The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Our first reading today from the Second Book of Samuel, chapter 5, verse 1 to 3, tells us the story of the anointing of David as the king of Israel. The second reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians, chapter 1, verse 12 to 20, reminds us to give thanks to the Father, who has made us fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light; 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. Then our gospel reading from the gospel of Luke, chapter 23, verse 35 to 43, tells us the story of the repentant thief on the cross who asked Jesus to remember him when He goes into His kingdom, in Paradise. All these readings talk about kingship and a kingdom, a clear reminder to us of the Kingship of Jesus Christ which we celebrate today in this solemnity. Hence, Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and the King of the Universe, and the King of our lives and our world today.
Is Jesus Christ truly the King of your life and our world today? This is a very reasonable and important question to ask ourselves today. We always acclaim and proclaim as Christians that God is important in our lives and that Jesus Christ is the King of our lives, but how evident is this acclamation and proclamation in our daily lives today? How is Jesus the King of your life in your daily living, your decision making, your actions, your lifestyle etc? How have you shown the world today that Jesus Christ is the center of your life? It is a well known fact that the Kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ which we celebrate today is a kingship centered on Love, but I would like to point out some aspects of this kingship centered on Love that are important and essential for us Christians today.
The first aspect of Christ’s kingship that we should pay attention to is His Service to God and for us. Christ’s kingship was a call to service, as He served His Father in heaven and shared His service to us in His ministry of establishing the kingdom of His Father in our world. He worked tirelessly in proclaiming, teaching and living out the gospel of God as His service to God and for us. How have we participated in establishing and growing this Kingdom of God in our world today by serving God and our neighbors? Since we are disciples of Christ, how are we answering our call to serve God and to serve our neighbors?
The second aspect of the Kingship of Christ is Humility, a virtue shown us by Jesus taking our human form, being like us in all things but sin, living in world, suffering for us and especially giving His life on the cross for our sins. For Jesus, it was always about His Father and the kingdom of God and never about Him. Is our life and our ministry about God and His kingdom or has it become more about ourselves? Have we turned the gospel of God into our own gospel and made it be all about us and not about Him?
Justice is the third aspect of Christ’s kingship, which is centered on love and standing up for the truth and what is right. Justice being a just behavior or treatment should always speak up on social justice issues and plea for fairness, equality, equity, respect for human life, compassion, peace etc. How have we as Christians spoken out about the injustices in our world and in our society today like Christ did in His time to establish the kingdom of His Father on earth? How just are we in our thoughts, words and in our dealings with others?
The last aspect of the Kingship of Christ is Dedication, a quality exhibited by Jesus Himself, by being committed to the task of establishing His Father’s kingdom in our world by living out the gospel and giving His life for us. How dedicated are we to our faith as Catholic Christians? How have we shown this dedication by sincerely proclaiming and living out the gospel of Christ? How dedicated are we in establishing the kingdom of God in our world today?
My dear brothers and sisters, as we celebrate the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe and as we come to the end of our liturgical year today, let us pray for the grace to continue to establish God’s kingdom in our world and society today by living out His gospel of love through the call to Service, Humility, Justice and Dedication. Amen.
