In the Acts of the Apostles, we are told the reason the disciples were persecuted was because: “They all act in opposition to the decrees of Caesar and claim instead that there is another king, Jesus” (Acts 17:8). In his speech to the men of Athens in the Areopagus, St. Paul made clear the universal sovereignty of Christ by stating: “God has overlooked the times of ignorance, but now he demands that all people everywhere repent because he has established a day on which he will ‘judge the world with justice’ through a man he has appointed, and he
has provided confirmation for all by raising him from the dead.” The importance of today’s solemnity can be seen from the standpoint of Israel’s History, looking for a King beyond all the tyrants of this world. Like Israel, we too long for a kingdom where God will simply be our King, where His justice and peace will reign from end to end.
Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe, who will come to judge the living and the dead as the Gospel of today attests. His judgement would be unfair if He did not give us the standards, show us how to achieve them and give us the help we need to achieve them. That no one may accuse him of any of these, our King was born, lived, suffered and died like us except sin in order to be our perfect leader both by teaching and by example in all aspects. To be the King of not only the living but also of the dead, he rose from the dead as He promised.
We are told today’s “Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, formerly referred to as "Christ the King" was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as an antidote to secularism, a way of life which leaves God out of man's thinking and living and organizes his life as if God did not exist. The feast is intended to proclaim in a striking and effective manner Christ's royalty over individuals, families, society, governments, and nations.” Almost a century later, 2022, the reasons for establishing today’s feast are even glaring all the more: many do not only live as if there is no God, but profess that there is no God.
Amongst the many lessons that can be learned from the recent elections, I would say the greatest lesson for me is our awareness that it does matter who governs us, who we call as our king. I would therefore like us to look at today’s solemnity as a celebration of the Kingship of Jesus in contrast to various kingships that want to usurp His place: 1) the Dictatorship of secularism, 2) the Dictatorship of relativism, 3) the Dictatorship of Noise, 4) the Dictatorship of Images, and 5) the Dictatorship of Indifference.
1) King Jesus vs The Dictatorship of Secularism
It was Hildebrand who rightly observed: “So many fail, especially in our days, to hear that ‘Call’ which God addresses to us in every value. Never in the history of humanity have there been so many ‘spectators’ of God and of the world of values.” Secularism professes that there is no voice of God calling us to the right path. The only voice heeded is the voice of the world. Secularism seeks to push God to the side and enthrone only worldly values, only things of this world. The disciple who takes Jesus’ words to heart realizes immediately that secularism is a threat to the establishment of God’s Kingdom. We are called to evangelize more than ever before. However, how shocking was Cardinal Avery Dulles observation: “Asked whether spreading the faith was a high priority of their parishes, 75 percent of conservative Protestant congregations and 57 percent of African-American congregations responded affirmatively, whereas only 6 percent of Catholic parishes did the same.” Only 6 percent of our parishes have the conscious awareness that the meaning of those words at the end of every Mass: “Go, in peace, glorifying the Lord” mean “Go, and make disciples of the whole world!” To vote for the kingship of Jesus today is to take up your missionary assignment to win souls for Christ whether by your kindness, peaching in words or deeds. The time to be a spectator of indifference is over. When was the last time you invited someone to Church?
2) King Jesus vs The Dictatorship of Relativism
To vote for the Kingship of Jesus over the dictatorship of relativism is to resolve to be on the side of objective truth against a false notion that holds that what is true for you is true for you and what is true for me is true for me. To deny that there is no objective truth is a contradiction in terms because such a statement itself stands as an objective statement proposed to be accepted. How right was St. Thomas Aquinas when he simply stated: “Truth itself speaks truly or else there is nothing true.” Jesus is the truth and whatever we accept or reject must be measured against what Jesus the King of truth teaches us in His word and through His Church.
3) King Jesus vs The Dictatorship of Noise
In his journal, Henri Nouwen rightly observed: “If words have to grow of silence, I will need much silence to prevent my words from becoming flat and superficial.” Our world today is bombarded by the dictatorship of noise, and unless we resolve to be still and know that Jesus is King, we run the risk of living a superficial life always in anxiety. Nothing profound grows or develops but out of silence. God is silence. Nothing grows but out of silence and in silence. To vote for Jesus the King is to vote for silence over unnecessary noise.
4) King Jesus vs The Dictatorship of Images
King Jesus is the image of the Invisible God. Hence, to seek the latest Facebook, Instagram, or snapchat image instead of Jesus in prayer is to be under the dictatorship of images. Many of the young people nowadays are greatly challenged by this dictatorship. We have to remember the power of images. We act out of the images we have in mind. In spending time in prayer with the King of kings, we shall come to appreciate the true good in contemplation that pleases God always and everywhere. This shall help us overcome the false pleasures of the world.
5) King Jesus vs The Dictatorship of Indifference
Jesus is the King of values. We go through this world either as spectators of love or spectators of indifference. The values we respond to determine the kind of character and hence the destiny we map out for ourselves. We are called to work for the values of God: listen and respond adequately. Building our personalities… every time we respond to a value, we become better. Every time we respond adequately to a disvalue (such an injustice) we become better as well. However, any time we fail to, we become less of ourselves. Every time we respond to a value, we are responding to the voice of Jesus the King of that value. We move and live and have our being in him. May the song, “Hark the Voice of Jesus Crying” resound in our ears any time we are tempted to be indifferent to the voice of Jesus in the various values we encounter in our daily lives. Love, mercy and justice are the right responses we must make in the presence of any misery or injustice. What’s the one value you will never pass by? Choose one from the list of spiritual and corporal works of mercy and begin doing it today. As we receive Jesus in the Eucharist today, may we let Him be the King of our hearts, our minds, and our wills so that whatever we do will bring Him glory, and lead to the salvation of our souls.