Last Sunday in Ordinary Time

Solemnity of Christ the King

 1.     I have always felt that the scene from the passion of Jesus in the 4^th Gospel which brings Jesus face to face with Pontius Pilate is a defining moment in the unveiling both of the identity of Jesus and of the identity of the Christian. This episode is truly a wellspring of faith and of spirituality. We need to ponder this Gospel passage deeply if we are to come to know Jesus and how to be his friend and follower.

2.     The chosen people had always expected the Messiah, their Saviour, to be of royal blood and to come from the royal house of King David. That is why Pilate asks Jesus “Are you the king of the Jews?” The ensuing exchange between Jesus and Pontius Pilate reveals that if Jesus is a king, he is no ordinary king. For a start, he is in captivity and is being interrogated: his kingship in that moment is subdued. He tells Pilate, “Mine is not a kingdom of this world”: his kingship is of a totally different order to worldly power and majesty. He does not have territory, armies, weapons, earthly dominion, trappings of earthly power. Jesus goes on: “Yes I am a king…I was born for this…to bear witness to the truth”: his kingship is of about service to the truth, and he will say later “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”. We cannot understand this scene fully unless we go forward to its conclusion when the passion culminates at Calvary. And if we look upwards to the top of the cross of Jesus, above the head of our Crucified Lord, we will read the words: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. These words were written in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, so that the whole world would know that Jesus is King, that his kingdom is about service to the truth which comes from God and leads to God; that that kingship, as service to the truth, inevitably, unavoidably, passes through the Cross, through unjust suffering and death, to the glory of the resurrection where can acknowledge Christ our King as the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, the Alpha and the Omega.

3.     So as we acknowledge today Our Lord Jesus Christ as Universal King, we are invited to see in him the One who bears witness to the Truth, and who bore that witness above all on the cross: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. The Gospel passage finishes with the Jesus’ words “And all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.” The identity of the follower of Jesus, of the Christian, follows that of Jesus : the Christian, the follower listens to his voice and is on the side of the truth. The mission of the Church and of the members of the Church is to bear witness to the truth, a mission which will inevitably pass through the way of the cross before it is finally vindicated.

4.     To me, this says so much about our identity as Catholics and about the situation the Church finds herself in. If we are worried about fewer people going to Mass, if we are worried about the rejection of the Gospel by many, if we are worried about the sometimes hostile reception the message of the Church is given in today’s world, then we need to look on the figure of Christ the King who came to bear witness to the Truth of God. Even though his witness was rejected in the most marked and decisive way when he was crucified, his witness to the love of God changed the world. Even though our witness to Christ and to the truth of his Gospel may not be appreciated and may even seem to be ignored and considered of no account, it is of huge relevance and importance to the world in which we live because people still need to be offered the word of truth and to be gladdened and consoled and inspired by the message of God’s undying love for them.

5.     So, on this last Sunday of the liturgical year, as we acknowledge and worship Christ the King, we can be encouraged in our Catholic life and practice. We are called again to continue to be part of the kingdom of Christ by bearing witness to the truth about how much God loves the world and about how much the world needs God.

St. Thomas’ Neilston,

26^th November 2006