GOD'S WORD IN DAILY LIFE
21 November/Sunday/34th Sunday] Christ the King B
Dan 7,13-14/ Psa 93,1a.1b-2.5/Rev 1,5-8/John 18,33-37
By Most Rev. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, SVD
First Reading Daniel 7:13-14
I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man
I gazed into the visions of the night.
And I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven,
one like a son of man.
He came to the one of great age
and was led into his presence.
On him was conferred sovereignty,
glory and kingship,
and men of all peoples, nations and languages became his servants.
His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty
which shall never pass away,
nor will his empire ever be destroyed.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 92(93):1-2,5
The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.
The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed;
the Lord has robed himself with might,
he has girded himself with power.
The world you made firm, not to be moved;
your throne has stood firm from of old.
From all eternity, O Lord, you are.
Truly your decrees are to be trusted.
Holiness is fitting to your house,
O Lord, until the end of time.
Second Reading Apocalypse 1:5-8
Jesus Christ has made us a line of kings and priests
Grace and peace to you from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the First-Born from the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. It is he who is coming on the clouds; everyone will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the races of the earth will mourn over him. This is the truth. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’ says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
Gospel Acclamation Mark 11:10
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessings on the coming kingdom of our father David!
Alleluia!
Gospel John 18:33-37
Yes, I am a king
‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ Pilate asked. Jesus replied, ‘Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others spoken to you about me?’ Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? It is your own people and the chief priests who have handed you over to me: what have you done?’ Jesus replied, ‘Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.’ ‘So you are a king then?’ said Pilate. ‘It is you who say it’ answered Jesus. ‘Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.’
Reflection
The readings, particularly the Gospel Reading of the feast of Christ, King of the Universe are not what we may really expect for such a splendid occasion. We may be expecting readings about the enthronement of Jesus or a scene in which we witness his might. The Gospel Reading surprisingly is that of the trial of Jesus or better still his interrogation by Pilate. In this reading, we witness the humiliation of Jesus as he appears in chains like a criminal before Pontius Pilate. There is an apparent contrast between the two figures. Pontius Pilate appeared as the powerful representative of an omnipotent emperor. Jesus is presented as a defenceless accused person whose responses to the interrogation of Pilate did not seem satisfactory. From the eyes of those present at the scene, there was no doubt that the one in command of events was Pilate.
From the perspective of Christians who read the text today, the story is completely different and it is for that matter that this reading is proposed for the feast of Christ, King of the Universe. What is important in the episode is the dialogue between the two persons. Pontius Pilate understood neither Jesus nor the Jews. When Jesus interrogated him about the source of his question whether he was king of the Jews, he could only retort with a rhetorical question. He seemed not to understand what the Jews were talking about. If he were clear about their accusation, he would not have asked Jesus to tell him why the Jews brought him to his palace for trial. In a certain way, we can conclude that the one who was really on trial was Pontius Pilate and not Jesus.
As far as Jesus is concerned, the questions of Pilate were irrelevant. What mattered was the truth and he had control of the truth. He boldly told Pilate, my kingdom is not of this world. This implied that he was king but the origin of his kingship is not of this world. Despite his kingdom not being of this world, he affirmed before Pilate that he was born to be king and he came into the world for that purpose. There is however a particular way in which Jesus explains his kingship that should not escape our attention. In his response to Pilate, he made it clear that his kingship is to bear witness to the truth. The kingship of Jesus is his sovereign action on earth through which God performs his saving works and speaks his saving words. This kingship was conferred on him by the Father who sent him into the world. His entire ministry on earth is therefore his action as king and it is done in view of the truth.
The mission of Jesus does not have its origins in this world. His mission has its origins in the Father who is all truth and desires the salvation of all. His kingship is an eternal sovereignty that shall never pass away because it can never be destroyed. Jesus says that those who listen to him are on the side of the truth. The Gospel he preaches is the truth that would save all people. Those who listen to him are expected to accept his teaching and live it out in their lives. Only those who live it out can call themselves children of God. These are the ones destined to eternal life and they would reign with Christ when he comes in his kingdom.
On the feast of Christ, King of the Universe we acclaim his sovereignty over the universe. We acknowledge that he alone reveals the truth of the Father to humanity. We thank him for sharing this truth with us and for inviting us to make known this truth as we also share it with those we encounter in our daily lives. We are certain that if we live out this truth, we would have a share in his kingdom. In this certitude, we ask the Lord to make us faithful messengers of his truth.