by Fr. Jose “Joesum” Sumampong, Jr.
November 21, 2021
Solemnity of CHRIST THE KING (B)
Daniel 7: 13-14 / Psalm 93: 1-2, 5 /
Revelation 1: 5-8 / John 18: 33-37
A KINGDOM NOT OF THIS WORLD
Word: On this solemnity of Christ the King, the readings celebrate the authority of God and the Messiah enthroned with him. But the words of Jesus himself seem to refute the claim that he has royal authority. Jesus does not deny the title “King of the Jews”; indeed he seems to claim it. But he denies its political force: “My kingdom does not belong to this world” (Jn 18:36). His followers, he says, do not exercise violent means to free him, as they would if he were an earthly king. Instead his purpose is to bear witness to the truth.
The story as told in the Fourth Gospel places responsibility for Jesus’ condemnation squarely on the shoulders of the Jewish authorities. They have reported the claim to Pilate, pressing for a punishment of death that they themselves could not impose. They have completely misunderstood Jesus, his significance and the meaning of the title when applied to him.
Pilate asks Jesus three questions that allow him to define his kingship. First, Pilate asks Jesus if he is the King of the Jews. Jesus’ response asks whether this is a sincere question or just a trumped-up charge by the Jewish authorities: “Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?” (Jn 18:34). Even though Pilate’s answer suggest the latter, Jesus responds to the next question by making it clear that his kingdom is not of this world; it is not a political or military dominion. Pilate recognizes that Jesus accepts the title of king, so he asks him again if he is a king. To this third question, Jesus responds by equating his kingship with his witness to the truth. He says, “You say 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.” (Jn 18:37).
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Order: This does not mean, of course, that Jesus’ kingdom has nothing to do with this world. It does not even mean that his kingdom cannot be found in this world. In the theology of John, the word “world” as used in this pericope means the world of sin. If anything, what Jesus said means that his rule does not belong to this world of sin, a world that values political power and social privileges, where there is domination, where rulers lord it over people, and make their importance felt. Hence, he cannot be a king in the sense Pilate understood it: “You say I am a king” ( John 18:37).
In the preaching of Jesus, as related in the three synoptic gospels, Jesus unceasingly spoke of the “Kingdom of God”. But, as we already know, this is not a kingdom like the earthly kingdoms. It is a hidden kingdom, like the very small mustard-seed becoming a larger tree. It is like a handful of yeast which a woman mixes with the dough. It is like the grain of wheat which dies in the ground in order to yield fruit. Jesus is King, but in God’s way!
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Realities: 1. King Philip of Macedonia bought an exceptionally beautiful horse called Bucephalus. But the royal grooms found it wild and unmanageable.
The young Alexander the Great asked his father for permission to break the horse. Philip reluctantly agreed, fearing the boy might get killed in the attempt.
Alexander walked quickly to the horse’s head and turned it to face into the sun, for he had noticed that the horse’s own shadow was upsetting it. He calmed it, then mounted it, and Bucephalus obediently showed off his paces. (Clifton Fadiman, FACING SUN, SHADOWS BEHIND)
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2. Fr. Lope Robredillo has painted an image of kingship. “Power and privilege are what kingship and ruling are all about. In times past, among the basic duties of the king were concerns over war and law: they had to wage war to protect the interest of the people, or protect them from war. They saw to it that there was order in the kingdom. Today, among the basic expectations of the people from their rulers have to do with food and justice. They have power and privilege, but they have to see to it that people do not starve, and they have to provide an ordered society in which justice prevails.
“It happens, however, that power, by which they can provide people food and justice, ironically causes hunger and injustice. For as Lord Acton observed, “power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
“Indeed, it is scarcely untruthful to say that there is something demonic in political power. And one who holds it normally finds it difficult to relinquish it. The privileges that are attendant upon it are hard to give up. No wonder, once one is in power, he makes an effort to hold on to it, even by hook or by crook. It is not easy to say no to political power and its trappings. Because it corrupts, deception, graft, corruption, abuse, oppression, repression are often connected with it. Thus, though we change those who hold political power time and again, yet society scarcely exhibits itself as evolving into a more just and more humane one. One often gets the impression that it is a case of the same dog, with different collar. That is how it goes in the kingdom of this world.”
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Prayer: To Christ the King!… Loyalty!…(Pledge of Loyalty, Diocese of Tagbilran-S.C.A.)