“Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43).
The major theme for this Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe focuses on the universal and eternal kingship of our Savior. Today’s celebration finalizes our present liturgical year and prepares us to enter the next one with Advent, the coming of our Lord, who truly is the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, the greatest King of the universe.
The celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King is a relatively recent addition to the western liturgical calendar. Pope Pius XI instituted it by his 1925 encyclical letter “Quas Primas,” in response to growing nationalism and secularism of the world and in the context of the unresolved Roman Question (i.e. the political dispute between the Italian Government and the Papacy from 1861 to 1929).
Today’s feast was intended to remind the totalitarian governments of Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin that Jesus Christ is the only True Sovereign King, and to bring Christ’s rule and the Christian values back into our lives, society and political arena. Pope Paul VI made it a Solemnity in 1969 to challenge us to see Christ as our King in everyone, especially in the least important and the marginalized, and to treat all with honor, respect, appreciation, compassion, mercy and love as we would to Jesus Christ.
God does not want us holding a relationship of Transaction but Transformation. Therefore, Dynamic Christian disciples are those who (1) BELIEVE, (2) GROW, (3) SERVE, (4) LOVE and (5) LEAD others to Jesus. Today’s topic invites us to appreciate and honor the universal and eternal kingship of our Savior Jesus Christ, to love God above all and to love our neighbors as ourselves, participating in the works of mercy, to accomplish God’s will in our lives to glorify God.
How can we surrender ourselves to Christ’s rule, fulfill His loving commandments, bear witness to His kingship?