Vol. 5 No.11 DoM Gospel Reflection—John: 18: 33-37
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
November 22, 2015
By Catherine Hannahan
“My kingdom does not belong to this world.” These words of Jesus struck me as the heart of this passage from John’s Gospel.
When we look at a crucifix, or ponder a shocking depiction of the cross, we can ask “Is this really a representation of a king? Is it really a symbol of power and of love?” For us Christians, the answer is a resounding “yes”. The crucified Christ is the lord of power and our king.
The image however does not fit the secular definition of power and kingship. Our view of power is strength and rule over others. Whether it is physical, intellectual, social, or political, our concept of power carries an idea of rule and control over others. It is what makes one great!
Jesus, as he usually does, turns our notion of power upside down. He teaches us that power is to be used for care and protection. Authority is exercised in service to others. And the humble and meek of the world are truly the great ones.
This Gospel of Jesus before Pilate, as Jesus is about to be set on the ‘throne” of the cross, seems a strange one to be read to celebrate the last Sunday of ordinary time as the Feast of Christ the King. How is it that we call Jesus a king? It is a matter of how we define our terms. Jesus IS a king but not the kind we often think of, because we use the societal notion of power and authority. Jesus does not fit that definition at all. As he says to Pilate, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But, as it is, my kingdom is not here.”
Jesus IS a king and we are truly members of his kingdom as baptized persons. But what does this feast say about us as members of this kingdom of God? Does it not say that we are to model our lives and concepts of power and authority on Jesus? We are to let Jesus define our reality and the way we look at life. Our notion of power and authority and rule are to be lived as Jesus did in his life here on earth, and continues to do so as our heavenly king.
In our lives, we all have some measure of power and authority over others: mothers with our children or grandchildren, teachers over students, in our jobs, volunteer work, in all sorts of ways, big and little. How do we exercise authority? Do we model ourselves after Jesus who defines these roles and positions differently than does our society? Do we consistently view our authority as service? Do we see power as loving care for others, including all of creation, as Pope Francis urges? Do we see those “under” us as sacred human persons worthy of our very best care and concern? Do we live as members of this upside down kingdom, faithfully following our loving crucified king, and living Mother Teresa’s five finger gospel “You did it to me”?
We celebrate the solemnity of Christ the King in this gospel of the sovereign Lord of the Universe loving us to the death in his “kingdom not of this world”.
The other two readings of this solemn feast reveal that the fulness of Jesus’ kingdom will be revealed only at the end of time. The Book of Daniel attests that at the end of time there will appear one like the Son of man and all peoples and nations will serve him. “His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away and his kingship shall not be destroyed.”
The Book of Revelation repeats this image of Jesus’ coming at the end of time –acknowledged by all peoples of the earth. “Behold, he is coming amid the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him…”I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, “the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.”
Yet also, Jesus acknowledges that his kingdom is present even now. “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
As Daughters of Mary, we listen to the voice of Jesus every week as we delve into the gospels and explore their meanings for each of us in our hearts. On this feast of Christ the King of the Universe –the final Sunday of the Liturgical Year –we Daughters of Mary are invited to discern Christ’s kingdom throughout the universe and in our own hearts. We are invited to model our lives after our King, to “lose our lives” and to give our all in love for him, as he did, and does, beyond measure eternally, for us . Let us reflect on how we might celebrate this feast of Christ the King from the depth of our being, so that the joy of Christ might be in us and our joy might be complete. (Jn 15:11)
As daughters of Mary mother of our Lord and King, we pray for the grace this week to enter in silence deep within ourselves where the Spirit of God has placed the mustard seed, the yeast of his Kingdom, that it may grow in us prolifically, bursting out of us into love and service to all around us and to those we seek to encounter in the margins and peripheries of society. We ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Amen
usccb.org
onlineministeries.creighton.edu
The Magnificat magazine
Author Info
