THE FIRST-BORN OF ALL CREATION

XXXIV SUNDAY - CHRIST THE KING — Luke 23:35-43

Through Isaiah, God addresses his people saying: 

“… my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” (Is 55:8)

They are not only different but, many times, they seem to go in the opposite direction. For instance, we think of kingship as an instance of power in which the one proclaimed king imposes himself, becoming the undisputed overlord of everything and everybody. His decisions are final and unquestionable, demanding total obedience. Before such a king, we must prostrate ourselves in fear. It was so with Herod the king, Caesar the emperor and many other rulers who exercised power over the nations. Jesus refused to walk that road and went into hiding when people tried to proclaim him king (Jn 6:15). Arrested and accused before Pilate of being a pretender to the throne of David, Jesus answered in bewilderment: “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” (Jn 18:34). Upon insistence from Pilate, Jesus reassured him that he had nothing to fear because his kingdom is not from the world. His kingdom is about the truth and he came “to bear witness to the truth” (Jn 18:37). Jesus' kingship has to do with truth, love and service. He gave a commandment to all those who desire to belong to his kingdom: “you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. … people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13:34-35). Being divine, he put aside his glory as the Son of God and humbled himself to become one like us, suffering violence and oppression and dying on the cross to liberate us from the slavery of sin. With a crown of thorns on his head and a cross as his throne, Jesus is proclaimed king. What a contradiction! How can a cross become a throne? However, Jesus himself had told his disciples: “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (Jn 3:14-15). As king, with the cross as his throne, Jesus is the giver of eternal life. It is through Him that everything is reconciled:

“everything in heaven and everything on earth,

when he made peace

by his death on the cross.” (Col 1:20).

Jesus Christ, as King of the universe, is the image of God:

“He is the image of the unseen God

and the first-born of all creation,

for in him were created

all things in heaven and on earth.” (Col 1:15-16).

With songs of praise, let us sing to him and pledge to serve Him and to live by his Law: Love one another as I loved you.