Lord of lords
We end the liturgical year with the feast of Christ the King, in which we proclaim Jesus as the Lord of lords and the King of kings, following the profession of faith of the letter to the Philippians:
“Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father”. (Ph 2:9-11)
Jesus’ kingdom is not an earthly kingdom, even though it is all embracing, since all tribes and nations will bend their knees in recognition of his sovereignty. In fact, during his life here on earth, he refused the throne and the power that goes with it, and he went into hiding, when he heard that people wanted to make him their king. When Pilate presented him with the accusation that he was called Messiah and King, he answered: “My kingdom is not from this world”. And explaining, he went on to say: “I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice” (Jn 18:36-37). Jesus is the king of all those who search for the truth, and the truth manifests itself in humility, kindness, peace and love.
A king of peace
He came as king of peace, and his rule is completely different from that of the great and powerful kings of this world. They rule by force, oppression and violence. Jesus wants to be welcomed into our lives, uniting us to him with strings of love.
The charter of the Kingdom
Seated on the mountain, surrounded by his disciples, Jesus gave them the charter of his kingdom (Mt 5:1-12). In that charter, Jesus presents the guiding values, by which we must work for his kingdom to come and become a reality among us. His kingdom is a gift of God’s love and mercy, and we pray daily for its coming, with Jesus’ own words: “May your kingdom come!” (Mt 6:10). However, God wants our cooperation in the establishment of this kingdom, and our effort has to be guided by the charter of the Kingdom, the Beatitudes.
Last judgement
In the end, there will be reward or punishment, which will follow a final judgement, and in that judgement there will be only two possible outcomes: being given a place in God’s kingdom, or being permanently excluded from it.
This Sunday’s gospel presents the parable of the last judgement. From that judgement, there will be no appeal. It will be final and it will come at the end, but the outcome depends on what we do now. In the judgement, Christ will use only one rule and he will measure us against it. And this one rule will be applied to all, Christians or no Christians, believers or no believers. It is interesting that Jesus will not ask if we believed or not. And he will not ask if we were baptised or not, or if we were going to church or not. He will measure everybody against the rule of love, mercy and compassion. The ones found wanting, will be punished by exclusion from his Kingdom. Confronted with so clear judgement, people will answer back that they do not remember to meet him or even to know him; but it does not matter. Whenever we are moved by compassion to do something in order to diminish and alleviate the pain of the suffering ones, we are doing it to Jesus, and he will reward us for it. Whenever we are truly human, showing love and compassion, then we are welcoming God’s kingdom and living by its values. And Jesus will recognise us and give us a share in his Kingdom.
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