Christ the King
“Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that 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.’”
Summary
“Today is the feast of Christ the King, a time to reflect on leadership, authority and power. This is a relatively new feast, instituted in 1925 in the face of rising nationalism in Europe. It affirms that our primary allegiance is to Christ which means that we, like him, are called to stand in solidarity with all peoples.
In our Gospel, John 18:33-37, Pilate believes that he is the one with authority, he holds the power of life or death, but Jesus does not submit to his authority, only to God’s.
At the heart of their interaction is a fundamental disagreement about the true nature of power: Jesus tells Pilate that if his power “were from this world my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over”. Pilate’s role in the crucifixion reveals the truth about the misuse of power. For him, leadership is about exerting power over people, for Jesus it is about using power to serve and liberate people.
At our baptism we are all anointed with the sign of the cross, claimed as Christ’s own. We are all called to be leaders in the kingdom of God, refusing to use our power over others but instead employing it to set them free.
GOSPEL
John 18.33-37
‘Pilate summoned Jesus and asked him:
‘Are you the King of the Jews?’
Jesus answered:
‘Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?’
Pilate replied:
‘I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me.
What have you done?’
Jesus answered:
‘My kingdom is not from this world.
If my kingdom were from this world,
my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over.
But my kingdom is not from here.’
Pilate said:
‘So you are a king?’
Jesus answered:
‘You say that I am a king.
I came into the world, to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’
