Today the Church celebrates the last Sunday of our liturgical year with the feast of Christ the King. This special feast was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as a reminder to the world that Christ is the only supreme ruler of the world and that His authority must be recognized in all aspects of our lives. But we must remember that the notion of Christ’s Kingship is as old as God’s revelation. It is important for us, though, not to make a mistake of comparing Christ to human kings that our history books teach about. There is a difference between Christ as King and the nature of His Kingdom, and earthly kings and their kingdoms. The kings of this earth demand of their subjects that they should be ready, if necessary, to lay down their lives to defend their own king and kingdom. People have always accepted this and millions have gladly given their lives to defend their country and rulers. But in Jesus we have a different King; we have a King who laid down His life for us and set us an example unlike that of any earthly king. Following His Father’s will, He did this to make us worthy to share in the Father’s eternal kingdom. Christ’s coming was not to establish an earthly kingdom, not to make us healthy, happy, or prosperous in this world; He came to open heaven for us where we could be happy forever. Christ reversed all standards; He showed us that His Kingdom is one of love and service, that He as King came to serve and not to be served; He invites us to a life of loving service and faithfulness to God. Christ died for us so that we can live for Him. On this feast of Christ the King let us renew our commitment to Christ. May He be invited by each one of us once again to take rule of our lives, our families, our world. If we honour Christ’s Kingship and work for the sake of His Heavenly Kingdom, we will be greatly blessed when He returns in Glory to judge the living and the dead.
Fr. Wojtek Kuzma
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