Christ the Universal King

11-25-2018Weekly ReflectionFr. Julius Kundi

The Lamb who was slain is worthy to receive strength and divinity, wisdom and power and honour: to him be glory and power forever and ever! Indeed Christ is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, “Who was, who is and who is to come”. We began the liturgical year with Him and today we solemnly end it with this special Feast of Him as the Universal King of kings and Lord of lords, and next Sunday we begin a new one with the first Sunday of Advent.

Most of the feasts of the liturgical year celebrate EVENTS in the life of Christ. However, this feast celebrates an IDEA: that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In his vision of the glorious Son of Man, Daniel reveals “to Him was given dominion and glory and kingship”. This vision is also confirmed by the author of the book of Revelation that He is ‘The Ruler of the Kings of the earth’ but then added that we too share in His Kingship for he has made us “a line of kings, priests to serve His God and Father” (Rev. 1:5,6). Although the Feast of today goes back only to its institution by Pope Pius XI in 1925, the idea of Jesus’ kingship goes back to the earliest days of Christianity. It had its origin in the works, the signs, Jesus performed and the authority with which he proclaimed the kingdom of God.

However, we need to remind ourselves that Christ’s kingship does not imply domination in the sense of oppression. It is rather a kingship or Lordship that is creative in those who acknowledge it. By this I mean the Divine Lordship of Christ brings a person into a new dimension of being and of life. Or, as the Dogmatic theologians will put it, ‘the person is brought into the liberating sphere of the non-world, the divine’ if he acknowledges Christ’s kingship.

As our King, we become his subjects with the responsibility to listen and obey Him because he has claim over our lives. Our loyalty is however demonstrated not with pious thoughts, but with deeds. And I can say our happiness in this world and in the next depends on this. Pope Francis made this clear in 2016 when he explains this point on the solemnity of Christ the Universal King by insisting we have the demanding responsibility of making God’s kingdom known in the world as loyal subjects–not a kingdom of political power obtained through weapons and violence, but a kingdom of truth, love and service. It is only through our allegiances and cooperation to His will that this kingdom will be authentically revealed here on earth as it is in Heaven.

With the Psalmist today we can profess: “The Lord is our King, robed with majesty....and girded with strength. Indeed, if Christ is not our king we will be consumed by all that is around us. The principalities and powers of this world will rule over us. If God is not our father and Christ is not our king, we would have been relying on our own man-made gods that give us nothing. We would have lost our citizenship in the everlasting Kingdom of God. But here we have the divine assurance: THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD THERE IS NOTHING I SHALL WANT!

Fr. Julius

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