The readings for today’s celebration of the great feast of Christ the Kings speak to us of the Lord’s sovereign rule over all time and space. But they also speak about the places of muddle and difficulty. This is where this majesty is revealed. In the Gospel we see Jesus indiscussion with Pontius Pilate, the person who has the power to hand Him over to death or to save Him from it. Jesus stands in this moment; and here He remembers the kingdom of heaven, and is able to speak of it even to his judge. Jesus witnesses to a kingdom “not of this world,†which frees Him and His followers from the need to fight their own corner. His kingship is about truth – about seeing things as they really are. The language of “king†and “majesty†doesn’t come easily to many people today. It can even feel like the language of oppression or the unwarranted wielding of power. Yet we are called, in today’s celebration, to come to know Christ not only as friend or teacher, but specifically as king. The Gospel tells us this is about truth – about seeing how things really are and responding to that reality.
Today’s readings help us with this difficult call to God’s kingdom. For, in all instances, the reality and meaning of Christ’s kingship are glimpsed at the place of difficulty, of struggle and of powerlessness. One part of celebrating Christ as our king is recognizing the truth of who we are: that as men and women we are often “on the edgeâ€, or in the dark, or frightened. But it is precisely in this truth of our vulnerability that God’s reign of love and peace can be experienced, as we turn to Christ and find in Him the one who has power over all that keeps us scared and captive. In each of our lives there will be things – some bigger, some less obvious – which feel a bit scary: there are all sorts of “ordinary suffering†in the average life! As these moments touch us in the days ahead, maybe turning to Christ as our king, in prayer of dedication to His rule in our lives, can bring us closer to Him, and to the peace and love He so wants for each of us. Let’s ask to learn more deeply what it is to hand over our own anxious control into the depth and power of His love; a love so strong that it has overcome the world.