The Solemnity of Christ the King
Does the paradox of the gospel reading chosen for such a majestic feast strike you as unusual? Why would the church choose the most shameful moments of Christ’s life as the gospel reading for the Solemnity of Christ the King? When we celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, and events connected with our loved ones, don’t we normally focus on the positive? The gospel, on the other hand says about Jesus that the rulers sneered at him, the soldiers jeered at him, and one of the criminals reviled him, saying “Are you not the Christ?” But why does the church want to read this gospel for the feast of Christ the King? Why could the Church not have chosen a reading for this feast where Christ is shown in his splendor – the transfiguration of Jesus or the Ascension of Jesus, for example?
The answer to this question lies in context within which this feast was instituted. This feast is a very recent feast. It was instituted only in 1925 by Pope Puis XI between the two World Wars. It was a time that the Church itself felt quite powerless in the modern world, and the rise of nationalism and fascism in Germany and Italy threatened the very existence of the world. Pius the XI wanted to restore the world back from the brink of destruction and restore the world’s faith in the possibility of peace. The only path to that possibility was the virtues that are enshrined in the Cross of Christ – humility, self-sacrifice, forgiveness, love, and reconciliation. In his mind, somehow, the exercise of power – both for the church and for world leaders – must be intertwined in the virtues of the cross of Christ.
Today, as we gather in this church we know much than the criminal knew. We believe that Jesus died, that he rose from the dead, and that he ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God. It is easier for us to believe that Jesus is the King. But the original question still poses itself to us - “Why is the kingship of Christ so tightly tied up with the cross?
Let me offer three answers to this question. These answers will also be our practical implications for today.
1. The first answer to this question can be found both in Christ’s silence and the breaking of his silence. When the rulers sneered at him, when the soldiers jeered at him and when the criminal reviled him, Christ kept silent. He was willing to take all the sneering, jeering and reviling without retaliation. Christ silence was a personal stand he took. On the other hand, when the second criminal asked Christ to remember him when he got to his kingdom, Christ broke his silence and offered him the Kingdom. Both in his silence and his speaking Christ showcased the dignity of the human person in its most fallen condition. In his silence, Christ refused to acknowledge the violation of his human dignity but in his speaking he affirmed the dignity of even a fallen criminal. In speaking to the repentant criminal, Christ was also telling his persecutors that the path to reconciliation, love and peace was still open to them as well.
Christ the king was born in a stable, laid in a manger, crowned with thorns, sneered, jeered, reviled, and hung on the cross so that human beings may know that they must not strip another human person of their dignity no matter how low they fall. I am sure there are many professionals present here. Teachers, doctors, attorneys, nurses, supervisors, judges, politicians, law enforcement officials and professors. And then each of us plays many roles – parents, children, spouse, volunteer. Each day we meet people whose dignity can be compromised. Think of a doctor or nurse and their vulnerable patient; think of the priest and a vulnerable penitent in the confessional; think of the teachers and a failing student; think of the spouse who is physically or verbally abused; think of the criminal before the jury and the unemployed at a food pantry. As Christians, as believers in the crucified Christ the King, through our silence and our speaking we must protect the dignity every human person, even the most vulnerable and fallen.
2. This cross stands for peace and reconciliation. The greatest weapon of the Evil One is disunity in strife. In families, between political parties, between liberals and conservatives, between China and the United States, between Christians and Muslims, between Muslims and Jews, between India and Pakistan, between rich and poor, between white and black, between immigrants and citizens, between traditionalists and progressives – the cross of Christ must continue to stand. We are Christians. We stand under the banner of the cross. We are disciples of Jesus. We are radical disciples. We are faithful disciples. We must make sure that the humility, the self-sacrifice, the forgiveness, the love, and the reconciliation of Christ does not lose its power in today’s world. That is the very reason why this feast was instituted and this gospel chosen for today.
3. If Christ is King then Christ must have a Kingdom. Jesus said to the second criminal, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” Where is this Kingdom? Where is this Paradise? The answer to these questions is simple: Christ’s Kingdom is the ever expanding and eternally loving heart of God. One day each of us hopes to find an eternal place in God’s eternal heart – this heart that beats with limitless love, life and peace. Christ has laid the way for us to get there – through the cross. We will find a place in God’s heart if today the humility, the self-sacrifice, the forgiveness, the love, and the reconciliation of Christ finds a place in our heart. Our heart must be an extension of God’s Kingdom. The human heart is God’s domain. The human heart is where God Kingdom reigns. The humility, the self-sacrifice, the forgiveness, the love, and the reconciliation of Christ must reign in our hearts. We must build a kingdom in our hearts for Christ with dignity and peace.
From the Cross to the Table - this Eusharistic Table stands for the same vitrues that are enshrined in the cross - humility, the self-sacrifice, the forgiveness, the love, and the reconciliation of Christ. As we participate in the Eucharist, may our hearts become like that of Christ. Let us take the Kingdom to wherever we go, Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph