Solemnity of Christ the King Year C

          The Title of King in Christ is somewhat paradoxical.  Para in Greek can mean against, while doxa also in Greek can mean belief.  Christ as King may be seen as somewhat contrary to popular belief.  What do you imagine a king would be?  Well, we may imagine a king in his glory, seated on his throne and smug in his power encompassing all he sees and all he imagines to be under his aegis.  Christ as King strikes us with a very different image.  His crown is the thorns, His throne is the Cross and His face turns to all who pass by.

          In Luke Chapter 23 of Today’s Gospel, on Jesus’ Cross was put an inscription, in Latin INRI, Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum declaring Jesus Nazarene King of Jews.  Jesus the King is a striking image alongside Pilate, Herod and Caesar.  In 1925 when the Universal Church proclaimed the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year as a Solemnity of Christ the King the immediate interpretation, still valid till today, is of a strong social and political statement to the rulers, dictators and tyrants of the day.  Hitler in Germany would rise in power and Mussolini in Italy would achieve the same.  From ancient times till today, Christ as King offers a powerful contrast.  Christ is no king like Herod or Caesar, nothing like Hitler or Mussolini.  The Christians all but shouted to these people: you are not our king!  Jesus is our King!

          Jesus is our King and our crown is of thorns, our throne is of the cross and our people are those who pass by.  Our glory is of suffering, our throne is of shame and our people are free to come and go.  Our conquest is service, our boast is giving all and our people the suffering, the forgotten and the untouchables.  Jesus is our King, my King, and it is He who reigns over our lives, over my life, and not these socio-economic-political institutions.  Not these material things.  Not gold, glory or glamour.  Jesus is our King and we may be also of this world but our souls belong to the Kingdom.  We believe and understand that we are more than the mundane and we may have houses on this world but our homes are beyond this world.  Our aim is not down but up.  Our ambitions are grand to the highest standard and not just grandiose.

          Jesus as King, although seems to express the paradox, ultimately points us to true Kingship: He is what a king is supposed to be, to aspire, to imitate in the limits of the possible; He must be our king as what a king must be to us; He must be our king for He alone gives solace to suffering, suave to shame and welcome to the unwelcomed.