Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King
(Cycle "B" - November 23, 2003)
Q. 242: Jesus wasn't an "earthly" king, in our modern sense of monarchs and potentates. So why do we celebrate today the Solemnity of "Our Lord Jesus Christ the King"?
A. 242: This feast day was established in 1925. If you recall your history, you will remember that this was a time of rising totalitarian nationalism, when the "State" was becoming more than supreme, even dictating everyone's way of life and way of thinking. Communism was on the rise in Stalin's Russia and elsewhere; Nazism was on the near horizon in Hitler's Germany; Fascism was a reality in Mussolini's Italy. Everything and everyone was made subservient to the State. People were beginning to believe the "lie."
The Church responded with today's liturgical feast, which proclaims that Jesus Christ is the only true sovereign. He is Christ, the eternal King, to whom everyone must pay homage. It is Christ who must rule our minds and hearts, not the State. It is the values that Jesus taught us (e.g., the Beatitudes) that must rule our minds, not the edicts or whims of the State. Not long after this special feast day was established, the popes continued with encyclicals which pointed out the hazards and untruths of totalitarian nationalistic thinking - including their infringements on religious freedom and the dignity of mankind.
In today's gospel (Jn 18:33b-37) Jesus tells Pilate, the leader of the Roman occupation in Judea, that "Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." Jesus is identifying himself with truth itself, something that Pilate could not comprehend inasmuch as he was "living the lie" of having the State serve (albeit by force) as the idol of humankind. Today, idolatry of the State continues in many countries, such as China and North Korea (communism). It always leads to the dehumanization of civilization.
Know Your Catechism! Pope Leo XIII and Pius XI, among others, were watchful that the Church fulfill its mission of showing forth the kingship of Christ over all creation and - in particular - over human societies (CCC #2105). Thus, the State can never rightfully prevent anyone from their religious beliefs and from receiving the dignity due to humans as images of Christ (CCC #2106). What is your relationship to Jesus? Have you accepted him without conditions as your Lord and Savior and King? How do you live that out, in your relationship to the State? Deacon Paul Rooney
Mary Our Queen Parish, Omaha
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