November 25, 2012 – The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the King
Dn 7:13-14; Ps 93:1, 1-2, 5; Rv 1:5-8; Jn 18:33b-37
Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords, and we exalt Him as such. Yet, His kingship is not like the others. Scripture tells us “He is robed in majesty” (psalm). The splendor of the work He has done and of that He continues to do calls us to glorify Him. Yet He does not sit enthroned, bedecked in jewels and ornate clothing. Rather, He wears the nail holes in His hands and His feet, bearing witness to the kind of King He is – a servant-king, a loving self-giving Lord.
In today’s gospel reading, we hear Pilate question Jesus, asking Him if He is in fact a King, and Jesus responds, “My kingdom does not belong to this world.” Surely Pilate did not understand, so Jesus continues: “My kingdom is not here. … For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.”
In other words, Jesus is not a king that will reign upon a throne. He is a king who will reign upon a cross, showing us what true authority is, what true leadership is — giving oneself for another out of love.
We praise Jesus as the King of kings and The Lord of lords, as the “Alpha and the Omega … The one who is and who was and who is to come” (second reading), and in so doing, we recognize the irony in His kingship. He came to serve, not to be served. He came to give of Himself to the point of death out of love. In this, He shows us true kingship. He shows us what we must do if we truly desire greatness.
Much like how Christ’s kingship is not of this world, we were not made for this world. We were made for unity with God in Heaven. So, as we live our lives here on Earth, we keep our hearts and our minds focused on the glory of the heavenly kingdom, and we follow Christ’s example, giving of ourselves here and now, serving one another and offering ourselves in loving sacrifice.
Hence, we strive to live the stewardship way of life, recognizing what gifts God has given us and making the conscious choice to use those gifts to serve one another. In so doing, we glorify God. We follow His example, and we offer Him all of our thanks for the many gifts we have — all of our time, our talents and our treasure. It all comes from the great king, and if we want to make them great, we must follow Him and use them in service.
