King of hearts
Solemnity of Christ the King
Ez 34:11-12. 15-17; Ps 22; 1 Kor 15:20-26. 28; Mt 25:31-46
On the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year, the Church celebrates the solemn feast of Christ the King, thereby presenting us with a brilliant occasion to reflect on some inspiring questions such as the following: In what sense is Christ a King? What kind of kingdom is his? Does he still exercise his kingship today? And how?
On his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the Jews welcomed Jesus with a cheerful, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Lk 20:38). The concept of kingship which the Jews had in mind was one of a messianic king who was to fulfil the traditonal Jewish hopes for the restoration of Israel’s kingship and independence from Roman dominion, thereby having a mission which is both religious and politico-national.
In Pilate’s frame of mind, “King of the Jews” (Lk 23:3) had a mere political meaning, which could make of Jesus a dangerous figure. “A rival king in a Roman province could constitute an offence against the emperor and the Roman people” (R.Brown, ‘The Death of the Messiah’).
But, as the Gospel of John clearly reveals, on Jesus’ lips, the title ‘King of the Jews’ acquires a new and deeper significance. In Jn 18:36, Jesus tries to clear up Pilate’s misunderstandings by stating that: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom where from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” This means that Christ is not king like the rulers of the earth. His kingship does not depend upon the powers of this world and is not inspired by them.
Jesus is king in the sense which he himself defines: he bears witness to the truth (Jn 18:37). Actually, what Christ witnesses to is ‘who he is’, since he is the truth (Jn 14:6). Thus, Jesu’s mission of testifying to the truth consistes in revealing his identity i.e. maing himself known to humankind as the Son of God coming down from the Father. It is in the measure that people are open to this truth, that they believe in the Son of God (Jn 20:13) and consequently allow themselves and their lives to be shaped by this truth, that the kingship of Christ is realized in the hearts of his own, even today. This is what “[belonging] to the truth” means (Jn 18:37b).
The estract from the Lukan passion narrative (Lk 23:35-43) which the Church proclaims on this feast to help our reflection, shows two categories of people each reacting differently to the crucified king: (i) those who did not believe in him – the bad thief, the Roman soldiers, the Jewish leaders who mocked Jesus; and (ii) those who believed in him – the good thief, who – as it is jokingly said – was so good at the art of stealing that he managed to steal heaven even at the very end of his life!
Ez 34:11-12. 15-17; Ps 22; 1 Kor 15:20-26. 28; Mt 25:31-46
On the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year, the Church celebrates the solemn feast of Christ the King, thereby presenting us with a brilliant occasion to reflect on some inspiring questions such as the following: In what sense is Christ a King? What kind of kingdom is his? Does he still exercise his kingship today? And how?
On his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the Jews welcomed Jesus with a cheerful, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Lk 20:38). The concept of kingship which the Jews had in mind was one of a messianic king who was to fulfil the traditonal Jewish hopes for the restoration of Israel’s kingship and independence from Roman dominion, thereby having a mission which is both religious and politico-national.
In Pilate’s frame of mind, “King of the Jews” (Lk 23:3) had a mere political meaning, which could make of Jesus a dangerous figure. “A rival king in a Roman province could constitute an offence against the emperor and the Roman people” (R.Brown, ‘The Death of the Messiah’).
But, as the Gospel of John clearly reveals, on Jesus’ lips, the title ‘King of the Jews’ acquires a new and deeper significance. In Jn 18:36, Jesus tries to clear up Pilate’s misunderstandings by stating that: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom where from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” This means that Christ is not king like the rulers of the earth. His kingship does not depend upon the powers of this world and is not inspired by them.
Jesus is king in the sense which he himself defines: he bears witness to the truth (Jn 18:37). Actually, what Christ witnesses to is ‘who he is’, since he is the truth (Jn 14:6). Thus, Jesu’s mission of testifying to the truth consistes in revealing his identity i.e. maing himself known to humankind as the Son of God coming down from the Father. It is in the measure that people are open to this truth, that they believe in the Son of God (Jn 20:13) and consequently allow themselves and their lives to be shaped by this truth, that the kingship of Christ is realized in the hearts of his own, even today. This is what “[belonging] to the truth” means (Jn 18:37b).
The estract from the Lukan passion narrative (Lk 23:35-43) which the Church proclaims on this feast to help our reflection, shows two categories of people each reacting differently to the crucified king: (i) those who did not believe in him – the bad thief, the Roman soldiers, the Jewish leaders who mocked Jesus; and (ii) those who believed in him – the good thief, who – as it is jokingly said – was so good at the art of stealing that he managed to steal heaven even at the very end of his life!
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