Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Year B

 

Dn 7:13-14

Ps 93:1-2, 5

Rev 1:5-8

Jn 18:33-37

 

St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church, Burkburnett, TX

St. Paul Catholic Church, Electra, TX

Christ the King Catholic Church, Iowa Park, TX

 

Royal titles often seem out of place and out of touch with our 21^st century American sensibilities. They sound outdated and seem to conflict with our democratic ideals. Yet today, the Church celebrates the kingship of Christ. Specifically, today is the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. In Imperial Rome, to claim to be a king without an official sanction from Caesar was a capital offense, punishable by death. In His exchange with Pilate, Jesus not only acknowledged His kingly identity, He embraced the inevitable death by crucifixion that lay before Him.

In our short Gospel passage today, we gain some important insights about the kingship of Jesus Christ and what it means for us to be the King’s loyal and faithful subjects. The scene opened with Jesus standing trial before Pilate, but it rather quickly flipped such that Pilate was on trial before Jesus! Pilate had asked Jesus a simple personal question: “Are you the King of the Jews?” In a piercing manner, striking to the heart and meant to force us to clarify and focus our faith, Jesus turned Pilate’s question aside and asked Pilate whether he was merely repeating what he had heard or if he was ready to embrace a faith based on his encounter with Jesus. Up to this point, Pilate had heard a lot about Jesus from the Jewish priests and his own Roman spies, but this is the first time they have come face to face. Jesus offered Pilate a relationship of faith and so Pilate stood trial before the Lord. How did Pilate respond to this opportunity? Did he remain distant and aloof from Jesus, knowing him only through objective titles of faith ‘King of the Jews’, or did he accept a relationship with Jesus, come to know him personally, and make his own profession of faith? History says no to all.

In John’s Gospel, there are several instances where Jesus asked questions of people and in those questioning moments, cause us to reflect and discern the life of a Christian. Jesus asked Pilate to put out into the deep. Pilate distanced himself from the Lord and claimed his knowledge of Jesus was only from others. He insisted that Jesus answer his question instead of following the discussion where Jesus wanted it to go. Pilate’s reluctance to follow Jesus in the conversation is eerily symptomatic of a mistaken type of discipleship that is far too prevalent in our world today. Rather than following the Lord’s lead, we expect Jesus to follow our lead. “I will follow you Lord and serve your people, as long as you don’t take up too much of my time. I’ll go to Mass every Sunday Lord, if the game isn’t on TV. I’ll be charitable to my fellow man Lord, except for ‘those’ people.” This is not discipleship.

Our Church has a 2000-year Tradition behind it and has much to teach about Jesus Christ and what He demands of his followers. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not simply a matter of knowing what others have said about Him. One can learn every single statement about Jesus in the Catechism, one can memorize and quote every Gospel passage and still fall far short of discipleship. To be a disciple is about making all those things we hear and learn about Jesus our own. And in the process of making them our own, recognizing and responding to the presence of the Lord who is active and present in every moment and circumstance of our lives. Responsiveness and obedience are what it means to be a loyal subject of Christ the King.

As the trial of Pilate continued, Jesus admitted he is indeed a king, but cautioned that His kingdom is not of this world. The Kingdom of God is present in this world in the mystery of His Church (CCC 669), manifested through the lives of His faithful disciples, but His kingdom is never something ‘of’ this world. We do well to heed these words of Christ so that we never fall into the error of thinking the Kingdom somehow emanates from us, or receives its authority from us, or achieves its successes because of our efforts. We are never the authors of the reign of God, but we can choose to cooperate with God’s reign in our lives.

The Book of Revelation tells us that by His Blood, Jesus made us into a kingdom – you and me. We share in the reign of Christ. What does it mean to reign as a loyal subject of Christ the King? To begin, we are to reign over ourselves, learning mastery over our passions and emotions. Both are gifts from God to us through our bodies, but they are to be directed by our wills. In turn, our wills are to be directed by our intellect. To reign means to make rational decisions based on well-formed consciences, and not make snap decisions based on the emotions of the moment. Especially when they turn into gossip and slander of another person. Next for the Christian, to reign is to serve Christ. Most particularly by serving the poor and the suffering in the world, in whom the Church recognizes the image of her poor and suffering founder. (CCC 786) The loyal servant does not hesitate to offer the gift of self. Finally, we reign by offering worship to God in the manner He desires to be worshipped. We take our proper place in the Kingdom when we participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation. We do this to offer God the worship and adoration we owe Him. He is our Creator, our King, we are His creatures, His subjects. We don’t attend Mass to be consoled, or moved, or inspired. We certainly do not come to be entertained. It is enough that we are present and participate fully in the prayers and the singing. It is our duty as loyal subjects of the King of the Universe. (CCC 2105)

My dear friends and fellow disciples of Jesus Christ, we must have the eyes of faith to recognize Jesus Christ in this and every moment. We must cultivate the obedience of spirit to imitate His loving service to one another. Pilate failed on both counts. How will we respond when Christ asks us “Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?” Let us work daily to possess an integrity of faith to not only hear our Lord’s voice, but to follow Him by conforming our lives to His teaching. By our words and deeds, we have the power – with the aid of the Holy Spirit – to proclaim Jesus Christ as King of the Universe to the world and to build a holy people. Let us live the petition we make every time we pray the Our Father – ‘Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done!’

St. Joseph, Most Obedient and Most Faithful, Pray for Us!