CHRIST KING FEAST

St. Paul of the Cross Monastery
A Sermon on the Feast of Christ the King
Homilist: Fr. Don Ware, C.P.
Updated November 2003
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Today is the feast of Christ the King… The Scripture readings describe Jesus as King who  “receives dominion, glory, and kingship over all peoples and nations… a kingship which will not be destroyed.” (1st reading from Daniel).  The 2nd reading describes Jesus as the “firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth.”  The Gospel has Pilate proclaim, “Aha, you are a king” after Jesus tells Pilate that his kingdom “Is not of this world.”
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So, Jesus is a king, but in no sense this world understands.  And the question arises: What does Jesus’ Kingship mean to us 21st century, sophisticated, democratic people who have probably never even seen a king, and who no longer use the language of kingship and kingdom?
I  What is Jesus’ Kingship About?
For one thing, even if we have never seen a king, we know that kingship is about power and authority. And we know what power and authority are about…
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being in charge,
ruling,
having things done the way we want them done,
having influence….
having it our way.
Think of it… what would it be like having all of that power – if we were ‘king for a day.’
Cancel our debts.
Take care of our family and friends.
New car and new home…
sort of like dreaming what would we do if we hit PowerBall.
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But Jesus’ power is not like that.  His authority is not like that. If he won the PowerBall he would not behave like our world would expect a PowerBall winner to behave.
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When he walked among us Jesus took special care of the disenfranchised, the suffering, the marginalized, the needy.  He didn’t solve these problems in his society but he did show a special love and care for the outcasts, the sick, the needy, the lepers, the prostitutes, and those with other handicaps.  Jesus used his authority and power to help care for these, and to instruct his followers regarding how they were to care for these types of folks.  If Jesus is king, his kingship is an awfully strange one in the eyes of the world.  Jesus would seem to be king of the wounded and the outcast.  And that’s not how our society would exercise kingship if we were to be “King for a Day.”
II  Jesus Is King
In his own time it seems that Jesus did not proclaim himself a king – he knew how this would be misunderstood.  He did proclaim that he had come to usher in the Kingdom of God. What is this Kingdom of God?  This is wherever God’s care and compassion and healing comes about.
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The story is told that one time Mother Theresa, now Blessed Mother Theresa, was sitting in one of the gutters of Calcutta, holding an old homeless man, dirty, disheveled and dying.  She was holding him in her arms, wiping his face with her hands, and just cooing gently to him. Two well dressed businessmen happened by and saw Blessed Theresa, and one of them walked over to her and said, “I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars.”  Mother Theresa looked up into his face, and with a twinkle in her eye replied, “Neither would I!”
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It’s not about money.  But on that day in Calcutta, God’s kingdom was present right there where Mother Theresa sat, tending to that homeless, dying man. God’s Kingdom is not about power and influence – it’s about care and compassion. If you have power and influence, and are following Jesus, use that power and influence as Jesus would want you to and not just to get ahead and help “your own”. Or maybe better to say, realize that “your own” are the street people, the marginalized, the needy, the suffering.
III  Christ The Good Shepherd
Jesus never referred to himself as a king. He did refer to himself as the Good Shepherd, who would lay down his life for his sheep. In the early Church the earliest depiction of Jesus was as the Good Shepherd, not as the triumphant king.  The feast of Christ the King came only later into the Church’s understanding of Jesus her Lord. And so on this feast day of Christ the King, we recognize that Jesus’ kingship is one of compassion and caring, healing and doing his best to help people to flourish and this is what Jesus’ kingship is all about, and what God’s Kingdom is about.
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And those of us who follow Jesus should understand this.  Like Blessed Mother Theresa we are challenged to bring God’s Kingdom into our world – Thy Kingdom come, we pray, On earth as it is in heaven. We who celebrate the feast of Christ the King realize that he rules as the Good Shepherd who gave us his life for his sheep.  And we are invited and challenged to be other Christ’s in our world, not concerned about just being entertained consumers, and having it our way, but concerned and caring for others, especially the unimportant ones, the marginalized and needy, the shut-in and the sick. If there is anyone like that you haven’t called in a while, or you haven’t visited, call them when you get home, visit them in the near future, celebrate the feast of Christ the King as he would want you to.
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My Shepherd Is the Lord…
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