The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
CHRIST THE KING — RULER OR SERVANT
"All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me." (Mt 20:18). These words, spoken by Christ the King, the Messiah, have accompanied people for millennia. Today's Solemnity invites us to return to the essence of power. The model and meaning of our reflections is Jesus Christ, the King and therefore the ruler.
We remember from the pages of the Gospel the dispute between Christ's disciples over primacy in Christ's kingdom (see Mt 20:20-24). The Master then instructs them: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mt 20:25-28).
Who, then, is Christ the King? As he said of himself, he is a servant who: gives his life for another man, heals the weaknesses of the human spirit and body, with pity bends down to the poor, the sick, the suffering and rejects no one. He is a servant who is completely obedient to his Father. Christ is also the Ruler. He has power over human sin (see Lk 7:36-50), over Satan (see Lk 8:26-39), over death (Lk 8:49-55). Christ's absolute sovereignty over sin, death, and Satan is revealed on the day of the Resurrection, when they are finally defeated.
The kingdom that the Messiah brings is the reign of truth and life, grace and justice, love and peace. It is not a kingdom only for the elect, it is not realized somewhere in the afterlife or in the perfect reality of heaven. The kingdom of God is here, and each of us is invited to realize that kingdom. By ascending to heaven, Christ transmits to his disciples, and through them to each one of us, royal dignity and authority (cf. Mt 28:18-20).
In the twenty-first century, what can the participation of every Christian in the royal office of Christ mean? In the Christian dimension, to rule means, above all, to serve. However, service, as Saint John Paul II notes, demands spiritual maturity. "In order to be able to serve others worthily and effectively we must be able to master ourselves, possess the virtues that make this mastery possible. Our sharing in Christ's kingly mission - his "kingly function" (munus) is closely linked with every sphere of both Christian and human morality" (Redemptor Hominis, 21). In practice, authority must mean overcoming sin and evil in ourselves and in the world around us, and following the voice of conscience in all our decisions, so that no human activity may be exempt from God's authority.
Dominion also means realizing the truth within oneself and expressing it through works of love, the fruit of which will be the pursuit of holiness of oneself and of one's neighbor. The realization of Christ's sovereignty, however, is accomplished above all through concrete and direct action in the temporal order. An important task for the laity is to transform institutions and social situations in such a way that they do not lead to sin, but are subject to the norms of justice and love. Elsewhere we read that the royal dignity of the members of the Church is realized by perfecting the products of human labor and civilization in such a way as to contribute to the development of Christian freedom (cf. CCC 36). Christ the King, Lord and Servant, points to a power which only true realization is the service of others.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george