WHO IS GOING TO RULE? - SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING (11/21/2021)

SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING

November 21, 2021


WHO IS GOING TO RULE?

I once heard a conference speaker say that there is only one real question in the universe - "Who is going to rule?" Over the years, I have come to see the accuracy of that insight. We see it at work in human society for sure, but it is absolutely true in a wider sense. Who is going to rule the world? Who is going to rule the universe? Well, we know the ultimate answer to that question, and we celebrate it today: Jesus Christ is the King of the Universe!

DANIEL

The Book of Daniel was written during the second century BC. Its hero is the prophet Daniel, who actually lived at the time of the Babylonian Captivity (598-538 BC).

The vision described here in the first reading is of the Son of Man (Jesus) coming on the clouds of heaven before the Ancient One (God the Father). Jesus receives "dominion, glory and kingship," which is universal and everlasting.

The Responsorial, Psalm 93, praises the Lord as "king" and "robed in majesty."

REVELATION

The Book of Daniel is like an apocalypse in the Old Testament. Our second reading is from the Apocalypse (Revelation) in the New Testament. It describes Jesus as "the faithful witness, the first-born from the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth." This definitively answers the question, "Who is going to rule?"!

Jesus is praised and honored for his redemptive work - loving us and freeing us from our sins by his blood. Additionally, he has made us a kingdom of priests.

Jesus will come again, "and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him." He is called the Alpha and Omega (first and last letters in the Greek alphabet.) Later in the book, in Revelation 22:13, Jesus says: "I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

GOSPEL

On this last Sunday of the Church year, the Solemnity of Christ the King, we read John's account of Pilate's interrogation of Jesus. Pilate wants to know if Jesus is the "King of the Jews." Jesus makes it clear that his kingdom does not belong to this world.

This exchange between Jesus and Pilate is illuminating. Pilate tries to pin him down: "Then you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

Jesus did not deny that he was indeed a king, but it seems that, for him,  the title of king was secondary to his mission of bearing witness to the truth. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).


JESUS REIGNS!

In my personal opinion, the liturgy of Christ the King is one of the most beautiful, powerful, and inspiring in the Church calendar. We celebrate the reign of Jesus over our hearts, over his Church, over the entire universe. But we also celebrate our communion with Jesus and ultimate share in his victory: "If we endure, we shall also reign with him" (2 Tim. 2:12). 

May we endure with the Lord so as to reign with the Lord! Praised be Jesus Christ our King!