CHRIST THE KING

CHRIST THE KING (C)
Lk 23:35-45

WHAT KIND OF KINGSHIP HE HAS?

To discover the kingship of Christ, to have us experience its richness, the Church proposes to us the Gospel passage which, we must admit, is very strange.

In the conflict opposing Him to the leaders of the people, Jesus appears defeated; the former had the upper hand over Him, and we witness the spectacle of His “downfall”. For everybody, especially for His disciples, it is the collapse of a great hope. Such is the situation of Jesus when the scene narrated in this passage takes place. The King could hardly be said to have prestige. And yet, towards the middle of the narrative, we have really heard that there was an inscription above him stating: “This is the King of the Jews.” What kind of kingship could ever be stated in such humiliating conditions?

This King, when He is challenged to show His power, a power He had always claimed to have until now, does not react. He could use it to get rid of the nails in His hands and feet, to come down from the cross and impose on all the overwhelmed spectators an uncontested authority: He does nothing of the sort!

This enables us to understand that His kingship entails no personal benefit. His universal dominion is not aimed at fulfilling Himself. If He exercises His kingship one last time before dying, it is only so that the “good” thief will obtain entrance into His Kingdom. This He does without any deployment of power, through a mere promise: His word is His sole power, and He needs none other.

This kingship of Jesus is therefore not made of domination by force; it is made of SERVICE BY LOVE. The annihilation brought by death is only an incident which in no way impedes His freedom of movement, a temporary episode in an eternal life.

The crucified Jesus of the Gospel reveals in His behavior what is the nature of His mysterious kingship: it does not want to dominate men, it is vulnerable in their attacks, and yet it enables those who do so desire to pass through death victoriously.

There are those who say: If Christ has a royal power, let Him fashion for us a better society, and then we shall believe in Him. Jesus does not answer this with miracles and wonders. He is content with setting an example of ABSOLUTE FORGIVENESS. This example, along with His grace in our hearts, will always be enough for men of good will to hasten in this world the coming of His Kingdom.

We are celebrating Christ’s kingship today. Is He really our King in the day to day basis of our lives? When was the last time we rendered our unselfish service of love to our fellowman? Have we forgiven one another? Have we loved the way Jesus did?