Spiritual Essay #119

Christ is King
by Fred Schaeffer, SFO (© 2006)

Today, we're celebrating the solemnity of Christ the King. What is this all about? Well, for one thing, it is a great opportunity to adore our Blessed Lord in his Kingship, for He is, in his own right, a mighty ruler, and He sits at the right hand of the Father, as Scripture tells us.

The feast of Christ the King always occurs on the last Sunday of the Liturgical year. The very next Sunday after the celebration of Christ the King is the First Sunday of Advent. In the Gospel of this day, Pilate asks Jesus if He is the King of the Jews. Since these are the first words spoken by Pilate to Jesus, it seems to be the leading accusation made by the Jews to convict Jesus to death. Jesus' first response is vague but after that initial response His answers are direct. Pilate asks "Then are you a King?" and Jesus replies, "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." (John 18:37) It is obvious that Pilate does not wish to get involved in God's Word. He shuns Jesus' response.

Baptism brings kingship to believers, a royalty that means everyday service to all who cross our paths, especially the poor. The concept that the Lord came to govern as a sovereign King is firmly implanted in Holy Scripture. In St. Paul's Letter to the Colossians (1:12-14), "He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." And, the passage in 1 Corinthians 15: 23b-27 states this even stronger--"Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ; then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death, for 'he subjected everything under his feet.' But when it says that everything has been subjected, it is clear that it excludes the one who subjected everything to him."

Saint Francis of Assisi was not afraid of death. He knew that after death there is the hope of everlasting life with God the Father, Jesus, Mary, and with all the Angels and Saints so death to Francis was Sister Death, as though death is a member of the family. And, yes, it is, for no one escapes it. But there is another death which is slow and agonizing, and that is when we lose our faith and we die slowly within. Our spirituality becomes meaningless. When we go that route, we should pray to Christ the King, for His healing and his love. He does love even the weak and the spiritually poor and even the sinner. We just pray that those who have lost their way on this pilgrimage of life, to please reach out in love to Jesus, our Almighty Lord, King of Heaven and Earth.

Peace and Good!
Fred Schaeffer, SFO

Uploaded November 24, 2002