Christ the King and the Kingdom Not of this World
Christ the King
Today we celebrate the end of the church year. Today is the climax of salvation history. In the Gospel we find Christ Jesus in front of Pontius Pilate affirming that his kingdom was not of this world. In the interrogation, Our Lord says to Pilate, “If I were a king of this world, my followers would have defended me.” This answer puzzled Pilate. This poor Jewish preacher did not behave like the rest of the prisoners. He was not begging for his life. He did not deny the charges. Nor did he lose his dignity. (Jn 18:33b-37)
The kingdom of heaven does not come by violence. It does not come for conquest or slaughter. The Lord’s regime comes to us in power and authority because it does not carry with it evil or vengeance. Our king is crucified as a rebel, as a terrorist. It seems that the forces of evil had finished him off. It seems that his kingdom was an illusion, a dream, something in vain. He died. The sky darkened, there was lightning, and the centurion proclaimed that he was the son of God. That is how our king died.
This feast of Christ the King has a lot of meaning for Mexicans. Viva Cristo Rey was the cry of the movement fighting against the religious oppression of the socialist government. After the Mexican Revolution which lasted from 1910 to 1917, the new government attempted to deny God and impose a social order against religion. There was a strong devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The struggle against atheism raised the banner of the Sacred Heart as Christ the King – the king of the world and of the heavens.
The persecution of the church included the killings of priests, nuns, and lay leaders. The churches were closed. The resistance did not use the traditional images of the victorious Christ the King with crown and scepter. Instead, Christ the King is represented by his flaming heart full of love and mercy. He is not king of this world. He is a king who suffers for his people to the point of giving his life for them.
Some Mexican Jesuit seminarians took refuge here in Los Gatos in the novitiate of the Sacred Heart for a year before they obtained asylum in Spain. Before leaving, a Mexican priest who was an artist painted a mural of the Sacred Heart in the chapel above the altar. One of the young Jesuits was Miguel Pro. After his ordination he returned to Mexico and was ministering in secret when he was arrested and sentenced to death. Before he was shot, his last words were “Long live Christ the King!” A photo of the martyr is still kept in the same Jesuit house in Los Gatos where he took refuge. In it we see the deceased young priest with the bullet wound in his heart.
How is it possible to have a kingdom that is always defeated by the forces of the world? How is it possible that the divine regime is frustrated today?
Today’s first reading presents us with some fantastic images of combat in the heavens from the book of Revelation. The whole heavenly order reveals the conquest of the persecutors of the church and of Christ. God comes to judge the living and the dead. Evil and the powers of evil are vanquished. (Dn 7:13-14)
However, we see day after day the tragedies and sufferings of life. Victims of war, victims of famine, victims of epidemics. There are failures of the government and the institutions of justice. Yet inside the darkness burns a flame. It is the light of our faith advancing the kingdom of peace and humility. The terrestrial and heavenly forces of wickedness are defeated. We can say before the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate and the powers of this world that our king and our kingdom is above all and for all.
Our King does not come in violence, he does not come armed, he does not come to kill his enemies. The Sacred Heart, full of peace, mercy, and healing comes through us. It is up to us not so much to venerate the beautiful portrait of the Sacred Heart, but to encounter Christ the King – the Sacred Heart in our daily lives. We are called to proclaim the kingdom of God through peace and humility in our hearts.
Our kingdom is not of this world. Our regime is to proclaim the good news. Support the poor. Encourage the depressed. Feed the hungry. Manifest love, peace, forgiveness, healing, and hope in our difficult times, enduring serious illnesses. The kingdom comes in our homes, jobs, and social relationships. All this and more we acclaim – Your kingdom. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Long live Christ the King!
Readings for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe – Cycle B
