THE KINGSHIP OF CHRIST: SELF-SACRIFICE AND SERVICE OF THE TRUTH AND JUSTICE.
November 21, 2021
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe - B.
“Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of
this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the
Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.” (Jn 18:36)
A Moroccan proverb says: “If at noon the King declares it is
night, behold the stars.” And a Hindi proverb adds: “I am king, you a king: who
is to fetch the water?”
Kingship, in our human and worldly understanding, is a
position of authority, power, dominion. Kings have the right of life or death
over their subjects. All power in a kingdom belongs to the king. He is
surrounded by slaves and people at his service. Many people, in our today's
reality dream of Kingship, a position that will give them all rights and
potency.
With the Lord Jesus Christ, however, Kingship and authority
take another definition. There is a complete change of paradigm between the
Kingship of Christ and the Kingship of today's kings. Christ brings about a
real revolution of Kingship. He is a king who serves, suffers, and dies. He
came to instore an everlasting reign, a reign of peace, love, and justice...
And this reign is supposed to start now.
The Catechism says, “Though already present in his Church,
Christ's reign is nevertheless yet to be fulfilled "with power and great
glory" by the King's return to earth.556 This reign is still under attack
by the evil powers, even though they have been defeated definitively by
Christ's Passover.557 Until everything is subject to him, "until there be
realized new heavens and a new earth in which justice dwells, the pilgrim
Church, in her sacraments and institutions, which belong to this present age,
carries the mark of this world which will pass, and she herself takes her place
among the creatures which groan and travail yet and await the revelation of the
sons of God."558 That is why Christians pray, above all in the Eucharist,
to hasten Christ's return by saying to him:559 Maranatha! "Our Lord,
come!"” CCC 671.
The reign of Christ is the beginning of the Kingdom of God.
It has already started and is yet to come. In the first reading, the Prophet
Daniel speaks of the Kingship of the lamb and gives its attributes. It will be
an everlasting dominion. He is given all glory and Kingship over all peoples,
nations, and languages. All are to serve and worship him. So, the Psalmist can
sing that he is a king robed in majesty.
John in his apocalyptic vision speaks of the same Kingship.
He also tells us that we are given part of that dominion of the Lord. St. John
states that Jesus "has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and
Father." That we are sharers of the Kingship and priesthood of Christ,
this is well said in the baptismal rite. When imposing the Holy Chrism on the
newly baptized, the priest or the deacon says, "As Christ was anointed
Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as a member of his body,
sharing everlasting life." This anointing is a stirring reminder of the
sublime dignity conferred on us. We, too, must embrace these shared offices of
priest, prophet, and king.
With Christ, however, we are priests to offer ourselves and
our gifts in sacrifices to God. We are priests to serve. That is the universal
priesthood. We are made Prophets, a call to act prophetically when we speak the
truth, and live the Gospel by example before every people. We are made
messenger sent by God, persons who speak for God. We are witnesses to God, with
the mandate to call people to conversion, and also foretell the future. This
implies that, like any prophet and even as Christ, we may be ready to be killed
for our message. For, the world kills its prophets. Lastly, we are King. Here
is the most important for us today, while celebrating the Kingship of Christ.
It is a call to act as Christ would. Jesus, the King of Heaven, gave his life
to conquer sin and death, to bring resurrection and new life. For him and in
his vocabulary, Kingship rimes with service and self-sacrifice. It is an
authority to serve and give our lives in serving the needs of others.
The Gospel teaches us where Christ Kingship reached its
completion, its perfect expression. That was during his passion and mostly on
the Cross. While he was undergoing his passion, when he was brought to Pilate,
Jesus was questioned about his being or not a king. The Lord answered and gave
the real meaning of his Kingship: “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.”
Christ Kingship is erected on truth and love. He came to serve and lead us to salvation through the truth. As his disciples, this must also be our mission today, to witness to the truth. We live in a world where falsehood has erected its reign. And sad enough, the first and greatest actors of falsehood are our today's kings, the people in a position of authority and power. They live on lies and corruption. They kill. They deprive the poor of their rights. They oppress the weak. And that's what they shimmer as the norm today. If you know not how to lie, you cannot be a politician. As Christ-followers, today’s solemnity reminds us of our baptismal mission. We are made priests, prophets, and kings. So, like Christ, let us take up these missions and may it cost what it may cost, until even our lives. For, we are urged to fight all kinds of injustice and stand courageously for the truth. Where there is falsehood, fake news, and corruption, we should bring the light of truth. In so doing, we will make the kingdom of God effective in our today’s world.
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