TO HIM BE GLORY AND POWER FOREVER AND EVER

XXXIV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: CHRIST THE KING - John 18:33-37

We end the liturgical year with the celebration of the solemnity of Christ the King, in which we proclaim him as King of the Universe. And we may ask ourselves what does that mean? Throughout history, the experience of being under a king has not been always a happy experience. What kind of a king is Jesus? Most of the times, we associate kingship with dominion and oppression. Kings impose themselves impose themselves on people and are jealous of their authority and position. That’s why Jesus warned his disciples not to be like the rulers of the earth: “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you” (Mk 10:42-43). And proposing himself as the model for their leadership, Jesus told them: “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45). In fact, Jesus never showed interest in political power and, when people tried to make him a king, he went into hiding. He did not come to be an earthly king and to impose himself on people, if necessary by force, as it had been the case with King Herod and with Emperor Augustus. Jesus’ kingship is of a completely different order and he makes it very clear to Pilate when he tells him: “My kingdom is not of this world” (Jn 18:36). And he explains it to the governor. He came into Jerusalem on a donkey, like the poor peasants. And he has no army to fight for him. He is completely at the mercy of those who have power. Nobody needs to be afraid of him, because he does not constitute a threat to anybody. Indeed, looking at history and at the presence of Christ in history, we may ask ourselves why is he perceived as a threat for the propagators of ideologies and the holders of power. Why so many of his disciples are being ostracised and persecuted? Christians have never been a threat to the State. 

To Pilate, Jesus explained his kingship: he came to be king of those who search for the truth and are only content with the truth.  In a similar manner, he had told the Jews: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (Jn 8:31-32). Freedom, justice and peace will be achieved only if we become pursuers of the truth.

It is easy to see that Pilate did not care about the truth,  as he did not wait for Jesus’ answer to his question on the truth and as he was ready to condemn Jesus on trumped-up charges. Ignoring and despising the truth, he was ready to commit an injustice condemning the guiltless and blameless Christ.

Jesus presented himself as king, only during his trial, when there was no possibility of being misunderstood. On top of his cross, they wrote: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” (Jn 19:19), thus presenting the official reason for his condemnation. Such statement presents on one side Jesus’ claim that he is king and on the other side the false accusation that he is the king of the Jews.

The first reading taken from the book of Daniel and the second reading taken from the book of revelation helps us to understand the claim that Jesus is King of the Universe. He is that human being - the Son of man - on whom it “was conferred sovereignty, glory and kingship, and men of all peoples, nations and languages became his servants” (Dan 7:14) and he is “the First-Born from the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth” (Rev 1:5). He is human and divine and in him, humanity will find salvation, making of “us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power forever and ever. Amen” (Rev 1:6).