The Universal King of Hearts
The liturgical year celebrates the Mystery of Christ, right from His Incarnation and Birth to His Ascension, and from Pentecost to the Second Coming of Christ in Judgment. This latter occasion is held today as a Solemnity, which is the highest rank of celebration. Hence the lectionary entry for today, the thirty-fourth or last Sunday of the Year, reads: ‘Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ Universal King’.
Describing Our Lord as King should not raise eyebrows. Did He not belong to the Royal House of David? Didn't the Wise Men at His Birth and Pilate at His trial and crucifixion refer to Him as ‘King of the Jews’? Most important of all, the Scriptures awaited a Messiah who would be Prophet, Priest and King. It is quite another matter that the high priest Caiphas twisted all that to mean that Jesus was subverting the Roman imperial authority in an attempt to become king. He knew full well that Jesus would be put to death for sedition. As for Pilate, however, he found no basis for a charge against Jesus; yet he let the populace execute their desire to kill Him. It is very significant that eventually Rome became the headquarters of Christianity!
Pilate did not find a basis for a charge because Jesus had convincingly said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’ Jesus was no doubt a king, but not of this world. The House of David was where he belonged as man but as God He was not to be seduced by it. In fact, Rome did not have to fear Him as a political rival, for He functioned in the spiritual realm. He was not in need of any human defence either, for He was one with the Father in Heaven. Whereas the Sanhedrin had expressly made Jesus' claim to divinity look like blasphemy, He was soon vindicated by His Resurrection and Ascension.
Today’s Readings trace the story of spiritual royalty. The First Reading (Dan 7: 13-14) is apocalyptic in nature and focussed on ‘one like a son of man’. While in the Old Testament, this term refers to one man or to humankind, Daniel is the only one who uses it differently. In the Babylonian exile, he had a vision of four great beasts set to overpower the earth. The Ancient of Days (God the Father) took his seat of judgment and expelled them. Daniel then saw ‘one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven’ and standing before the Father, who gave him authority over all nations, languages, and peoples of the world for all eternity.
As for the Jews of Jesus’ time, they took the ‘son of man’ (Dan 7) to be a messianic human figure who would liberate them from political subjugation and restore the House of David. Jesus, on the other hand, was divine and unconcerned about earthly politics, as is evident from today’s Gospel text (Jn 18: 33-37). Perhaps only the religious, intellectual and political leaders were in the know of the real identity of Jesus. But then, instead of clarifying those popular misconceptions, they suitably exploited them with a view to safeguarding their own exalted positions.
It became necessary for Jesus to die and rise and fulfil all the other prophecies about the Son of Man for the world to know the full truth. Many New Testament passages (e.g. Mt 26: 64 and Mk 16: 26) are evocative of the imagery from Daniel’s vision. So, now there can be no doubt that Jesus was that Son of Man. He came into the world not to restore material goods but spiritual goods; to destroy not political powers but the power of sin. His Passion and Death revealed the love of God for humankind. At His Second Coming, He will judge the righteous and the unrighteous, and the former will inherit the kingdom of God.
The Second Reading (Rev 1: 5-8) gives us that hope. The Book of Revelation was written during the reign of Emperor Domitian, one of the great persecutors of the Church. The author, St John, sought to convey a sense of optimism and confidence in face of the people's suffering. He gives glory and praise to Jesus Christ, as being ‘the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth, who hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us a kingdom, and priests to God and His Father.’ Thanks to Him, one day, sin will disappear from the face of the earth. And when that day comes, we as followers of Christ will share in His glory and enjoy His loving, peaceful kingship for ever.
We must all pray for the kingdom to come, as indeed we do in the Our Father. However, a sine qua non for the kingdom to come is to let God's will be done. For this, we must let go of ourselves and make God the be-all and end-all of our life. Humanly speaking, this is not easy; but with God’s help nothing is impossible. We must, then, learn to put God first in everything we do, in every step we take, big or small. Our ardent desire must be translated into concrete decisions. This calls for prayer, sacrifice and practice of the Sacraments. It also calls for evangelisation by word and deed.
In short, we must ardently desire that more and more people join us in the campaign to let God’s kingdom come and His will be done. This sentiment is best conveyed by St Louis de Montfort’s stirring hymn ‘We Want God’. In a world steeped in atheism, agnosticism and indifferentism, we must take a stand for God. By having Christ as the king of our hearts we will have Him as the King of the Universe. He will forever be the Universal King of Hearts.
