Christ the King (Year B)

We firmly hope, however, that the feast of the Kingship of Christ, which in future will be yearly observed, may hasten the return of society to our loving Savior. It would be the duty of Catholics to do all they can to bring about this happy result. Many of these, however, have neither the station in society nor the authority which should belong to those who bear the torch of truth. This state of things may perhaps be attributed to a certain slowness and timidity in good people, who are reluctant to engage in conflict or oppose but a weak resistance; thus the enemies of the Church become bolder in their attacks. But if the faithful were generally to understand that it behooves them ever to fight courageously under the banner of Christ their King, then, fired with apostolic zeal, they would strive to win over to their Lord those hearts that are bitter and estranged from him, and would valiantly defend his rights.¹

With these words, Pope Pius XI, expressed the fruit that is desired from the celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King. If Christ is King, then he should reign in the heart, mind and will of every man (QP, 7). At the end of Ordinary Time, the Church celebrates the Solemn feast of Christ the King undelining its hope that Christ finally be revealed as the Universal King. He reigns in hiddenness now in His members; at history’s end, He will come in the clouds with power and glory to gather the elect, judge the world and establish His kingdom (CCC 671).

Relevant Articles

• Those Who Are In the Truth Listen to My Voice
• (Revelation 1:5-8) The Prince of the Rulers of the Earth

Guide to the Reading of the Text

1. Read John 18:28 – 19:16 to get at the context of the liturgical selection. This section narrates the trial before Pilate, the Procurator of Judea. Below is the description of Pilate’s job as described in WikiPedia

The procurators’ and prefects’ primary functions were military, but as representatives of the empire they were responsible for the collection of imperial taxes,[9] and also had limited judicial functions. Other civil administration lay in the hands of local government: the municipal councils or ethnic governments such as – in the district of Judea and Jerusalem – the Sanhedrin and its president the High Priest. But the power of appointment of the High Priest resided in the Roman legate of Syria or the prefect of Iudaea in Pilate’s day and until 41. For example, Caiaphas was appointed High Priest of Herod’s Temple by Prefect Valerius Gratus and deposed by Syrian Legate Lucius Vitellius. After that time and until 66, the Jewish client kings exercised this privilege. Normally, Pilate resided in Caesarea but traveled throughout the province, especially to Jerusalem, in the course of performing his duties. During the Passover, a festival of deep national as well as religious significance for the Jews, Pilate, as governor or prefect, would have been expected to be in Jerusalem to keep order. He would not ordinarily be visible to the throngs of worshippers because of the Jewish people’s deep sensitivity to their status as a Roman province.

Equestrians such as Pilate could command legionary forces but only small ones, and so in military situations, he would have to yield to his superior, the legate of Syria, who would descend into Palestine with his legions as necessary. As governor of Iudaea, Pilate would have small auxiliary forces of locally recruited soldiers stationed regularly in Caesarea and Jerusalem, such as the Antonia Fortress, and temporarily anywhere else that might require a military presence. The total number of soldiers at his disposal numbered in the range of 3000.

2. The charge that the Sanhedrin brought to Pilate regarding Jesus was treason. John 18:33-38 is the first part of the interrogation. The selection is also used for the Feast of Christ the King. What does Jesus say about himself? Does he say he is king? In what way? Did Pilate find him guilty of treason?

3. Continue your reading to John 19:1-16. The section includes the second part of the interrogation of Jesus — a part that should not have been necessary because of Pilate’s sentence in 18:38b. Before the interrogation however, the soldiers “play” with Jesus: what do they do to him? Do you find any irony in what they do? Made to choose between Jesus and Barabbas, the mob chose this latter. Made to choose between the King of the Jews and Caesar of Rome, whom did the people choose?

4. How does Jesus appear in this narrative as King? How do you relate Jesus’ Kingship to the Sunday readings we’ve had in the recent past?

Comparing the Readings

The first reading from Daniel 7:13-14 is a narration of Daniel’s vision of the One like the Son of Man who arrives riding a cloud and presents Himself before the throne of the Ancient One to receive dominion over history. We’ve seen how Daniel 7:13 was used in the previous Sunday’s gospel reading to refer to Christ’s coming in power to gather in the elect. In this Sunday’s second reading from Revelation 1:5-8, the same line is used combined with a modified version of Zechariah 12:10 to evoke the coming judgment over “the tribes of the earth”. In Revelation 1:5-8, the coming in power of Christ is described as something that the assembly of believers await but is lamented by all others. It is awaited and prayed for by the believers because it is for them a moment of consolation; they will be vindicated in their hope, for the one who comes is the one who loves them and has given his life for them.

The Son of Man in Daniel 7:13-14 and the One who is awaited in Revelation 1:5-8 is Jesus who was presented to Pilate for judgment. Johanine irony however presents Jesus’ trial before the Procurator of Judea as the trial of Pilate, not Jesus. Pilate the judge interrogated Jesus as he sought the truth regarding the accussation of the Sanhedrin. In the end, his contempt for the truth is revealed. If Pilate truly listened to the Truth, he would have seen it in the person of Jesus, He who said “I am the Truth.”

Suggestions for the Lesson

The following quotes from the CCC can be used to remind the faithful of the meaning of the celebration of the Christ’s Kingship

786 Finally, the People of God shares in the royal office of Christ. He exercises his kingship by drawing all men to himself through his death and Resurrection. Christ, King and Lord of the universe, made himself the servant of all, for he came “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” For the Christian, “to reign is to serve him,” particularly when serving “the poor and the suffering, in whom the Church recognizes the image of her poor and suffering founder.” The People of God fulfills its royal dignity by a life in keeping with its vocation to serve with Christ.

The sign of the cross makes kings of all those reborn in Christ and the anointing of the Holy Spirit consecrates them as priests, so that, apart from the particular service of our ministry, all spiritual and rational Christians are recognized as members of this royal race and sharers in Christ’s priestly office. What, indeed, is as royal for a soul as to govern the body in obedience to God? And what is as priestly as to dedicate a pure conscience to the Lord and to offer the spotless offerings of devotion on the altar of the heart?

908 By his obedience unto death, Christ communicated to his disciples the gift of royal freedom, so that they might “by the self-abnegation of a holy life, overcome the reign of sin in themselves”:

That man is rightly called a king who makes his own body an obedient subject and, by governing himself with suitable rigor, refuses to let his passions breed rebellion in his soul, for he exercises a kind of royal power over himself. And because he knows how to rule his own person as king, so too does he sit as its judge. He will not let himself be imprisoned by sin, or thrown headlong into wickedness.

The Feast of Christ the King also anticipates the Season of Advent. Below is a paraphraph from the CCC that links Christ’s coming in glory, His universal reign and the Church’s prayer, “Maranatha”

671 Though already present in his Church, Christ’s reign is nevertheless yet to be fulfilled “with power and great glory” by the King’s return to earth. This reign is still under attack by the evil powers, even though they have been defeated definitively by Christ’s Passover. Until everything is subject to him, “until there be realized new heavens and a new earth in which justice dwells, the pilgrim Church, in her sacraments and institutions, which belong to this present age, carries the mark of this world which will pass, and she herself takes her place among the creatures which groan and travail yet and await the revelation of the sons of God.” That is why Christians pray, above all in the Eucharist, to hasten Christ’s return by saying to him: Marana tha! “Our Lord, come!”