November 21, 2021

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Lectionary: 161

Reading I

Dn 7:13-14

As the visions during the night continued, I saw
    one like a Son of man coming,
        on the clouds of heaven;
    when he reached the Ancient One
        and was presented before him,
    the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship;
        all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.
    His dominion is an everlasting dominion
        that shall not be taken away,
        his kingship shall not be destroyed.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 93:1, 1-2, 5

1. (1a) The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.
   The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
       robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
   R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.
   And he has made the world firm,
       not to be moved.
   Your throne stands firm from of old;
       from everlasting you are, O LORD.
   R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.
   Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed;
       holiness befits your house,
       O LORD, for length of days.
   R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.

Reading II

Rv 1:5-8

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. 
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father,
to him be glory and power forever and ever.  Amen.
Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will lament him.
Yes.  Amen.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, " says the Lord God,
"the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."

Alleluia

Mk 11:9, 10

1. Alleluia, alleluia.
   Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
   Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!
   R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Jn 18:33b-37

Pilate said to Jesus,
"Are you the King of the Jews?" 
Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?" 
Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I? 
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. 
What have you done?" 
Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. 
But as it is, my kingdom is not here." 
So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?" 
Jesus answered, "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."

Reflection: CHRIST IS THE KING

The solemnity of Christ the King concludes the ordinary time of the liturgical year and ushers in a very grace-filled season of Advent. It is interesting and paradoxical that the church celebrates Christ as the King, a title which Jesus tried to avoid at all costs. When people wanted to make him a Messiah-type king, he disliked such idea. He wanted to present himself as a servant, the suffering servant, who would only usher in the kingdom God! Recall the prayer of the Our Father that he taught his disciples: Thy Kingdom come! There is enough reason for Pilate to be intrigued about this title to be given to Jesus by the people and even accusing him for that. What sort of a kingdom is it then? Jesus makes it clear to Pilate and to us that his 'kingdom is not from this world... is not from here! On the contrary, his kingdom is based on truthfulness about reality and its destiny. All who are in the truth, speak the truth and listen to the truth of Jesus form a kingdom that goes in every way above the kingdoms of this world.

The kingdom of this world as we know from history and in the day-today has:

1. Power: His kingdom is not a power-centered reality. Power, control, influence, money and dominion are the words that characterize this worldly kingdom. It lasts for a short while as history witnesses to us of the rise and fall of many empires. So much so, the titles king and queen have almost disappeared from the face of the earth except in some symbolic fashion.
2. Diplomacy: 'Diplomacy' is an in-word in today's world of politics which is ruled by people who are shrewd. The more intelligence one uses to convince the innocent people the administrator he is acclaimed to be. Calculation of the pros and cons is the basis of such rulers.

Whereas the kingship of Jesus puts other values first:

1. Servant Leadership or Kingship: I have come to serve and not to be served. The first shall be the last and the last shall be the first. Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant (Mt 20:26). Jesus toppled the value system of his times and it is valid even today. Only a servant leadership or kingship can serve justice, truth, equality and fellowship.
2. Love-orientation and not performance-orientation: The world is full of performance-orientation. We have been tutored into it from the time we were young. We were always rewarded if we have performed something good or achieved some success. There is force, competition and fear. Performance-orientation is good but will keep a person constantly in tension. Jesus' kingdom is a kingdom of love and truth. Love-orientation is the basic characteristic of his kingdom. Jesus loved his disciples and they grew to be great men.