To Jesus Christ Our Sovereign King
Gospel Reflection for the Extraordinary Form: Feast of Christ the King
At that time: Pilate said to Jesus: Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered: Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or have others told it thee of Me? Pilate answered: Am I a Jew? Thy own nation, and the chief priests, have delivered thee up to me: what hast thou done? Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would certainly strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now My kingdom is not from hence. Pilate therefore said to him: Art thou a king then? Jesus answered: Thou sayest that I am a King. For this was I born, and for this came I into the world; that I should give testimony to the truth, everyone that is of the truth, heareth My voice (Jn 18:33-37 DRB).
Today’s feast is relatively new in the liturgical calendar; it was first celebrated in 1926 after having been instituted as a liturgical feast by Pope Pius XI the year before. In the Ordinary Form, the feast has been moved to the last Sunday before Advent, but Pope Pius XI chose the final Sunday in October, as this is the last Sunday before the Feast of All Saints. In this way, as one of my priests explained, the Church shows us that Christ the King leads us to Heaven, where His saints are.
In today’s Gospel, Our Lord tells Pilate, “If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would certainly strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now My kingdom is not from hence.” St. John Chrysostom wrote that Jesus’ words here demonstrate the superiority of the Kingdom of Heaven over all earthly kingdoms: “[An earthly kingdom] has its strength from its servants, whereas that higher kingdom is sufficient to itself” (Catena Aurea). Earthly kingdoms, with their just authority and just laws, are necessary in order to protect the common good and preserve public order. However, earthly kingdoms are finite and will one day end; only God’s kingdom is infinite, universal, and eternal.
When he established the Feast of Christ the King, Pope Pius XI wrote, “Men must look for the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ; and that We promised to do as far as lay in Our power. In the Kingdom of Christ, that is, it seemed to Us that peace could not be more effectually restored nor fixed upon a firmer basis than through the restoration of the Empire of Our Lord” (Quas Primas). Christ Himself is our peace (cf. Eph 2:14), and it is only in His Kingdom that we shall find the peace for which we all long. God has created each and every one of us with the ultimate goal of spending eternity with Him in Heaven, but in order to attain this, we must allow Christ to reign in our hearts and lives while still on earth.
The Kingdom of Heaven is now. Christ is King, and His Kingdom extends over all the universe. We must not merely passively live in His Kingdom but instead permit Him to fully and truly reign in our lives by obeying His commands and following His will. God desires only what is best for us; we must trust that everything He sends us—be it joy or sorrow—is for the purpose of securing our salvation. Only once Christ reigns in our lives can we join the Communion of Saints in His eternal Kingdom, where there will be no more sorrow but only joy as we glory in the divine presence of God forever.
Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat! (Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands.)
