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THE KINGSHIP OF CHRIST
IS BOTH ABSOLUTE AND UNCORRUPT
25 NOVEMBER,
2018, Sunday, Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
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First reading
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Daniel 7:13-14 ©
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I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven,
one like a son of man
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I gazed into the visions of the night.
And I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven,
one like a son of man.
He came to the one of great age
and was led into his presence.
On him was conferred sovereignty,
glory and kingship,
and men of all peoples, nations and
languages became his servants.
His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty
which shall never pass away,
nor will his empire ever be destroyed.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 92(93):1-2,5 ©
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The Lord is king, with
majesty enrobed.
The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed;
the Lord has robed himself
with might,
he has girded himself with
power.
The Lord is king, with
majesty enrobed.
The world you made firm, not to be moved;
your throne has stood firm
from of old.
From all eternity, O Lord, you
are.
The Lord is king, with
majesty enrobed.
Truly your decrees are to be trusted.
Holiness is fitting to your
house,
O Lord, until the end of time.
The Lord is king, with
majesty enrobed.
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Second reading
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Apocalypse 1:5-8 ©
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Jesus Christ has made us a line of kings
and priests
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Grace and peace to you from Jesus Christ,
the faithful witness, the First-Born from the dead, the Ruler of the kings of
the earth. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and made us
a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory
and power for ever and ever. Amen. It is he who is coming on the clouds;
everyone will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the races of the
earth will mourn over him. This is the truth. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the
Omega’ says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Mk11:10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessings on him who comes in the name of
the Lord!
Blessings on the coming kingdom of our
father David!
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 18:33-37 ©
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Yes, I am a king
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‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ Pilate
asked. Jesus replied, ‘Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others
spoken to you about me?’ Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? It is your own people
and the chief priests who have handed you over to me: what have you done?’
Jesus replied, ‘Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this
world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews.
But my kingdom is not of this kind.’ ‘So you are a king then?’ said Pilate. ‘It
is you who say it’ answered Jesus. ‘Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I
came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on
the side of truth listen to my voice.’
THE KINGSHIP OF CHRIST IS BOTH ABSOLUTE
AND UNCORRUPT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ DAN 7:13-14; PS 93:1-2, 5; REV 1:5-8; JN 18:33-37 ]
Today, we celebrate the
Feast of Christ the King.
This feast is placed on the last Sunday of the liturgical year. It is the
Church’s way of declaring that Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning
and the end of history. It was God’s plan and our hope that Christ would
establish His kingdom on earth and be the Universal King of all creation and
humanity. As the first reading prophesied, “On him was conferred
sovereignty, glory and kingship, and men of all peoples, nations and languages
became his servants. His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty which shall
never pass away, nor will his empire ever be destroyed.”
Indeed, in the gospel,
Jesus identified Himself as King.
When asked by Pilate whether He claimed to be King, He affirmed, “Yes, I am a
king. I was born for this.” In the book of Revelation, St John described
Jesus as “the faithful witness, the First-born from the dead, the Ruler of the
kings of the earth.” However, immediately, Jesus qualified His
kingship. He said, “Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom
were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to
the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.” This qualification made
Him different from all other earthly kings.
Just as Pilate
misunderstood the Kingship of Christ, many of us also do not truly understand
what we are celebrating today as well. In fact, sometimes, I wonder whether this
Feast of Christ the King is so archaic that many of us today cannot identify
with this feast. Many of us live in democratic country, ruled by an
elected government. In many places, the President of the country is only
a figure head, like those countries with a constitutional monarchy. So
the kind of kingship that we understand today is that of a constitutional
monarchy.
But what was the world’s
notion of kingship in ancient times until the late 18th Century? The king was certainly was not one who
carried out the orders of a government. He was the ultimate
power. His power was absolute, binding and not open to question or
dissent. He was totally in charge and all had to obey him or risked
execution. The King held not just political power but also military and
spiritual power. When Pilate asked Jesus about His identity as King, he
had in mind the Roman Emperor Caesar. He was a king not by election
but by force and power because he was a great military warrior who conquered
and subdued many nations. He held not just political power but also
spiritual power because he was worshipped as a god. Indeed, in ancient
times, even in the Old Testament, the King was also seen in this manner.
King David was a military and political leader, but he also held spiritual
powers, and was considered the “anointed one” of God, the “son of God”,
although not professed as God. Because the ancient kings held all these
three powers, they became absolute. The people feared the kings and they
rendered submission willingly and totally.
However, it is said that
absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Indeed, human beings are weak and ignorant. They are insecure and
defensive of their own interests. Very often, absolute monarchs,
including dictators, abused their absolute powers. Instead of serving the
interests and welfare of the people, they robbed them of their property.
They hoarded riches for themselves. They spent the country’s wealth on
luxurious and extravagant living for themselves and their loved ones.
They used their power to control and manipulate the lives of others. They
killed anyone who opposed them and criticized them. They deprived the
people of justice and taught their officials to behave like them, making use of
others for their wealth. It was the abuse of such dictatorial authority that
gave rise to democratic leadership, leaders that were elected by the
people. The weakness of the democratic system however, is that the leader
no longer leads the sheep but it is the sheep that leads the leader. A
democratic leader today is one who builds consensus rather than one who shows
the way and walks the way.
But isn’t this the way
we regard the kingship of Christ too? Although we accept Him as King, we
act as if we are the absolute king. We are happy to have Christ as our nominal
king, but we do not want Him to have a say over how we live. We manage
our own lives. He has no control over our lives. We act
as the real king; the one in the driver’s seat. We rule our own
lives. We decide what is true or false, right or wrong. We have no
qualms about choosing those scripture texts that we agree with and leaving out those
that we do not agree with. It is a selective reading of the bible.
Those scripture texts that we do not agree with, we dismiss it as principles
only, for that time and that context. But the world is changing and so
such principles do not apply, whether it concerns abortion, euthanasia,
killing, same-sex union and divorce. When it comes to moral issues, we
act as if we are the absolute measure of truth.
Worst of all, we act as
despots in the way we manage our lives. We are the Alpha and the Omega. Everything is about ‘me’. It
is my life, my desire, my wish and my preference. We are advocates of
relativism of truth. We use powers for ourselves, like the dictators of
the world. Power for us is for the acquisition of wealth and to put
people under our control. We want to enjoy all the good things in
life. We want to be served and honored. We want to be recognized
and worshipped as if we are gods. This is the kind of kingship that we
seek for ourselves. It is for oneself, not for the people whom we
govern. They are meant to serve us and not we serve or protect them.
What was Jesus’ idea of
kingship? His idea of kingship was not of the world. Firstly, it
was not in terms of territory. It
was not about the conquest of lands but of hearts and minds. He had
come to win over our minds and hearts to the gospel values of the Kingdom,
which is of peace, love, joy and justice. He wants to live in us and
dwell in us. This is made possible when His Spirit is given to all His
disciples at baptism and confirmation. He comes to reign not over land
but over peoples. That is why “His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty
which shall never pass away, nor will his empire ever be destroyed.” This
is because the kingdom that Jesus came to establish is concerned with values
and virtues that transcend time and space. It is not material, physical
or territorial. It is primarily spiritual.
Secondly, His kingship
was to serve justice and truth.
Jesus told Pilate, “I was born for this, I came into the world for this:
to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my
voice.” Jesus came to lead people to His Father by helping us to confront the
truth about ourselves and the sins that hold us in bondage. In speaking
the truth, He suffered misunderstanding, opposition and ridicule. This is
the price of leadership. No leader wants to be unpopular but if one
wants to be a good leader, one must follow Jesus and seek to work for the good
of all in love and in truth. This means that a good leader must be one who is
honest and has great integrity in doing the right thing, upholding justice and
truth for all. He has no self-interests except the interests of the
people he serves. This requires that he is clear of the truth and is
honest with himself. This explains why when there is a conflict of
interest, a leader must step aside so that he would not be embroiled in making
decisions that are bent towards his interests. Transparency and
objectivity is necessary in serving the truth.
Thirdly, His kingship
was not about being served but of service to the people. To be a king is to be a
servant-leader. He leads by serving and bringing others to serve with
him. “On him was conferred sovereignty, glory and kingship, and men of
all peoples, nations and languages became his servants.” He told His
disciples, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and
their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but
whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and
whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just
as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a
ransom for many.” (Mt 20:25-28) We become His servants not
to serve Him but together with Him to serve each other, especially the poor and
the weak, regardless of race, language and religions.
Finally, the power of
His kingship lay not in domination through force but love and mercy. “It is he who is coming on the clouds;
everyone will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the races of the
earth will mourn over him.” The throne of Jesus was not the throne of
Kings but the cross. On the cross, He was enthroned as the Crucified Lamb
of God that brought salvation to the whole world and the symbol of God’s
unconditional forgiveness. Indeed, Jesus “loves us and has washed away
our sins with his blood” by His death on the cross. He is the Suffering
Servant of Isaiah. “See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted
and lifted up, and shall be very high.” (cf Isa 52:13-15)
Today, we are all
invited to be true kings for
we read “Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the First-born from the dead,
the Ruler of the kings of the earth. He loves us and has washed away our sins
with his blood, and made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and
Father.” We are called to share in His kingship for the service of His
Father and His people. If we want to be true kings, then today we must
come to Jesus who bears witness to what true kingship is all about. To
listen to Jesus and follow Him in servant leadership will help us to be true
kings in Christ the King of kings. This means accepting all that Jesus
taught us through the scriptures and His Church without compromising our values
and the truth of life and love.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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