Cycle C - Year I:  

24 November 2013: Solemnity of Christ the King

 (Liturgical color: White)

Luke 23:35-43

Jesus Christ, our King!

The Church ends the liturgical year this Sunday with the celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King. This is fitting because our Lord Jesus is the Alpha and Omega; He is the beginning and end of human history and of the created world, and through Him "all things were created and by whom the world is being restored to the Father."

The Feast of Christ the King was instituted by Pope Pius XI on December 11, 1925 as a way for human beings to proclaim a truth about God that indeed He is the King of kings and the Lord of all creation. Of course, it is a limited concept but it is the highest title human beings can use to refer to Jesus.

How do Filipinos relate to the celebration of Christ the King? Our experience is that of a democratic system and we were not under a monarchy in our history. We have no experience of being under a king as a nation.

Turning to the scriptural reading, we find it not much of help either, so it seems at first glance, in trying to understand Christ as King. Because the Gospel reading from the evangelist Luke presents to us Jesus as he was dying on the cross. In other words, he sat not on a throne but nailed on a wooden cross; no precious jewels adorned his head but instead a crown of thorns; he wore no royal robe but stripped to his loin clothes. How can he be a king in this way?

Also, our knowledge of kings is usually associated with power and authority. And in the real world, particularly our own experience with our political leaders, all too often what comes to mind when we talk of power and authority is dominion over the weak, and worst, associated with deception, corruption and exploitation.

Yet for Christians it is not so with Jesus' kingship. For He is a King who exercises a totally different kind of power.

So let us reflect deeper on the gospel message for this Sunday to know Jesus' brand of being a King.

Jesus  is not a king in the usual, earthly sense that we are familiar with. He did not come to establish political or military power. He did not come to govern a country or raise an army. He himself said so that he was not an earthly king: "My kingdom is not of this world." (Jn 18:36.)

How do we uncover the real dimension  of Christ's kingship? The Gospel account of Christ on the cross presents to us a glimpse into the mystery of our Lord's Kingdom where his kingship is not through dominion but made of service by love. On the cross before his last breath, Jesus forgives and saves the repentant thief, Dimas, who asks for his forgiveness. Thus, Jesus is a King who welcomes to his kingdom all those who need most of his mercy.

But when our faith may have been shaken by series of calamities that hit our nation lately, we ask whether Christ reigns in our world today?

It is a challenging question but we find  the answer in the example of Dimas as he himself was dying on the cross. Even though his life here on earth was about to end, Dimas realized in his waning moments that Christ's kingdom was not best understood by earthly standards. Rather, it is a kingdom that begins within, with a complete surrender in faith to the One who truly saves: Jesus Christ Himself. In other words, it is a remarkable act of faith that Dimas recognized that Jesus has a kingdom and that He is King of that kingdom..

 

Perhaps in the same context that Dimas pleads with Christ for forgiveness and mercy in his most desperate hours, our Holy Mother Church wants to bring us to the cross of Christ's throne, as the liturgical year closes, where "God rules" over us and the whole world. So that as we begin a new season of hope and joy in the coming of Advent Season and Christmas, we keep the faith, in  spite of our trials and suffering, and like Dimas we entrust ourselves completely to Christ, our King, who will set us free from the bondage of sin and death in the resurrection to come. For Christ is a victorious King, who defeated the mortal enemy of human existence -- sin, death and the devil. 

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!