34th Sunday of Year B (CHRIST THE KING)
✠ A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John 18:33-37
‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ Pilate asked. Jesus replied, ‘Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others spoken to you about me?’ Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? It is your own people and the chief priests who have handed you over to me: what have you done?’ Jesus replied, ‘Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.’ ‘So you are a king then?’ said Pilate. ‘It is you who say it’ answered Jesus. ‘Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.’
1. Last Sunday readings affirmed that the world will pass away, but we shall live forever. Today, the last sunday of the liturgical year, celebrates Christ as the king of the universe. The readings affirm that we are members of the eternal kingdom of Christ.
2. The first reading, from the 7th chapter of Daniel, defines the kingdom. Four beasts, wicked and brutal, appeared and dominated the earth. They were, however, destroyed by God. After their destruction, the Son of Man appeared in glory to establish a kingdom that would last forever. The vision of Daniel shows the passing away of the earthly powers represented by the four beasts and the coming of the kingdom of God represented by the Son of Man. The second reading from Revelation says that Christ has made us members of the eternal kingdom.
3. In the Gospel, Jesus was arraigned before Pilate, who asked him if he was a king. Jesus responded that his own kingdom was not of this worldly order. His is a kingdom of Truth. He bears witness to the Truth, and all who love the Truth belong to his kingdom. Pilate then affirm: “Then you are a king.” Yes, Jesus is not just a king but the King of Kings. All who strive to do good are members of his kingdom. It was for this reason that Peter said:”You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy people, set apart to sing the glory of our God.” (1Pt2:9).
4. When one belongs to a group, one makes an effort to behave like the members of the group. As a priest, people expect me to behave in a certain manner. There are places and groups that I should avoid because of my personality. If we are members of Christ’s kingdom, we must behave like royal people. Unfortunately, many believers are not even aware of their exalted position. Many sons and daughters of the kingdom are eating with pigs today, just like the prodigal son. Like the prodigal son, we must rise and go back to the Father’s house and recover our position.
5. Many believers live comfortably with sin because they are ignorant of their status as people of the kingdom. Some others struggle with sin but remain enslaved because they are not convinced of their status. I read a story of an Eagle that was raised with chickens. It was comfortable staying and eating on the ground without knowing that it could fly. It believed itself to be a chicken until one day when it saw an eagle in the air. It dawned on it that it was an eagle, not a chicken. It then tried to fly. Its effort was fruitful because it flew and flew and escaped from the poultry. It regained its place in the air.
6. Like the eaglet, may the celebration of Christ the King awaken in you the consciousness of your identity as a royal person. You are meant to be holy. You are chosen to be holy. You are called to dominate evil, to destroy the beasts of wickedness and sin in your life. Think, talk, and act like a member of a royal, priestly family, for that is who you are.
@Vitalis Anaehobi
27/11/24
