THIRTY-FOURTH AND LAST SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME, THE SOLEMNITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE (2024)
Readings:
Daniel 7:13-14
Psalms 93:1-2, 5
Revelation 1:5-8
John 18:33-37
In our fragile world, kingdoms may come and go, and the monarchies that exist today are more signs of a long gone past where the monarchs wielded real power. Today, most monarchs are figure-heads (some might say anachronisms), and their power to do anything of substance exists only to the extent that their reign leans more towards dictatorship than a benevolent monarchy. Yet today, on this final Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year, we celebrate Christ as the King of the Universe. While it seems an odd way to bring an end to the liturgical year, it is important to remember that Jesus’ “kingdom does not belong to this world” (Jn 18:36).
The oldest gospel Mark, at the beginning of Jesus’ Galilean ministry, has Jesus proclaiming “this is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand” (Mk 1:15). It was surely this kind of proclamation which reached the ears of Pilate and while his job as governor of Judaea was not threatened, he reluctantly saw Jesus as a trouble-maker, and knew precisely why the Jewish leaders brought Jesus to him. Only a Roman could order the death of a criminal; the Jewish leaders needed Pilate’s help to get rid of the ‘preacher’ permanently. So reluctant to be involved was Pilate that he arranged a compromise, the release of a known criminal, Barabbas, in Jesus’ stead, but the crowd demanded otherwise. Jesus was never a threat to Pilate or his position, and perhaps it was Pilate who had the last say when he ordered that a sign be affixed to the cross – Jesus, “the king of the Jews.” Perhaps, through it all, Pilate recognized a glimmer of the ‘king’ we celebrate today.
In all the gospels, Jesus is frequently confronted with the misunderstandings that His proclamation of the kingdom begat. His own disciples continued to see in Him the potential for an earthly exercise of the power exhibited by kings. After the crucifixion, Jesus’ disciples were so dejected and crestfallen because their earthly hope in an earthly Messiah had come to an end. So where do we find the evidence that Jesus is, was, and ever will be, the King of the Universe? We find it in His deeds. The signs/miracles that Jesus performed during His earthly ministry.
Jesus did have power which was out-of-this-world, for it was given to Him by His Heavenly Father. The prophet Daniel, in our first reading, foretells “one like the Son of Man,” [who] “received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and languages serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, His kingship shall not be destroyed.” After showing up the tempter in the desert, Jesus’ first public act was to heal a man with an unclean spirit (Mk 1:21ff). The ability of Jesus to do such things lay not only in His position as the Son of Man, but, Jesus is quick to point out, that every miracle He performed was due to the faith of the recipients. Jesus’ dominion was invitational – He could have helped anyone who didn’t want to be helped. Jesus never forced anyone to believe in Him.
Christ is a genuine human being, the son of humanity, because He is the image of His all loving Father and Creator. Jesus rules and leads by attraction, never by imposition. Faith and love are the sole reasons for seeking to be part of His kingdom. There are no special favors to be sought, there are no financial perks to be found in His kingdom, there is no great honor involved in following Christ. Like Jesus, who is King of the Universe that truly matters, we are meant to build up His kingdom by the attraction of lives well-lived. We end this, and every liturgical year, with the simple, yet profound, challenge of becoming more like Christ. By increasing our faith and love, we not only put ourselves in the good graces of a loving God, but we also draw others to the source and origin of all that is good.
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