HE IS THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH

XXXIV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - CHRIST THE KING - Colossians 1:12-20

Every year, on the last Sunday of ordinary time, we celebrate Christ the King.

In the Old Testament, David is presented as the role model for all kings, and his figure points towards the Messiah, who would come from David’s family and sit on his throne forever. In the first reading, we are told that the elders of Israel invited David to be their king and, after making a pact with him, anointed him king of Israel. Jesus is the Anointed One, the Christ. He was anointed with the Holy Spirit to be Prophet, Priest and King.

Whenever we use words like 'king', 'kingship' and 'kingdom', we must be aware of the danger of being misunderstood. Jesus was not anointed to become a king like Herod or an emperor like Tiberius. He yields kingship over all those who seek the truth and walk along the path of life with love. Jesus is proclaimed king on the cross. It may sound like a joke, but it is no joke. Jesus’ cross is proof of what a kingship based on power is capable of: disdaining the truth and killing the innocent. Of the two criminals hanging on the cross, one of them confessed his sin and recognised Jesus as the king who welcomes us into his kingdom for us to enjoy paradise with Him. By shedding his blood for us, Jesus opens the gates of heaven so that we may enter in.

Looking at Christ the King, Paul invites us to give “thanks to the Father who has made it possible for you to join the saints and with them to inherit the light.” Indeed, “He has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son that he loves, and in him, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.”

It is in this attitude of thanksgiving before Christ, who redeems us, that Paul presents a Christological hymn in which we find the true meaning of Jesus’ kingship.

Jesus Christ is the image of the unseen God.

All things were created through him and for him.

He holds all things in unity.

Now the Church is his body; he is its head.

God wanted all perfection to be found in him

and all things to be reconciled through him and for him,

everything in heaven and everything on earth,

when he made peace by his death on the cross.

Full of joy, let us sing together with the psalmist:

I rejoiced when I heard them say:

  ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

And now our feet are standing

  within your gates, O Jerusalem. (Psalm 122)