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In today’s gospel Pilate asks
Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus responds, “My kingdom
does not belong to this world.” If Jesus is a king, then where is
his kingdom? For many, the answer is simple, the kingdom of Jesus is in
heaven. But when Jesus taught his disciples about the kingdom, he said
that the kingdom of heaven is near at hand; in fact, it is within you.
In the ancient world the kingdom was not about a place or a territory,
it was about sharing in the power and authority of the king himself. To
participate in a kingdom was to live in the grace and with the
protection of a special “royal” person. For Jesus, the title King of the
Jews meant that he accepted the role of Messiah, the one anointed to
begin the reign of God in the hearts of all people. At long last, the
proper order of creation has been restored. The followers of Jesus
are no longer strangers in the world but share in the glory of God as
citizens of his universal kingdom.
While we journey in this world we have the responsibilities of good
citizenship. We must pay our taxes, obey just laws, choose wise leaders.
But our citizenship in this world is only a kind of stewardship. We are
part of this realm for a relatively short time; our real kingdom is not
of this world. The values of God’s kingdom must enlighten our lives in
this world. We recognize this world as gift-from-God to be used
and enjoyed gently and then handed on to others. We live in relationship
first to others and not to things. Living in the grace and protection of
our king, means that we are champions of the poor, the helpless, the
ones who have no voice. We are here to live life to the fullest without
becoming so attached to this world that we lose sight of the next and
even greater stage of life in the world to come.
On this Solemnity of Christ the King we give thanks for the dignity
Christ has shared with us; making us co-heirs of his kingdom. Let us
renew our commitment to serve our king when we meet him in the least of
our brothers and sisters.
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