On the final Sunday of the liturgical year, as we do every year, we honor Christ as King of the Universe, a resounding title indeed, but there is something disquieting about it in the context of the dialogue between Pilate and Jesus, in today’s gospel passage. (Jn 18:33-37)
Without a second thought, we attribute to Jesus this glorious title of King of the Universe. But we might have to reconsider it on account of some personal vital implications for all of us.
Pilate asks: “Are you the King of the Jews?”
Nobody would ever dream of approaching King Charles and of asking him: Pardon me, your highness, are you the king of England?
Yet, with Christ, before Pilate, and even nowadays, before our eyes and the eyes of the world, the question is legitimate, beyond the unspoken agreement that the answer will undoubtedly humor Pilate and many others.
Jesus is in chains, bruised up, dirty, tired, totally unkept. He does not look like a king. He does not act like a king. He is most certainly not dressed like one. He only speaks like a king, but that could be easily attributed to a severe case of delusion.
Yet, Jesus is so in charge of the situation that instead of answering Pilate’s question, he responds with a question of his own.
Pilate tries again with a different question: “What have you done?”
Jesus replies by pointing out the nature of his kingdom: clearly, his kingdom is of a totally different type than Pilate and everyone else is accustomed to. His kingdom unveils the truth about God’s plan of salvation. And the subjects of Christ’s kingdom are not your average subjects, but rather special people who hear the truth and act upon the truth.
Hence, it is precisely here, as Jesus specifies the nature of his Kingdom that we find it difficult to celebrate this feast.
“Everyone who belongs to the truth, listens to my voice.”
Everyone who claims to be a Christian, anyone who belongs to Christ who is TRUTH, listens to him. Suddenly, Jesus becomes unsettling, disturbing, demanding.
We can live with wicked people; we can deal with liars and cheaters, but we have a lot of trouble with someone like Jesus who can see clearly inside our hearts and denounce our trumpeted goodness and honesty. We can live with the “truths” that float around politics, the media, and many other venues, because cynicism and savoir faire help us. But we know that it is impossible for us to stand before Christ the Truth and continue to hide our fears, to pretend, to act as if everything inside our heart and around us were OK.
We rely on common sense; often we do not want to stand out; we choose to go with the flow, but Jesus, the Truth, expects us to deny ourselves, to turn the other cheek, to forgive our enemies and pray for our persecutors. We have a hard time with being decent, law-abiding citizens, Catholics in good standing; but Jesus, the Truth, demands that we strive to be as perfect as the Father is perfect, to be as merciful as God is. (Mt 5:48 & Lk 6:36)
Our list of values is good: law and order, honesty, integrity, a nice family, prosperity, a successful career…and here comes Jesus, the Truth, and expects us to turn our list on its head. Blessed are the poor, those who mourn, the hungry, the meek, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted.
Day in and day out, we operate on the principle that good must be rewarded and evil punished; and here comes Jesus, the Truth, and he seeks out those who are lost, sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors, the rejects, the outcasts. God should build his kingdom somewhere else, maybe up there, in heaven. But we do not need a king in our midst whose agenda seem to be embarrassing, impossible, unreasonable.
How can he expect to build a kingdom with debatable ideas and subjects whom society and the whole world despise and ridicule?
We are clearly at a critical point in our life. The type of Kingdom that Christ has in mind is quite clear by now, and so is what type of a King he is. When we walk outside of our parish church, members of our family, friends, acquaintances, coworkers, classmates, seemingly the whole world might be asking us: Are you a true subject of Jesus’ Kingdom?
If we opt to belong to Christ, the Truth, we must listen to his voice and act upon it by working toward genuine integrity and consistency: i.e., that what we say and do on the outside must be a true reflection of what motivates us on the inside.
Jesus, the Truth, desires to share his Flesh and Blood with us in Holy Communion, so that we may become genuine witnesses to the Truth. If that truly happens, no one will dare to say: hey, you do not look like a Christian: you do not reason like one; you do not sound like one; you do not act like one. But everyone shall soon notice that the Kingdom of Christ will eventually, inevitably, triumph over the whole universe thanks also, although in a small way, to our humble and loyal contribution.
