, he says in all humility: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom,” and Jesus responds: “I promise you this day you will be with me in paradise.” Paradise is a word whose etymology means a royal park, a park that was usually attached to a royal palace.
So, that while Jesus, indeed, affirms that He is a king, it is a kingship that merely begins at the cross, but reaches its culmination, on the Third Day, when He rises from the dead. Jesus, as we know, was no ordinary man but both God and man, so He rules His kingdom as both God and man.
By suffering, by dying and by rising again, He conquered the greatest enemy, the unconquerable enemy, death itself. This is why it is no accident that His suffering and death are so intimately connected with His kingship, because, as our second reading reminds Jesus is “the firstborn of the dead” and He has made peace through the blood of His cross, because, as the firstborn of the dead, that is, of being the very first person to be able to come back to life from the dead, He has ultimate dominion, as God and man, over every one and everything, those in heaven, those on earth, visible and invisible, and even those under the earth.
He has conquered every single one of our enemies, not with a sword but with a bloodstained cross, because it is only He has destroyed our greatest enemy.
Yet, His conquest was not for His sake, but for ours, because, in destroying death, He also did something else, He, literally, freed us from our sins, because, as St. Paul also reminds: the wage of sin is death.
And, that is why, as king, His greatest desire is to rule our hearts so that He could reign as one who can bring us to His kingdom, bring us before His throne in Heaven.
But, before that can happen, before what we daily pray for in the Our Father is realized and His Kingdom, indeed, comes, we need to be prepared, and the way in which this happens is found in that simple but powerful phrase that follows, and which gives us a taste of that Kingdom: “Thy Will be done.”
We must say it, we must believe it, we must live it, because, despite Jesus’ power and strength, His kingship and His might, there was and is only one thing He still cannot conquer, and that, indeed, is our will, that we have to give to Him, for Christ can only reign in a heart that is obedient to Him, Christ can only dwell where He is welcomed as a king.
In fact, one of the reasons for this feast is an encyclical by Pope Pius XI, in which his desire was that everyone would realize Christ’s sovereignty for, as he says:
“If to Christ our Lord is given all power in heaven and on earth; if all men, purchased by his precious blood, are by a new right subjected to his dominion; if this power embraces all men, it must be clear that not one of our faculties is exempt from his empire. He must reign in our minds, …our wills, …our hearts, [and]…our bodies…which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls. If all these truths are presented to the faithful for their consideration, (he says) they will prove a powerful incentive to perfection.”
Because, by doing so, then Christ, the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the almighty, can truly rule as king, king of our lives, king of our world, king of our universe, but, indeed, most important of all, the king of our hearts.
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